Ivo Lola Ribar

Who was Ivo Lola Ribar?

Ivan "Ivo Lola" Ribar, was a Yugoslav communist politician and military leader of Croatian descent. In the 1930s, he became one of the closest collaborators of Josip Broz Tito, leader of the Yugoslav Communist Party. In 1936, Ribar became secretary of the Central Committee of SKOJ. During the World War II in Yugoslavia, Ribar was among the main leaders of the Yugoslav Partisans and was a member of the Partisans' Supreme Command. During the war, he founded and run several leftist youth magazines. In 1942, Ribar was among the founders of the Unified League of Anti-Fascist Youth of Yugoslavia. He was killed by German granade in 1943 near Glamoč while boarding an airplane for Cairo, where he was to became the first representative of Communist Yugoslavia to the Middle East Command.

In 1944, Ribar was awarded the title of People's Hero of Yugoslavia. Lola was the older son of Ivan Ribar, first President of Yugoslavia and older brother of another People's Hero, Jurica Ribar.