Party of Rights (1861–1929)
Encyclopedia
The Party of Rights or Party of the Right was an influential Croatia
n political party in the 19th and 20th centuries. The right or rights in the party's name refer to the idea of Croatian national and ethnic rights
that were the central topic of the party's existence, as the first name was Stranka hrvatskog državnog prava (Party of the Croatian State Right). The translation is not straightforward because the word prava is both singular and plural genitive of the word pravo ("right") in Croatian
.
Several modern Croatian
and Bosnian
political parties claim lineage from it: the Croatian Party of Rights
, the Croatian Pure Party of Rights
, the Croatian Party of Rights 1861
, Autochthonous Croatian Party of Rights, the Croatian Party of Rights dr. Ante Starčević
, Croatian Party of Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Party of Croatian Right
, Party of Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina 1861
, Croatian Party of Rights of Posavina, Croatian Party of Rights of Herzeg-Bosnia, Croatian Party of Rights dr. Ante Starčević of Bosnia and Herzegovina and possibly others.
and Eugen Kvaternik
first presented the policies of the "Party of Rights" to the Croatian Parliament calling for greater Croatian autonomy and self-rule at a time when Croatia was divided into several crownlands within the Habsburg
Monarchy.
In early October 1871, Kvaternik and several other Party members disavowed the official party position advocating a political solution and instead launched the Rakovica Revolt
. The rebels declared the following aims:
The rebels also sought to encourage participation of Orthodox Serbs in the revolt, and some of them did, but the uprising was soon crushed by the authorities. Most of the rebels were killed, including Kvaternik.
The Party ran in the Croatian parliamentary by-election, 1883
and the Croatian parliamentary election, 1884
.
In late 19th and early 20th century, the party underwent various changes in membership and policy, as different factions led by important figures splintered and reconciled over time.
They often vied for the title of the most ideologically pure party that represents Croatian state rights.
Following the 1895 visit of Emperor Franz Joseph to Zagreb
, party leader Fran Folnegović disavowed the flag-burning incident, but Ante Starčević
disagreed. He and his followers, notably Eugen Kumičić
, Josip Frank
and Mile Starčević, formed the first Pure Party of Rights . Starčević died in 1896, and was succeeded by Josip Frank
.
In the Croatian parliamentary election, 1897
, both Parties ran.
In 1902, the two Parties merged once again. But, in 1905 the leadership of the party, led by Frano Supilo
, merged into the Croat-Serb Coalition
, and the Pure Party of Rights was formed once again.
Starčević's Party of Rights participated in the Croatian parliamentary election, 1908
.
In 1909, the Pure Party of Rights itself splintered, as Mile Starčević, Ante Pavelić
and others accused Josip Frank of consorting with Levin Rauch
. The dissidents formed the so-called Starčević's Party of Rights.
Both the Starčević and the Frank Party of Rights participated in the Croatian parliamentary election, 1910
.
In 1911, Frank died, and the two factions merged once again into the latter.
In 1913, the Pure Party of Rights was formed once again by old supporters of Frank, this time led by Aleksandar Horvat.
Both Parties participated in the Croatian parliamentary election, 1913
.
, which was separated from Croatia and Slavonia at the time. They participated in the Dalmatian elections in 1895
, 1901
, and 1908
.
as a means toward achieving Croatian independence, through the creation of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
. Accordingly, the party opposed the merging of the new state into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
A unified Party of Rights participated in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Constitutional Assembly election, 1920
as well as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes parliamentary election, 1923
.
In 1922, it briefly joined the Croatian Bloc (coalition). It did not enter the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes parliamentary election, 1925, but did join the Bloc again the same year.
In 1929, the king of Yugoslavia
instituted the January 6th Dictatorship
. He banned all political parties, and the militant wing of the Party if Rights went underground to organize the Ustaše
movement, led by former party secretary Ante Pavelić
.
, founded in 1990, claims lineage from the original Party of Rights. Since 1990, several splinter parties have been founded that claim the same.
