Pero Pirker

Pero Pirker (5 July 1927 – 1 August 1972) was a Croatian and Yugoslav politician. He was the mayor of Zagreb from 1963 to 1967. His mayoralty coincided with the 1964 Zagreb flood, the deadliest and costliest natural disaster since the city's incorporation, and he oversaw the rebuilding of the affected areas, including the construction of 26,000 new flats and houses. In 1969 he was elected the Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Central Committee of the ruling League of Communists of Croatia (SKH). He was a close associate of the main political figures of the Croatian Spring – SKH reformist leaders Savka Dabčević-Kučar and Miko Tripalo. After the suppression of that movement in late 1971, tens of thousands were expelled from the SKH, including 741 high-ranking officials such as Pirker, Dabčević-Kučar and Tripalo. Pirker died in August 1972, and his funeral drew 100,000 supporters as a form of protest against the suppression of the Croatian Spring.

Early life Pero Pirker was born in Varaždin in today's Croatia, then part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Sava River had flooded Zagreb several times earlier, but this flood was especially devastating due to the expansion of the city onto the river banks in the preceding decades. Pirker reportedly worked round the clock during the flood and in the aftermath. He oversaw repairs and reconstruction in the flooded areas, and the construction of a system of flood defences and embankments which have protected Zagreb from Sava River floods to the present day. of new embankments were constructed, which would protect the city from future floods. The long-term plan for new housing units eventually proved overly ambitious, While some of Pirker's urban planning decisions were continuations of plans set out during the mayoralty of his predecessor, Većeslav Holjevac – many were original. Pirker reportedly frequently consulted Zagreb's industry leaders and architects.

Pirker's term yielded 26,000 new flats and single-family houses, including the realisation of several new superblock neighbourhoods in Novi Zagreb. Thirty-four new schools and six new kindergartens were built. a new terminal, a apron and air traffic control infrastructure for the recently built Zagreb Airport, a new road to Sisak, and a railway flyover near Velika Gorica. Numerous factories were constructed or moved out of the inner city, among others the Gredelj train carriage factory in Vukomerec, Pliva's geomycin plant, Sljeme pig farm, Agrokoka chicken farm, and a water extraction site in Mala Mlaka. Department stores totalling in floor space were constructed.

Croatian Spring In 1969, Pirker was elected member of the Executive Committee of the Central Committee of the ruling League of Communists of Croatia (SKH). Along with Savka Dabčević-Kučar and Mika Tripalo, he took a leading role in the Croatian Spring, a reformist and decentralisation faction of the SKH seeking greater economic, political and cultural autonomy of SR Croatia within Yugoslavia with support of a wider grassroots movement. According to Stipe Mesić, Pirker was member of a more progressive faction within the movement which ultimately lost out.

Death and legacy Pirker helped found the Croatian League Against Cancer in 1966, and was elected its first president in 1967.

In mid-1972, Pirker was affected by an aggressive lung cancer, of which he died on 1 August 1972. His funeral drew a crowd of about 100,000 and the size of the crowd is interpreted as a sign of support for the SKH leadership purged less than a year previously – including Pirker.

Personal life He was married to Miroslava Pirker, a teacher. When Pero Pirker was 22, they had a daughter, Snježana.