23 Facts About Frano Supilo

Frano Supilo was a Croatian politician and journalist.

Frano Supilo opposed the Austro-Hungarian domination of Europe prior to World War I Frano Supilo participated in the debates leading to the formation of Yugoslavia as a member of the Yugoslav Committee.

Frano Supilo had to drop out of naval high school because of a lack of funds, and instead finished a two-year school of agriculture with Frano Gondola.

Frano Supilo traveled around Dalmatian vineyards educating wine-growers on peronospora.

Frano Supilo became one of the leaders of the Croatian Party of Rights in 1895.

Frano Supilo was responsible for Croat-Serb Coalition's rise to power.

In short notes - Frano Supilo has taken the traditional right wing politics and made a radical turn based on two important entries: ideological and pragmatically - ideological.

Frano Supilo's opinion had been that Croats and Serbs are one three - tribal people - therefore, not three tribes, even less three nations, but one Yugoslavian nation with three names.

Frano Supilo has tried to convert traditional Croatian enemies into Croatian allies within the fight for universal democratisation of monarchy in which - according to his opinion - all nations would be winners.

When it comes to Serbian nationalism, Frano Supilo did not in that period realistically understand the stubbornness and deflections of Serbian territorial agendas on practically the whole Bosnia and Hercegovina and Croatia.

Frano Supilo was aiming for Croatia, with its own politics, to step up as the head of South Slaven Austro-Hungarian in the fight for their union - while the Serbian part of the Coalition was for appropriating Croatia to the Kingdom of Serbia, which in reality meant turning Croatia into a Serbian political appendage.

Frano Supilo's attitude struck a serious reaction in Austrian circles.

Frano Supilo condemned the opportunistic politic of the Coalition leadership because he believed it was compromising Croatia and was not aiming for Croatia to be equal with Serbia in its fight for unity.

Frano Supilo held that Croats and Serbs were a single people with three "tribes".

Frano Supilo played on the temporary conflict between the Vienna court and the Italian irredentists and Hungarian imperialists, the traditional Croatian opponents who claimed their rights to some Croatian lands.

Frano Supilo wanted to turn them into Croatian allies in the fight for the general democratization of the monarchy, which he believed would profit all peoples.

Frano Supilo waged a strong campaign against the ban Levin Rauch, who supported the Hungarians.

Frano Supilo initiated the fundamental constitutional issues on the status of Croatia.

Frano Supilo tried to bring Croatian policy to the forefront of the South Slavs of Austria-Hungary in their fight for unification, while the Serbian part of the Coalition and some of its Croatian members wanted to harmonize Croatian policy with the Kingdom of Serbia, which would bring Croatia to a politically inferior position in relation to Serbia.

At the time of the "High Treason Trial", the politically motivated trial against the Serb public officials in the monarchy, initiated by the Viennese court because of the crisis around the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908, Frano Supilo advocated a strong support of Croats to the endangered Serbs to preserve the harmony of Croats and Serbs based on the principles from the Rijeka Resolution and the Zadar Resolution.

Heinrich Friedjung tried to discredit Frano Supilo by forging documents that said Frano Supilo was working on behalf of Serbia.

Frano Supilo resigned from the committee in June 1916, but endorsed the Declaration of Corfu that created the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

Frano Supilo died of a stroke at the institution on 25 September 1917, at the age of 47.