Josip Frank
Encyclopedia
Josip Frank (b. April 16, 1844 in Osijek
; d. December 17, 1911 in Zagreb
) was a Croatia
n 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
.
Jewish family, and he attended the gymnasium
in Osijek
. After having finished his law studies at the Vienna University in 1872, he moved to Zagreb
and worked as an attorney at law
.
), joining the opinion of ban Levin Rauch
. When Ivan Mažuranić
became Croatian ban in 1873, Frank criticized him because of his relations with the Magyars and the Serbs.
In 1877, he founded the newspapers Agramer Presse and Kroatische Post, which were soon banned by the Austro-Hungarian authorities.
In 1880, Frank published a brochure titled Die Quote Kroatiens, in which he tried to prove that Croatia bore a disproportionately high financial burden since the 1868 Nagodba (Compromise), a legal arrangement that regulated the constitutional position of Croatia within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1880, Frank was elected to the Zagreb
City council
, where he would serve until 1894.
In 1880, the Croatian poet August Šenoa
characterised Frank in the following manner: "The infamous Zagreb attorney ... degrades and befouls all that is Croatian, first to the benefit of the Magyars, now of the Austrians ... Frank is a political louse, who served Rauch
, then the Swabian Generalkommando ... he offered himself to the Orthodox voter in Pakrac, bragging about ... protecting Serbian interests."
In 1884, Frank was elected as an independent delegate to the Croatian Sabor, representing the Kotar of Popovača
. In 1887, he was elected to represent the Kotar of Vojni Križ.
In 1890, supported by Fran Folnegović, he joined Ante Starčević
's Croatian Party of Rights, soon advancing to the highest ranks of the party. Frank became instrumental in the writing of the political programme of the Party of Rights, published on June 6, 1894. In 1895, after an incident in which students from Zagreb publicly burned the Hungarian flag
in front of Emperor Franz Joseph
, a rift formed in the party as Folnegović and others condemned that act. Shortly afterwards, and shortly before Starčević died, Frank persuaded Starčević to split off his fraction to form the Pure Party of Rights
with its mouthpiece Hrvatsko pravo. By 1897, Frank had become the true leader of the Croatian states' rights movement, advancing to president of the party after Starčević's death. Frank's Party of Rights was opposed to the Party of Rights led by Frano Supilo
and other advocates of the policy of a "New Course", of alignment towards Serbs.
Frank maintained an interest in financial matters, which earned him a regular place in the Croatian Parliament's finance committee, and later in the budget committee. He was a member of the board of financial matters of the Kingdom of Croatia between 1898 and 1906. In 1898, he published a treatise called Nuncij where he harshly accused Hungary for a perceived injustice in the financial terms of the settlement between Croatia and Hungary. In 1904 Frank reiterated his demands for a financial independence of Croatia, and in part due to his efforts, in 1906 a new financial agreement between Croatia and Hungary was formed which was considered the most beneficial to the Croatian side.
After Peter I Karađorđević came to power in Serbia
in 1903, Frank's attention increasingly turned to opposing any rapprochement with the Serbs, unlike the majority opinion represented by the Croato-Serbian Coalition.
In the 1906 election the Party of Rights became the main opposition to the Coalition, and quite a staunch one at that, collaborating with ban Pavao Rauch
(1908-1910), who represented the interests of Austria and Hungary, to depose the Coalition because of its "Yugoslav
" programme. During the Bosnian annexation crisis
in 1908, he was the initiator of a persecution of Serbs accused for high treason. Frank also played a role in the infamous Friedjung trial of 1909 where it would be proved that the Austrian historian Heinrich Friedjung
reproduced libellous claims of treason against the leaders of the Croato-Serbian Coalition.
Politically, Frank appeared as a radical
nationalist
, who apparently lent himself to the political ideas of a "Greater Croatia
" and a trialistic
approach to the Habsburg lands by making the Kingdom of Croatia the third entity in the empire. Unlike Ante Starčević, that was anticlerical, Frank considered to be useful collaboration with Catholic church in Croatia. In the later stages of his career, he appeared as a man of confidence to the Viennese authorities, often acting secretly on their behalf.
