Imanuel Iric (1908–1985) was a Kresimirian politician, philanthropist, and the second leader of the Bistrice People’s Party (BPP). He served as a Senator for District IV (Severnivaraje) for twenty years, from 1942 to 1962.
A central figure in the Iric political dynasty, Imanuel is often referred to as a quiet builder of the north. Taking power during the authoritarian “Iron Era” of the Republic, he successfully steered the regionalist movement away from confrontation and toward cultural consolidation. His most enduring legacy is the establishment of the University of Pulma in 1944, an institution he founded to create an intellectual class capable of challenging the dominance of Sinj.
Early Life
Imanuel Iric was born in 1908 in Bistrica, the younger brother of BPP founder Antonio Iric. While Antonio was a fiery orator who rallied the farmers against the central government, Imanuel was a reserved administrator who managed the family’s timber and land estates.
He was educated in the final years of the Vosti Empire, developing a pragmatic worldview. During his brother’s early tenure in the Senate (1922–1942), Imanuel managed the party’s finances, building a network of donors among the local gentry and the emerging forestry cooperatives.
Political Career
The 1942 Election and Leadership
In 1942, Antonio Iric retired from the Senate due to failing health. Imanuel ran to succeed him in the 1942 election.
The political climate was hostile. Chancellor Kresimirovic II had consolidated power via the Chancellor’s Authority Act, and the state was cracking down on regional dissent. Running against the radical socialist Igor Marlek (Northern Power) and the RPP machine, Imanuel positioned himself as a moderate guardian of northern tradition. He won the seat, continuing the family’s hold on District IV.
The “School of the People”
Imanuel’s strategy differed from his brother’s. He believed that political autonomy was impossible without intellectual autonomy. In 1944, he spearheaded the creation of the University of Pulma.
Bypassing the hostile Council for Education, Imanuel raised funds directly from his own fortune and local cooperatives. He envisioned the university as a place where northern history and law could be taught without the censorship of the capital. This strategic pivot transformed the BPP from a simple agrarian party into a movement with an intellectual backbone.
Navigating the Iron Era (1950s)
During the 1950s, Imanuel walked a political tightrope. While he privately opposed the Great Purge and the militarization of the CIA under Borna Kulas, he avoided open conflict with the regime to protect his constituents from reprisals. He focused on “defensive regionalism,” voting to protect northern tax exemptions while abstaining on national security votes.
Retirement and Succession
By the early 1960s, the political landscape was shifting again. The rise of the Vjetrusa party threatened to split the northern vote, and the BPP’s base of landowners was shrinking.
Imanuel recognized that the future of the regionalist movement lay in a union between the BPP’s capital and Northern Power’s labor base. In 1962, he declined to run for a third term. He orchestrated the succession of his son, Pavel Iric (Antonio’s nephew), who won the seat in the 1962 election.
Following the election, Imanuel served as the chief advisor during the 1963 Merger, helping Pavel dissolve the BPP to refound Northern Power as a unified regionalist front.
Later Life and Death
Imanuel Iric spent his retirement as the Chancellor of the University of Pulma. He remained a revered figure in the north, often mediating disputes between the new socialist leadership of Northern Power and the old conservative donors of the BPP.
He died in 1985 at the age of 77. He is buried in the Iric family crypt in Bistrica, alongside his brother.