Poglavnik

Poglavnik (pronounced [pǒɡlaːʋniːk]) is a Serbo-Croatian word meaning "leader" or "guide".

Poglavnik of the Independent State of Croatia
Standard of the Poglavnik
Only officeholder Ante Pavelić 10 April 1941 – 8 May 1945
Government of the Independent State of Croatia
Style	His Excellency
Residence	Poglavnik's Palace
Appointer	Ustaše
Formation	10 April 1941 (de facto) 2 September 1943 (de jure)
Abolished	8 May 1945

Dictionary of Fausto Veranzio (Faust Vrančić) named Dictionarium quinque linguarum, published in 1595, mentions word Poglavnik as "Dalmatinian" word (5th from top in 4th column)

As a political title, it is strongly associated with Ante Pavelić, head of the fascist organization known as the Ustaše in 1929 and served as dictator of the Independent State of Croatia, a World War II fascist puppet state built out of parts of Axis occupied Yugoslavia by the authorities of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, between 1941 and 1945.

Etymology and usage

The word was first recorded in a 16th-century dictionary compiled by Fausto Veranzio^[1] as a Serbo-Croatian term for the Latin word princeps.^[1]

According to Vladimir Anić's Rječnik hrvatskoga jezika (Croatian Dictionary) and the Croatian Encyclopedic Dictionary the word comes from the adjective form poglavit, which can be loosely translated as 'first and foremost' or 'respectable, noble, honorable'. The adjective is in turn a compound of the Croatian prefix po- and the Proto-Slavic word stem glava 'head'.

Because it was used by the fascist regime, the title (which had originally meant "head" or "chief" but was rarely used before the 1930s) is never used today in its original sense as it became synonymous with Pavelić and took on negative connotations after World War II.^[2]

Other etymologically closely related words used in modern Croatian are "poglavar" (translated as "head of state" or "chief", used for heads of state) and "poglavica" (translated as "chief", in the sense of tribal leader).

Political role and context

Ante Pavelić first began using the title of "Poglavnik" when it was prescribed as the official title for the supreme leader of the Ustaše movement in the organization's founding charter in 1930, while he was in exile in Italy. The organization (whose name at the time meant simply "rebels" in Croatian but which also lost its original meaning in modern usage), was organized as a movement which sought to create an independent Croatian nation-state by means of armed struggle at the time when Croatia was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Following the 1941 invasion of Yugoslavia and the establishment of the puppet state called Independent State of Croatia (commonly referred to by its Croatian-language initialism NDH), the title continued to be used for Pavelić, and its meaning was taken to have evolved into "the supreme leader". The title is therefore usually compared and considered equivalent to other titles of ethno-political leadership used at the time such as Führer (used by Adolf Hitler, which was itself modeled after Benito Mussolini's title Duce). As a result, "Poglavnik" is sometimes translated as "Führer" in English-language sources.^[3]

Legally, the exact role of the person carrying the title and its function were never officially stipulated in the constitution or in any other piece of legislation passed during NDH's existence. From May 1941 to October 1943 NDH attempted to be a kingdom and Ante Pavelić de facto the country's Prime Minister.^[4][5] It embodied Prince Aimone, Duke of Aosta (named Tomislav II) as a head of state,^[6][7][8] though he never ruled there.^[9] Later, he refused to assume the kingship in protest of the Italian annexation of the Dalmatia region,^[10] and is therefore referred to in sources as king designate.^[11] However, other sources refer to him as King Tomislav II and the nominal head of the NDH during its first two years (1941–1943).^[12] After the dismissal of Mussolini on 25 July 1943, Aimone abdicated on 31 July as king on the orders of Victor Emmanuel III.

Following Italy's exit from World War II in September 1943, Pavelić took on the role equivalent to head of state, while Nikola Mandić was officially appointed Prime Minister of NDH. Thus, from September 1943 until the state's dissolution on 8 May 1945, the title can be taken to mean Head of State.

Regardless of the official role of the title, Pavelić had unlimited authority to pass decrees and appoint government ministers throughout the existence of NDH. Since the state ceased to exist in 1945, the title was never claimed by any successor. It continued to be used informally as a nickname for Pavelić during his post-war exile until his death in Madrid in 1959, and has become synonymous with him ever since.

See also

• Vrhovnik - A title used by Franjo Tuđman, the first President of modern-day Croatia
• Führer
• Duce
• Conducător
• Caudillo
• Vozhd

References

1. http://www.hrcak.srce.hr/file/95656 Archived 2016-10-23 at the Wayback Machine (in Croatian)
2. "poglavnik". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Croatian). Retrieved 31 January 2011.
3. Cetin, Onder (February 2010). "1941 Resolutions of El-Hidaje in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a Case of Traditional Conflict Transformation" (PDF). European Journal of Economic and Political Studies: 76. OCLC 664122357. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-23.
4. Hrvatski Narod (newspaper)16.05.1941. no. 93. p.1.,Public proclamation of theZakonska odredba o kruni Zvonimirovoj (Decrees on the crown of Zvonimir), tri članka donesena 15.05.1941.
5. Die Krone Zvonimirs, Monatshefte fur Auswartige Politik, Heft 6(1941)p.434.
6. Sainty, Guy Stair. "Royal House of Italy". European royal houses.
7. Hrvoje Matković, Designirani hrvatski kralj Tomislav II. vojvoda od Spoleta. Povijest hrvatskotalijanskih odnosa u prvoj polovici XX.st. (Designated Croatian king Tomislav II. Duke of Spoleto. History of Croatian-Italian relationships in first half of the 20th century), Zagreb 2007.
8. Avramov, Smilja (1995). Genocide in Yugoslavia. p. 238.
9. Lemkin, Raphael (2008). Independent State of Croatia. The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. pp. 252–56.
10. Rodogno, Davide; Fascism's European empire: Italian occupation during the Second World War; p.95; Cambridge University Press, 2006 ISBN 0-521-84515-7
    "Devoid of political experience and ignorant of the Italian government's exact intentions, he [the Duke Aimone] refused to leave for Croatia, saying so in letters to Victor Emmanuel and Benito Mussolini, in which he told them that the question of Dalmatia, 'a land that could never be Italianized', was an obstacle against any reconciliation with the Croats. Never, he declared, would he agree to be a king of a nation amputated from Italy." .
11. Pavlowitch, Stevan K.; Hitler's new disorder: the Second World War in Yugoslavia; p.289; Columbia University Press, 2008 0-231-70050-4
12. Rezun, Miron (30 May 1995). Europe and war in the Balkans: toward a new Yugoslav identity. Greenwood Press. p. 62. ISBN 027595238X. The duke agreed to accept the throne and became King Tomislav II of Croatia