Stjepan Spevec was a Croatian

Croats

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...

 university professor and rector.

He graduated law at the Law Academy in Zagreb. Since Academy didn't have the right to give Ph.Ds, he received his Ph.D. in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 in 1868. The same year he started to work in Zagreb court, and teach administrative and canon law at the Law Academy. Soon after, he was appointed as an associate, and afterward as a full professor of Roman

Roman law

Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...

, state and international law

International law

Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...

. He became a university professor in 1874 after the foundation of University of Zagreb

University of Zagreb

The University of Zagreb is the biggest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of Southeastern Europe...

, and soon after a rector in the academic year 1875/1876. After his rectorship mandate expired, he served as a prorector. In the period of 1875-91 he was a member of the Croatian parliament

Parliament of Croatia

The Parliament of Croatia or the Sabor is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of the Republic of Croatia and legislature of the country. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, represents the people and is vested with the legislative power...

. In 1886 he was appointed as a head of the Department for Theology and Education of the Royal Earth Government. He wrote the new school law. In 1891 he was selected as a president of the Chair of the Seven, a position which he held until his death. The king Franz Joseph I

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...

. named him his secret adviser in 1895.