Croatia's Former PM Passed Away Aged 63

People | April 29, 2007, Sunday // 00:00

Croatia's former premier Ivica Racan, who ended country's international isolation, has died of cancer on Sunday at the age of 63, international media reported.

He died in the Clinical Hospital Centre in Zagreb, at 3:05 a.m. local time.

On January 31 Racan announced that he was temporarily leaving politics due to health reasons. Contrary to what his doctors were telling the public, his health began to worsen and after examinations, it was found that cancer had spread to his brain. On the morning of April 12, his condition was described as "critical" due to complications which occurred after he had a couple of surgical procedures to remove the tumor on his right shoulder. After that, he was reported to be in a critical condition, unable to communicate and under heavy sedation.

He was among the first, along with party members from Slovenia, to move towards political pluralism.

Former Marxist, who had been at the helm of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) since it was formed ahead of the break-up of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, was the one who allowed a peaceful transition from communism.

His coalition government, in power between 2000 and 2003, is credited with ending Croatia's international isolation after years of autocratic rule by the late nationalist president Franjo Tudjman, who died in 1999.

Racan is also highly respected as one of the rare politicians in the Balkans whose long political career was not marred by any corruption scandal.

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