Dušan Žanko was a Croatian writer and the intendant of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb from 1941 to 1943.

He graduated from the Franciscan Classical Gymnasium in Široki Brijeg

Široki Brijeg

-Name:The name of the city means "the wide hill" in Croatian . The city is also sometime referred to as "Široki Brig" and among the inhabitants of Herzegovina simply as "Široki" . Between 1945 and 1990, the name was officially Lištica, after the river that flows through it.-Geography:The river...

 in 1924. During this time he was a member of the Croatian Eagles Association. He graduated in history from the University of Zagreb

University of Zagreb

The University of Zagreb is the biggest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of Southeastern Europe...

 in 1928. He subsequently worked as a gymnasium professor in Zagreb

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

. In the 1930's he was one of the leaders of the Crusader Brotherhood in Croatia, and was also active in Catholic Action.

From April 22, 1941 to November 8, 1943 he was intendant of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. During his time as intendant, he led Zagreb's opera company on performances in Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

, Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

 and Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 in April 1942 and to Vienne

Vienne

Vienne is the northernmost département of the Poitou-Charentes region of France, named after the river Vienne.- Viennese history :Vienne is one of the original 83 departments, established on March 4, 1790 during the French Revolution. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Poitou,...

 in 1943. In January of 1943, Bucharest's opera singers guested at the theatre, performing Aida

Aida

Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...

 and Carmen

Carmen

Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...

. After his stint at the theatre, he was employed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a cultural-economic representative to France.

On May 6, 1945 Žanko emigrated. He spent the next few years at the refugee camp in Fermo

Fermo

Fermo is a town and comune of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo.Fermo is located on a hill, the Sabulo with a fine view, on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway....

. On October 4, 1946 the Yugoslav government requested his return to face trial, but the request was never carried out. In 1948 he moved to Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, before settling in Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 in 1954. In emigration he was active in the magazine Hrvatska revija

Hrvatska revija

Hrvatska revija is a Croatian quarterly published by Matica hrvatska based in Zagreb.The magazine's original run lasted between 1928 and 1945 when it was published by MH and during which it became a renowned literary and cultural magazine...

 and was president of the printing house Zajednica izdanja Ranjeni labud. He attended the canonization of Nikola Tavelić

Nikola Tavelic

Nikola Tavelić is a saint of the Catholic Church. This Franciscan missionary, who died a martyr's death in Jerusalem, was the first Croatian saint.- Life :...

 in Rome on June 21, 1970. Žanko attended the founding of the Croatian National Council

Croatian National Council

The Croatian National Council was a representative body of Croatian emigrant groups which operated from 1974 to the nation's independence in 1991....

 in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 in 1974 and remained a member of the organization until his death.