Daška Marija Ivanović better known as Daška McLean, was the daughter of one of the founders of the Croatian National Progressive Party (NNS). She made headlines in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 when she made her 18-year-old daughter a ward of the court in the U.K. after she eloped with her fiancee in 1957.

Biography

Ivanović was born in Osijek

Osijek

Osijek is the fourth largest city in Croatia with a population of 83,496 in 2011. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja county...

, Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

 (present-day Croatia

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 ...

) on January 26 1915, the daughter of Croatian Dr. Ivan Rikard Ivanović

Ivan Rikard Ivanović

Dr. Ivan Rikard Ivanović was one of the founders of the Croatian National Progressive Party...

, one of the founders of the National Progressive Party

National Progressive Party

National Progressive Party may refer to:* National Progressive Party , liberal political party in Finland from 1918 to 1951* National Progressive Party , liberal political party in Greece in 1950...

 (NNS) and a deputy

Deputy (legislator)

A deputy is a legislator in many countries, particularly those with legislatures styled as a 'Chamber of Deputies' or 'National Assembly'.-List of countries:This is an list of countries using the term 'deputy' or one of its cognates....

 in Croatia's Sabor (Assembly), who had helped to form the state in 1918. Her mother, Milica, was a sister of Dušan Popović, a leading Serb

Serbs

The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...

 politician in the ruling Croato-Serb Coalition. When her mother re-married Serbian shipping tycoon Božidar "Božo" Banac , her children adopted the surname Ivanović-Banac.

Her brother, Vane Ivanović

Vane Ivanović

Ivan "Vane" Stefan Ivanović was an athlete, shipowner, political activist, diplomat, writer and philanthropist. One of the founders of the European Movement and the Consul General of Monaco in London, he devoted most of his life to the idea of Yugoslav unity.-Biography:Vane Ivanović was born in...

, was the Consul General of Monaco

Monaco

Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...

. As a young woman she was considered to be one of the loveliest of Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

's society girls and was known locally as "The Pearl of Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...

". Her first husband was Geoffrey Alexander Farrer Kennedy

Kennedy (Ireland)

The Kennedy family of Ireland is a royal dynasty founded in the Middle Ages who were Kings of Ormond. Their founder was the nephew of High King Brian Boru . Kennedy is an anglicised form of the Irish "Ó Cinnéide". The name Cinnéide belonged Brian Boru's father Cennétig mac Lorcáin, King of Thomond,...

 (30 October 1908 - 21 September 1996) whom she married in 1938 and with whom she had three daughters and one son. After divorcing Kennedy, she re-married Lt. Col. Neil McLean

Neil McLean (politician)

Lieutenant-Colonel Neil Loudon Desmond McLean DSO, known as Billy McLean , was a British Army intelligence officer and politician who led a celebrated Special Operations Executive operation in Albania during the Second World War, and later attempted to overthrow Communism in the country...

, DSO

Distinguished Service Order

The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...

, on November 14 1949 in 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...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

In 1957, one of her daughters from her first marriage, Tessa

Tessa Kennedy

Tessa Georgina Kennedy , better known as Tessa Kennedy, is a British interior designer, whose clients include multi-national corporations, royalty, celebrities and many European hotels, restaurants and clubs...

, became a cause célèbre when, against her parents wishes, she eloped with society portrait-painter Dominick Elwes, son of Simon Elwes

Simon Elwes

Lt. Col. Simon Edmund Vincent Paul Elwes, better known as Simon Elwes, RP, RA, KM was a British war artist and society portrait painter whose patrons included kings, queens, statesmen, sportsmen, prominent social figures and many members of Britain's Royal Family...

, a favorite artist of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. McLean and her ex-husband immediately instituted proceedings to have Elwes arrested and their daughter made a ward of court.

McLean died in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 in 2004 at age 89.