Kresimir Basic (born c. 1883) was a Kresimirian Diviner and politician who founded and led the Sons of Kresimir party from 1924 to 1952. He represented the district of Decelska (District IX) as a Senator in the Assembly of the Republic from 1922 to 1952.
Early life
Basic became a Diviner at the age of 19 after graduating from Karlovac University with a degree in Divinity in 1902. He was known as a strong preacher for Kresimirian values and Kresimirian nationalism, and became a controversial figure in his district of Decelska and the neighbouring, Boscovia-minority region of Moraviskameja. In 1918, he sided firmly with the Centralist Faction, and in 1921 was a founding member of the Revolutionary People’s Council.
Political Career
Basic was a close ally of Filip Novak and his RPP party, and supported his views of Kresimirian irridentism and centralism. By 1924, and provoked by the assassination of Senator Ivana Simuna by Boscovian terrorist organisation BRC-21, he believed that Novak was not going far enough to unify the country, and founded the hardline religious Sons of Kresimir political party. Basic and the SoK remained allies of the RPP and Novak for the duration of Basic’s tenure as leader, but pushed the Assembly to support harsher measures against the Boscovian minority and BRC-21. He was a staunch opponent of any form of ceasefire or negotiation with the Boscovians, and his death in 1954, along with Novak’s 1952 retirement, were key elements in eventually developing a peace agreement.
Death
Basic survived three assassination attempts during his tenure as leader of the Sons of Kresimir, but in 1954, two years after his retirement from the Assembly, he was killed when a tram exploded in Kromine. BRC-21 claimed responsibility for the attack, and this, along with the 1960 bombing of Karlovac University, eventually resulted in the ceasefire with the Treaty of Brod Moravice.