A modern party analogous to the original Pure Party of Rights exists today, too, the Croatian Pure Party of Rights
.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n political party in the 19th and 20th centuries. The right or rights in the party's name refer to the idea of Croatian national and ethnic rights
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
that were the central topic of the party's existence, as the first name was Stranka hrvatskog državnog prava (Party of the Croatian State Right). The translation is not straightforward because the word prava is both singular and plural genitive of the word pravo ("right") in Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
.
Several modern Croatian
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and Bosnian
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
political parties claim lineage from it: the Croatian Party of Rights
Croatian Party of Rights
The Croatian Party of Rights is a right-wing political party in Croatia. The "right" in the party's name refer to the idea of Croatian national and ethnic rights that the party has vowed to protect since its founding in the 19th century...
, the Croatian Pure Party of Rights
Croatian Pure Party of Rights
Croatian Pure Party of Rights is a marginal far right political party in Croatia founded in 1904. The party claims to be an ideological descendant of the same-named right-wing historical party which was active in the early 20th century and which advocated the right to self-determination for...
, the Croatian Party of Rights 1861
Croatian Party of Rights 1861
Croatian Party of Rights 1861 is a right-wing political party in Croatia.It was founded in 1995 following the removal of Dobroslav Paraga from the leadership of Croatian Party of Rights and Paraga's unsuccessful attempts to revert this at courts...
, Autochthonous Croatian Party of Rights, the Croatian Party of Rights dr. Ante Starčević
Croatian Party of Rights dr. Ante Starčević
Croatian Party of Rights dr. Ante Starčević is a radical right-wing political party in Croatia. It was founded in 2009 by Ruža Tomašić and others as a splinter party from the Croatian Party of Rights. In 2010, they reported a membership of 12,500. , it is not represented in the Croatian...
, Croatian Party of Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Party of Croatian Right
Party of Croatian Right
Party of Croatian Right is a conservative right-wing political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina.Complaining about disunity and "abandonment of the original rights idea by other many existing rights parties", members of Party of Croatian Right, "who want to be loyal to the original rights teachings...
, Party of Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina 1861
Party of Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina 1861
Party of Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina 1861 is political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina.It was founded at the end of 1990-is as a pendant of Croatian Party of Rights 1861 from Croatia...
, Croatian Party of Rights of Posavina, Croatian Party of Rights of Herzeg-Bosnia, Croatian Party of Rights dr. Ante Starčević of Bosnia and Herzegovina and possibly others.
Kingdom of Croatia
The Party of Rights was founded on June 26, 1861 when Ante StarčevićAnte Starcevic
Ante Starčević , was a Croatian politician and writer whose activities and works laid the foundations for the modern Croatian state.His works are base for Croatian nationalism, he is often referred to as Father of the Fatherland by Croats.-Life:...
and Eugen Kvaternik
Eugen Kvaternik
Eugen Kvaternik was a Croatian politician and revolutionary. Kvaternik and Ante Starčević formed the original Croatian Party of Rights together....
first presented the policies of the "Party of Rights" to the Croatian Parliament calling for greater Croatian autonomy and self-rule at a time when Croatia was divided into several crownlands within the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
Monarchy.
In early October 1871, Kvaternik and several other Party members disavowed the official party position advocating a political solution and instead launched the Rakovica Revolt
Rakovica Revolt
The Rakovica Revolt was a revolt against Austria-Hungary aiming to establish an independent Croatian state. The revolt was named after Rakovica, where it initially took place in October 1871. The revolt ended in defeat for Croatian rebels.-Preparations:...
. The rebels declared the following aims:
- freedom of the Croatian people from Austrian and Magyar (Hungarian) oppression
- proclamation of an independent Croatia
- equality under law
- municipal self-government
- abolition of the Military FrontierMilitary FrontierThe Military Frontier was a borderland of Habsburg Austria and later the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which acted as the cordon sanitaire against incursions from the Ottoman Empire...
and introduction of free counties - respect for both religions in love and unity
The rebels also sought to encourage participation of Orthodox Serbs in the revolt, and some of them did, but the uprising was soon crushed by the authorities. Most of the rebels were killed, including Kvaternik.