Josip Frank's support for the Austrian court in his fight against the pro-Yugoslav and pro-Serbian forces did not go unopposed within his own party, as in 1908 Mile Starčević led a faction (called Milinovci) to form a splinter Starčević Party of Rights. In 1909 Frank fell terminally ill, and could no longer take active part in politics. After that, the party attracted a prominent group of Catholic intellectuals to join them in 1910 and changed their name to Christian-Social Party of Rights. In 1911, they reconciled with the Starčević Party of Rights, and merged back into a single Party of Rights. Frank lived to witness this, but died shortly thereafter.
Frankists, developed from the surname of Joseph Frank, term means a radical nationalist-fascist, hostile to the Serbs.
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...
; d. December 17, 1911 in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
) was a 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 ...
n 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
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...
.
Early life
Frank was born into a CroatianCroats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
Jewish family, and he attended the gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
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...
. After having finished his law studies at the Vienna University in 1872, he moved to Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
and worked as an attorney at law
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
.
Political career
Frank's initial political involvement included a critique of the People's Party (of Josip Juraj StrossmayerJosip Juraj Strossmayer
Josip Juraj Strossmayer was a Croatian politician, Roman Catholic bishop and benefactor.-Early life and rise as a cleric:...
), joining the opinion of ban 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....
. When Ivan Mažuranić
Ivan Mažuranic
Ivan Mažuranić was a Croatian poet, linguist and politician—probably the most important figure in Croatia's cultural life in the mid-19th century...
became Croatian ban in 1873, Frank criticized him because of his relations with the Magyars and the Serbs.
In 1877, he founded the newspapers Agramer Presse and Kroatische Post, which were soon banned by the Austro-Hungarian authorities.
In 1880, Frank published a brochure titled Die Quote Kroatiens, in which he tried to prove that Croatia bore a disproportionately high financial burden since the 1868 Nagodba (Compromise), a legal arrangement that regulated the constitutional position of Croatia within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1880, Frank was elected to the Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
City council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
, where he would serve until 1894.
In 1880, the Croatian poet August Šenoa
August Šenoa
August Šenoa was a Croatian novelist, critic, editor, poet, and dramatist....
characterised Frank in the following manner: "The infamous Zagreb attorney ... degrades and befouls all that is Croatian, first to the benefit of the Magyars, now of the Austrians ... Frank is a political louse, who served 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....
, then the Swabian Generalkommando ... he offered himself to the Orthodox voter in Pakrac, bragging about ... protecting Serbian interests."
In 1884, Frank was elected as an independent delegate to the Croatian Sabor, representing the Kotar of Popovača
Popovaca
Popovača is a municipality in Croatia in the Sisak-Moslavina County. It is part of Moslavina. The municipality has a population of 12,701 , 95% of which are Croats.-External links:**...
. In 1887, he was elected to represent the Kotar of Vojni Križ.
In 1890, supported by Fran Folnegović, he joined 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:...
's Croatian Party of Rights, soon advancing to the highest ranks of the party. Frank became instrumental in the writing of the political programme of the Party of Rights, published on June 6, 1894. In 1895, after an incident in which students from Zagreb publicly burned the Hungarian flag
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...
in front of Emperor Franz Joseph
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
, a rift formed in the party as Folnegović and others condemned that act. Shortly afterwards, and shortly before Starčević died, Frank persuaded Starčević to split off his fraction to form the Pure Party of Rights
Party of Rights (1861–1929)
The Party of Rights or Party of the Right was an influential Croatian 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...
with its mouthpiece Hrvatsko pravo. By 1897, Frank had become the true leader of the Croatian states' rights movement, advancing to president of the party after Starčević's death. Frank's Party of Rights was opposed to the Party of Rights 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....
and other advocates of the policy of a "New Course", of alignment towards Serbs.
