Ivan Mažuranić | |
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Portrait of Ivan Mažuranić
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Ban of Croatia-Slavonia | |
In office 20 September 1873 – 21 February 1880 |
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Preceded by | Antun Vakanović |
Succeeded by | Ladislav Pejačević |
Personal details | |
Born |
Novi Vinodolski, Kingdom of Croatia, Austrian Empire (now: Croatia) |
11 August 1814
Died | 4 August 1890 Zagreb, Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, Austria-Hungary (now: Croatia) |
(aged 75)
Nationality | Croatian |
Political party |
People's Party Independent People's Party |
Relatives | Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić (granddaughter) |
Alma mater |
University of Zagreb University of West Hungary |
Occupation | Poet, Lawyer, Politician |
Known for | The Death of Smail-aga Čengić (poem) |
Ivan Mažuranić (pronounced [ǐv̞an maʒǔranitɕ]; 11 August 1814 – 4 August 1890) was a Croatian poet, linguist, lawyer and politician who is considered to be one of the most important figures in Croatia's political and cultural life in the mid-19th century. Mažuranić served as Ban of Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia between 1873 and 1880, and since he was the first ban not to hail from old nobility, he was known as Ban pučanin (Ban commoner).
His realistic assessment of strengths and weaknesses of Croatia's position between the hammer of Austrian bureaucracy and the anvil of Hungarian expansionist nationalism served his country invaluably in times of political turmoil. Mažuranić is best remembered for his contributions in development of the Croatian law system, economics, linguistics and poetry.
Ivan Mažuranić was born on August 11, 1814 as the third of four sons into a well-to-do yeoman family of Ivan Mažuranić Petrov in Novi Vinodolski in northern coastal Croatia. His brother Josip was in charge of taking care of the family estate, Anton was a famous jurist and philologist, while Matija, blacksmith by profession, was a travel writer who wrote "A Look at Bosnia" (1842) in which he described the private and public life of Ottoman Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mažuranić became a man of many abilities; he spoke 9 languages (Croatian, Latin, Italian, German, Hungarian, French, English, Czech and Polish) and was well versed in astronomy and mathematics. He attended elementary school in Novi Vinodolski and high school in Rijeka, after which he studied law at the University of Zagreb (1835-1837) and philosophy at the University of West Hungary. After graduation he worked as a gymnasium teacher in Zagreb, and afterwords as a lawyer in Karlovac.