The Party ran in the Croatian parliamentary by-election, 1883
Croatian parliamentary by-election, 1883
Croatian parliamentary by-election for the Croatian Military Frontier districts which had been incorporated into the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia in 1881 were held over three days between 19 and 21 April 1883.-Results:-Representatives:-References:*...
and the Croatian parliamentary election, 1884
Croatian parliamentary election, 1884
Croatian parliamentary elections were held on September 16-19, 1884. The People's Party emerged as the victor.According to the 1881 electoral law, the franchise was limited to males over 24 years of age who paid at least 15 F in taxes.-Results:...
.
In late 19th and early 20th century, the party underwent various changes in membership and policy, as different factions led by important figures splintered and reconciled over time.
They often vied for the title of the most ideologically pure party that represents Croatian state rights.
Following the 1895 visit of Emperor Franz Joseph to Zagreb
1895 visit of Emperor Franz Joseph to Zagreb
The 1895 visit of Emperor Franz Joseph to Zagreb was the Austro-Hungarian leader's visit to the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia's capital in mid-October, 1895 to attend the opening of the Croatian National Theatre...
, party leader Fran Folnegović disavowed the flag-burning incident, but Ante Starčević
Ante Starcevic
Ante Starčević , was a Croatian politician and writer whose activities and works laid the foundations for the modern Croatian state.His works are base for Croatian nationalism, he is often referred to as Father of the Fatherland by Croats.-Life:...
disagreed. He and his followers, notably Eugen Kumičić
Eugen Kumicic
Eugen Kumičić was a prominent Croatian writer and politician.-Biography:Kumičić was born in Brseč, Mošćenička Draga , a small town in Istria, then part of the Austrian Empire....
, Josip Frank
Josip Frank
Josip Frank was a Croatian lawyer and politician, a noted representative of the Party of Rights and the Pure Party of Rights in the Croatian Parliament, and a vocal advocate of Croatian national independence in Austria-Hungary.- Early life :Frank was born into a Croatian Jewish family, and he...
and Mile Starčević, formed the first Pure Party of Rights . Starčević died in 1896, and was succeeded by Josip Frank
Josip Frank
Josip Frank was a Croatian lawyer and politician, a noted representative of the Party of Rights and the Pure Party of Rights in the Croatian Parliament, and a vocal advocate of Croatian national independence in Austria-Hungary.- Early life :Frank was born into a Croatian Jewish family, and he...
.
In the Croatian parliamentary election, 1897
Croatian parliamentary election, 1897
Croatian parliamentary elections were held from the 19th to the 22nd of May 1897. The People's Party emerged as the victor.-Results:- Sources :*Ivo Perić: Hrvatski državni sabor: 1848-2000, GIPA, Zagreb 2002....
, both Parties ran.
In 1902, the two Parties merged once again. But, in 1905 the leadership of the party, led by Frano Supilo
Frano Supilo
Frano Supilo was a Croatian politician and journalist. He was a major political figure in the twenty years preceding World War I....
, merged into the Croat-Serb Coalition
Croat-Serb Coalition
The Croat-Serb Coalition was a major political alliance in Austria-Hungary during the beginning of the 20th century that governed the Croatian lands . It represented the political idea of a cooperation of Croats and Serbs in Austria-Hungary for mutual benefit...
, and the Pure Party of Rights was formed once again.
Starčević's Party of Rights participated in the Croatian parliamentary election, 1908
Croatian parliamentary election, 1908
Croatian parliamentary elections were held on February 27 and 28, 1908. The elections were called early under ban Pavao Rauch.-Results:...
.
In 1909, the Pure Party of Rights itself splintered, as Mile Starčević, Ante Pavelić
Ante Pavelic (1869)
Dr. Ante Pavelić, was a Croatian dentist and politician.In Croatian sources, he is usually referred as or to be distinguished from the more notable Croatian fascist leader and politician Ante Pavelić, who was twenty years younger and member of a different Party of Rights.Starting in 1906 he...
and others accused Josip Frank of consorting with Levin Rauch
Levin Rauch
Baron Levin Rauch de Nyék was a politician from the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia in the late 19th century, the viceroy of Croatia-Slavonia from 1867 to 1871....
