Zdravko Tomac facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Zdravko Tomac
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Tomac on 6 September 2013
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 May 1937 Garčin, Yugoslavia (now Garčin, Croatia) |
| Died | 4 January 2020 (aged 82) Zagreb, Croatia |
| Political party | League of Communists of Croatia (until 1991) Social Democratic Party of Croatia (until 2003) |
Zdravko Tomac (born May 24, 1937 – died January 4, 2020) was an important politician from Croatia. He played a big role in Croatian politics for many years.
Contents
Early Political Life
Zdravko Tomac was born in Slavonski Brod. He started his political journey in the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. He worked his way up and became close to Jakov Blažević. In the late 1980s, he became a main thinker for the League of Communists of Croatia. He was also a close helper to Ivica Račan, another important leader.
Becoming Deputy Prime Minister
After the Communist Party in Croatia changed its name to the Social Democratic Party of Croatia, they lost the elections in 1990. Tomac then worked hard to guide the party towards ideas that were closer to Croatian nationalism. These ideas were also supported by Franjo Tuđman and the ruling Croatian Democratic Union.
Because of this, Tomac became a deputy prime minister in a special government formed during wartime. This government was led by Franjo Gregurić. This made Tomac one of the first former Communist officials in Eastern Europe to get a top government job again after the Berlin Wall fell. He served as deputy prime minister from August 1991 to June 1992.
Many people in Croatia saw Tomac as someone who changed his old beliefs to support Croatian nationalism. The interesting part was that Tomac stayed with the former Communist Party. This helped the Social Democratic Party (SDP) a lot. Tomac became one of their most well-known members. This also helped the SDP gain support from people who liked nationalist ideas, which improved their chances in future elections.
Key Elections and Leadership
Tomac showed his political strength in the 1995 Croatian parliamentary election. He won a seat in the Sabor (the Croatian Parliament) for Zagreb. Later, he became the speaker of the Zagreb City Assembly. He was also an informal leader of the opposition during a time called the Zagreb Crisis.
Two years later, he ran for president as a candidate for the SDP in the 1997 Croatian presidential election. Even though Tomac did not win against Tuđman, he achieved an important success for himself and his party. He came in second place with 21.0% of the votes. He finished ahead of other candidates, including Vladimir Gotovac. With the SDP now seen as the main opposition party in Croatia, they had an advantage. This led to an agreement in 1998 with another party, which helped them win the 2000 Croatian parliamentary election.
Later Career and Departure from SDP
The big win in 2000 was the start of Tomac's political decline. Soon after the parliamentary elections, Croatia had another election for president in 2000. The SDP supported Dražen Budiša as their candidate, and Tomac was chosen to manage his campaign. What seemed like an easy win became a very tough contest when Stjepan Mesić also joined the race.
When the election came down to Budiša and Mesić, Tomac tried to appeal to voters who supported nationalist and right-wing ideas. This did not work very well, and Mesić was easily elected. Tomac's role within his party and the new government became less important.
As time passed, Tomac started to disagree with Račan and the SDP. He began to speak out against the ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia). He strongly opposed sending Croatian generals to The Hague for trials. Finally, in September 2003, he officially announced that he was leaving the SDP.
He then started a new party called Croatian Social Democrats. However, this party, even with help from a few smaller right-wing parties, did not win any seats in the Zagreb City Assembly in the 2005 local elections.
Zdravko Tomac passed away on January 4, 2020. He died in Dubrava Clinical Hospital after a short, serious illness.
Images for kids
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Tomac on 6 September 2013
