Janko Drašković

Count Janko Drašković
Count Janko Drašković
Born	October 20, 1770 Zagreb, Habsburg Monarchy
Died	January 14, 1856 Radgona, Austrian Empire
Resting place	Mirogoj cemetery, Zagreb
Occupation	Politician, poet
Known for	Political program Disertacija Illyrian Movement

Janko Drašković (October 20, 1770 – January 14, 1856) was a Croatian national reformer, politician and poet. He was a member of the Drašković family, one of the oldest Croatian noble families.

Janko Drašković was born in 1770 in Zagreb. He lived all his life in the Trakošćan family castle, and he held the noble title of grof, or count.

Known to be very broadly educated, he was even considered the best-educated person in Croatia at the turn of the 19th century. A lover of literature, he wrote poetry himself, but this is not what makes him a part of Croatian history. As a young man, he embarked upon a military career, but was forced to retire due to health issues.

Janko Drašković’s Croatia was part of Hungary, under Habsburg rule. Because the kingdom was so large, Hungary attempted processes of unification, starting with culture and language, known as magyarisation. This process became more intense on Croatia in the 1820s-1830s: for example, the Hungarian Diet of 1825–27 insisted on Magyar as the official language for Croatia, and in 1827 the Sabor act made Magyar a compulsory subject in Croatian secondary schools. As a reaction, Ljudevit Gaj led the creation of a Croatian national movement, called the Illyrian movement, in 1831, that fought for a Croatian political and cultural renewal.

Janko Drašković, even though he was already at the age of 62, promptly joined the movement and published in 1832 his “Dissertation”, which was considered the political, economic, social and cultural program of the Croatian Illyrian movement. The name of the work is usually contracted, as the full name was Disertacija iliti razgovor, darovan gospodi poklisarom zakonskim i budućim zakonotvorcem kraljevinah naših za buduću dietu ungarsku odaslanem, držan po jednom starom domorodcu kraljevinah ovih (Dissertation, or Treatise, given to the honourable lawful deputies and future legislators of our Kingdoms, delegated to the future Hungarian Diet; by an old patriot of these Kingdoms). It was written as a plea to the members of the Croatian Parliament who were to be elected representatives in the joint Hungarian-Croatian Diet in Pressburg (today's Bratislava).