Andrija Artuković

Andrija Artuković
Andrija Artuković, 1940s
1st Minister of Interior of the Independent State of Croatia
In office
16 April 1941  10 October 1942
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byAnte Nikšić
Minister of Justice of the Independent State of Croatia
In office
10 October 1942  29 April 1943
3rd Minister of Interior of the Independent State of Croatia
In office
29 April 1943  1 November 1943
LeaderAnte Pavelić
Preceded byAnte Nikšić
Succeeded byMladen Lorković
State Secretary
In office
11 November 1943  8 May 1945
Preceded byMirko Puk
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Personal details
Born19 November 1899
Ljubuški, Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria-Hungary
Died16 January 1988(1988-01-16) (aged 88)
Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Political partyUstaše
SpouseAna Maria Heidler
Alma materUniversity of Zagreb
ProfessionLawyer

Andrija Artuković (19 November 1899 – 16 January 1988) was a Croatian lawyer, politician, and senior member of the fascist Ustaše movement, who served as the Minister of Internal Affairs and Minister of Justice in the Government of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) during World War II in Yugoslavia. He signed into law several racial laws against Serbs, Jews, and Roma, and was responsible for a string of concentration camps in which over 100,000 civilians were tortured and murdered. He escaped to the United States after the war, where he lived until he was extradited to Yugoslavia in 1986. He was tried and found guilty of several mass killings in the NDH and was sentenced to death, but the sentence was not carried out due to his age and health. He died in custody in 1988.