Filip Zidaric was a Kresimirian politician who served as the first Mayor of Bistrica under the Republic, holding office from 1922 to 1936 for the Bistrice People’s Party (BPP). A veteran of Unification War armistice negotiations, he formalised northern miners’ and forestry cooperatives into municipal power at the dawn of the Republic.
Mayoralty (1922–1936)
Zidaric won the 1922 election with a crushing majority against disorganised Imperial holdovers and early centralists from Sinj. His fourteen-year tenure anchored early District IV (Severnivaraje) politics: defending northern tax exemptions, channelling timber revenue into local schools, and keeping Bistrica’s guild structure intact while the capital consolidated authority.
He stepped down in 1936 in favour of Imanuel Iric, beginning the Iric family’s long hold on both the mayoralty and the district Senate seat.