. The dissidents formed the so-called Starčević's Party of Rights.
Both the Starčević and the Frank Party of Rights participated in the Croatian parliamentary election, 1910
Croatian parliamentary election, 1910
Croatian parliamentary elections were held on October 28, 1910. The elections were called by ban Nikola Tomašić after the adoption of a new Law of the Electoral Order of the Kingdom of Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia.-Results:-References:...
.
In 1911, Frank died, and the two factions merged once again into the latter.
In 1913, the Pure Party of Rights was formed once again by old supporters of Frank, this time led by Aleksandar Horvat.
Both Parties participated in the Croatian parliamentary election, 1913
Croatian parliamentary election, 1913
Croatian parliamentary elections were held on 16th and 17 December 1913. There were 209,618 eligible male voters. According to the census of December 31, 1910, the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia had a population of 2,621,954....
.
Kingdom of Dalmatia
The Party of Rights also operated in DalmatiaDalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
, which was separated from Croatia and Slavonia at the time. They participated in the Dalmatian elections in 1895
Dalmatian parliamentary election, 1895
Parliamentary elections were held in the Kingdom of Dalmatia in 1895.-Results:...
, 1901
Dalmatian parliamentary election, 1901
Parliamentary elections were held in the Kingdom of Dalmatia in 1901.-Results:...
, and 1908
Dalmatian parliamentary election, 1908
Parliamentary elections were held in the Kingdom of Dalmatia in 1908. They were the last held for the Dalmatian parliament in Zadar, as World War I broke out before the end of the government's mandate in 1915...
.
After World War I
The Croatian Party of Rights welcomed the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in the wake of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as a means toward achieving Croatian independence, through the creation of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs was a short-lived state formed from the southernmost parts of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy after its dissolution at the end of the World War I by the resident population of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs...
. Accordingly, the party opposed the merging of the new state into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
A unified Party of Rights participated in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Constitutional Assembly election, 1920
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Constitutional Assembly election, 1920
The 1920 Constitutional Assembly election of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes for the National Assembly took place on 28 November 1920....
as well as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes parliamentary election, 1923
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes parliamentary election, 1923
The 1923 election in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes for the National Assembly took place on March 18, 1923. The seats were divided up by the political borders which existed before the Kingdom's formation and distributed using the population statistics of 1910.According to a TIME Magazine...
.
In 1922, it briefly joined the Croatian Bloc (coalition). It did not enter the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes parliamentary election, 1925, but did join the Bloc again the same year.
In 1929, the king of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
instituted the January 6th Dictatorship
January 6th Dictatorship
The January 6th Dictatorship was a royal dictatorship established in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes by King Alexander...
. He banned all political parties, and the militant wing of the Party if Rights went underground to organize the Ustaše
Ustaše
The Ustaša - Croatian Revolutionary Movement was a Croatian fascist anti-Yugoslav separatist movement. The ideology of the movement was a blend of fascism, Nazism, and Croatian nationalism. The Ustaše supported the creation of a Greater Croatia that would span to the River Drina and to the border...
movement, led by former party secretary Ante Pavelić
Ante Pavelic
Ante Pavelić was a Croatian fascist leader, revolutionary, and politician. He ruled as Poglavnik or head, of the Independent State of Croatia , a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany in Axis-occupied Yugoslavia...
.
Legacy
The Croatian Party of RightsCroatian Party of Rights
The Croatian Party of Rights is a right-wing political party in Croatia. The "right" in the party's name refer to the idea of Croatian national and ethnic rights that the party has vowed to protect since its founding in the 19th century...
, founded in 1990, claims lineage from the original Party of Rights. Since 1990, several splinter parties have been founded that claim the same.
A modern party analogous to the original Pure Party of Rights exists today, too, the Croatian Pure Party of Rights
Croatian Pure Party of Rights
Croatian Pure Party of Rights is a marginal far right political party in Croatia founded in 1904. The party claims to be an ideological descendant of the same-named right-wing historical party which was active in the early 20th century and which advocated the right to self-determination for...
.