Review article
A Story about the Life of Podravina Lawyer Vinko Kolar
Mira Kolar
; Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Vinko Kolar (1900 - 1966) was born in Đurđevac and died in Koprivnica. His life depicts the life of an ordinary lawyer in the first half of the 20th century, in systems that changed, treating educated lawyers differently, whose independence as part of the legal system increasingly weakened over time, turning them after 1945 into an extended arm of political authorities. This could not be avoided by Vinko Kolar, who in 1925 became a clerk in the judiciary system and worked until 1963, when he retired and died three years later. Although he was in the judiciary system for so long, he always remained in the system at the lowest court, which is a consequence not only of changing of the state system, but also of his desire to be as independent a lawyer as possible in order to be able to continuously provide for his family. When he died he had no material possessions which he would bequeath to his family in addition to the family pension provided for his wife Jelisava until her death. Vinko Kolar was a hard-working and conscientious lawyer who never came into conflict with either the parties or the judiciary system. He lived simply and modestly, trying not to hurt anyone, and he always returned to his Podravina, where he was born and where he died. He started well, but his social disturbances hampered his peaceful life and goal, and he changed his job and place of work, believing that the interests of his family and the role of foster father always came first, which I as a daughter and the historian followed. Thanks to his character, he still managed to live to be 66, unlike most colleagues of his generation who came out of the justice system either by liquidation or by their own decision. Kolar’s life path is nothing exceptional, but it depicts a time when being a lawyer was both difficult and risky, and certainly very ungrateful.
Keywords
Podravina; lawyer; judiciary; Kolar Vinko; 1900-1966.
Hrčak ID:
280502
URI
Publication date:
30.5.2022.
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