Frank maintained an interest in financial matters, which earned him a regular place in the Croatian Parliament's finance committee, and later in the budget committee. He was a member of the board of financial matters of the Kingdom of Croatia between 1898 and 1906. In 1898, he published a treatise called Nuncij where he harshly accused Hungary for a perceived injustice in the financial terms of the settlement between Croatia and Hungary. In 1904 Frank reiterated his demands for a financial independence of Croatia, and in part due to his efforts, in 1906 a new financial agreement between Croatia and Hungary was formed which was considered the most beneficial to the Croatian side.
After Peter I Karađorđević came to power in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
in 1903, Frank's attention increasingly turned to opposing any rapprochement with the Serbs, unlike the majority opinion represented by the Croato-Serbian Coalition.
In the 1906 election the Party of Rights became the main opposition to the Coalition, and quite a staunch one at that, collaborating with ban Pavao Rauch
Pavao Rauch
Baron Pavao Rauch was a Croatian politician who served as Ban of Croatia-Slavonia between 1908 and 1910.His was the son of Levin Rauch. Pavao Rauch was appointed as vice-roy on 8 January 1908. Ten thousand protesters met Rauch upon his arrival in Zagreb on 15 January, hurling abuse and throwing...
(1908-1910), who represented the interests of Austria and Hungary, to depose the Coalition because of its "Yugoslav
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
" programme. During the Bosnian annexation crisis
Bosnian crisis
The Bosnian Crisis of 1908–1909, also known as the Annexation crisis, or the First Balkan Crisis, erupted into public view when on 6 October 1908, Austria-Hungary announced the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Russia, the Ottoman Empire, Britain, Italy, Serbia, Montenegro, Germany and France...
in 1908, he was the initiator of a persecution of Serbs accused for high treason. Frank also played a role in the infamous Friedjung trial of 1909 where it would be proved that the Austrian historian Heinrich Friedjung
Heinrich Friedjung
Heinrich Friedjung was an Austrian historian and journalist.Friedjung was born in Roschtin , Moravia . The son of a Jewish family grew up in Vienna, and studied history in Prague and Berlin under Theodor Mommsen and Leopold von Ranke...
reproduced libellous claims of treason against the leaders of the Croato-Serbian Coalition.
Politically, Frank appeared as a radical
Radicalism (historical)
The term Radical was used during the late 18th century for proponents of the Radical Movement. It later became a general pejorative term for those favoring or seeking political reforms which include dramatic changes to the social order...
nationalist
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...
, who apparently lent himself to the political ideas of a "Greater Croatia
Greater Croatia
Greater Croatia is a term applied to certain currents within Croatian nationalism. In one sense, it refers to the territorial scope of the Croatian people, emphasising the ethnicity of those Croats living outside Croatia...
" and a trialistic
Trialism
Trialism in philosophy was introduced by John Cottingham as an alternative interpretation of the mind-body dualism of Rene Descartes. Trialism keeps the two substances of mind and body, but introduces a third attribute, sensation, belonging to the union of mind and body...
approach to the Habsburg lands by making the Kingdom of Croatia the third entity in the empire. Unlike Ante Starčević, that was anticlerical, Frank considered to be useful collaboration with Catholic church in Croatia. In the later stages of his career, he appeared as a man of confidence to the Viennese authorities, often acting secretly on their behalf.
Josip Frank's support for the Austrian court in his fight against the pro-Yugoslav and pro-Serbian forces did not go unopposed within his own party, as in 1908 Mile Starčević led a faction (called Milinovci) to form a splinter Starčević Party of Rights. In 1909 Frank fell terminally ill, and could no longer take active part in politics. After that, the party attracted a prominent group of Catholic intellectuals to join them in 1910 and changed their name to Christian-Social Party of Rights. In 1911, they reconciled with the Starčević Party of Rights, and merged back into a single Party of Rights. Frank lived to witness this, but died shortly thereafter.
Frankists, developed from the surname of Joseph Frank, term means a radical nationalist-fascist, hostile to the Serbs.