Josip Smodlaka – splitski gradonačelnik (1918.)
Josip Smodlaka, Mayor of Split (1918)

Summary/Abstract: Josip Smodlaka was a leading figure on both the Dalmatian and Croatian political scene in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This paper focuses on Josip Smodlaka’s political engagement in a rather brief period of time in 1918. He was then, amongst other things, directly involved in the life of the city as its mayor. Josip Smodlaka’s proactive role in those turbulent times, that were marked by the end of the Great War and establishment of new jurisdictions, should be perceived exclusively within the specific historical context. In other words, his mayoral position was out of the ordinary: his primary focus was on the unification of the Kingdoms of Serbia and Croatia into a single state. Therefore, all his mayoral activities were reflective of his own idealistic dream of unification. He worked on the improvement of the public health standards, public order and safety standards, food procurement procedures, et al., since he strongly believed that all his actions contributed to the final realization of his political aspirations. The end of his mayoral tenure was marked by another political engagement – a position in the Provincial Government for Dalmatia. He was again proactive in his involvement in the improvement of a variety of standards in the region, which was founded on the same pattern, that is, his unification aspirations. The speech that he held in the Diet and in which he expressed arguments for unification was the pinnacle of his political career. Josip Smodlaka did not leave a significant mark in the history of Split. However, his activities during a brief mayoral tenure and ensuing political engagement had a significant impact on Split, Dalmatia and Croatia in the turbulent period of history.

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