Vladimir Bakarić

Vladimir Bakarić (8 March 1912 – 16 January 1983) was a Yugoslav and Croatian communist revolutionary and a politician.

Political career
Bakarić helped to organise the partisan resistance in the Independent State of Croatia during World War II. From 1948 to 1969, he was the chairman of the League of Communists of Croatia and as such was a close collaborator of President Josip Broz Tito. Even after stepping down from the top post in communist hierarchy in the Socialist Republic of Croatia, he retained much influence and was even considered to be the most influential politician in Croatia.

From 1964 to 1974, he was a member of the Council of the Federation, and since 1974 he has been a member of the Presidency of the SFRY, where he served as vice president from May 15, 1975, to May 15, 1976, and was re-elected to that position in May 1982.

Together with Edvard Kardelj, he belonged to the more liberal wing of the Yugoslav political elite and was known for his statement on the need to "federate the federation" (federiranje federacije), a reference to the struggle between Yugoslav unitarists, who advocated giving more powers to the central government, and federalists, who wanted to shift power to the republics. However, Bakarić was usually extremely careful in his public pronouncements on policy and wary of radical statements.