Ivan Lorković

Ivan Lorković (; 17 June 1876 – 24 February 1926) was a Croatian politician and political newspaper editor from Zagreb.

Political biography

Early life and graduate years: 1876-1901 Lorković was born in Zagreb to Blaž Lorković, an economist and lawyer. then attended the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb, where he undertook a doctorate in law. At this time, students of the faculty undertook strict examinations ("rigorozas") to attain the title of Doctor of Law, qualifying them to work in the judiciary.

During his time at the university, Lorković participated in the burning of a Hungarian flag. The Zagreb arm of the coalition published a manifesto, National Thought ("Narodna Misao") in 1897. Lorković, alongside Svetozar Pribićević, was a contributor.

Lorković completed some of his study in Prague This newspaper, funded by Croatian-speaking merchants and business owners in Osijek, was the first to be published in the Croatian language in Osijek in 24 years. Lorković used his position to further his cause for Croatian economic autonomy.

Lorković stepped down from the newspaper to co-found the Croatian National Progressive Party with former Progressive Youth figures in December 1905. This party supported the New Course Policy and joined the Croat-Serb Coalition that won a majority in the 1906 Croatian parliamentary election; thus, Lorković became a member of parliament ("Sabor"). He also served as editor of the Croat-Serb Coalition's newspaper Pokret. In this role, Lorković continued to advocate for co-operation between Croats and Serbs. Lorković feared that Croat interests would become subordinate to Serb interests under this system, and favoured federalism. Masaryk was skeptical of Lorković's belief that France and the United Kingdom would accept a total dissolution of Austria-Hungary, and therefore did not endorse it.

Lorković, seated at the far right, with members of the State Council in November 1918By 1917, Lorković could no longer reconcile his ideological differences with Pribićević, and withdrew from the Croat-Serb Coalition in 1917. When the Kingdom was established in 1918, The Bloc was dominated by Radić's Croatian Peasant Party. Lorković protested publicly, with the support of Ante Trumbić. Krištof was a keen philanthropist who was interested in sport,

Lorković and Krištof had six children. Their eldest son Zdravko became an entomologist known for his work in cytotaxonomy on butterfly chromosomes. Their only daughter, , was a pianist who worked for a time as a music teacher at the Zagreb Music Academy.

A passionate mountaineer, Lorković also participated in the Croatian Sports Association, an organization that aimed to establish independent Croatian representation in international sporting events. Ivan was one of Lorković's parliamentary colleagues and fellow member of the Croat-Serb Coalition.