Ivo Baldasar
| Ivo Baldasar | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 71st Mayor of Split | |
|
In office 7 June 2013 – 28 March 2017 |
|
| Preceded by | Željko Kerum |
| Succeeded by | Branka Ramljak (Caretaker) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
5 August 1958 Split, PR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia |
| Nationality | Croatian |
| Political party |
Social Democratic Party (1998-2016) Milan Bandić 365 (2016) The Split Party (2017-) |
| Spouse(s) | Snježana Baldasar |
| Alma mater | University of Split |
| Occupation | Politician, businessman |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Ivo Baldasar (born 5 August 1958) is a Croatian politician and former Mayor of Split. He was a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) until he was thrown out of the party in 2016. After that, he joined forces with the Milan Bandić 365 party. In 2017, he formed his own party called The Split Party.
Baldasar spent his early career working as a lawyer within the tourism industry, concentrating mainly on maritime business. He joined the SDP in 1998, and in 2009 became a city councilor for the city of Split. In 2012 he became the party's candidate for mayor of the city, winning the second round of elections over Vjekoslav Ivanišević to become the 75th mayor of Split.
On 9 May 2014 Baldasar attended the ceremony of revealing the monument to the 9th Battalion "Rafael Boban" of the Croatian Defence Forces (Hrvatske obrambene snage – HOS) that participated in the defense of Croatian during the Croatian War of Independence. His presence was criticised because of the Ustaše inspired symbolism used by the HOS, including naming their unit after Rafael Boban who commanded the Black Legion, dressing in black uniforms and using the Za dom spremni motto. Some news reports suggested that after the commander of the Battalion ended his speech with Za dom spremni, the gathered crowd clapped, with Baldasar allegedly, reluctantly doing the same. This was denied by Baldasar himself explaining he didn't hear anything and that he had an agreement with the organizers that such things wouldn't happen during the ceremony. He later defended his actions explaining that the members of HOS were anti-fascists in a way, because they fought against a new form of fascism during the Croatian War of Independence. He concluded that his actions were an attempt overcoming historical differences and that he would do it again.
Ahead of 2013 referendum for changing constitution so it would define marriage as being a union between a man and a woman, Baldasar urged people to vote against proposed change.
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