Editing Franjo Tuđman (section)

==Early life and education==
Franjo Tuđman was born on 14 May 1922 in [[Veliko Trgovišće]], a village in the northern Croatian region of [[Hrvatsko Zagorje]], at the time part of the [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]]. The family moved to the house marked as his birthplace soon after he was born.<ref>Žanić, Ivo. 2002. "South Slav Traditional Culture as a Means to Political Legitimization." In: Sanimir Resić and Barbara Törnquist-Plewa (eds.), ''The Balkans in Focus. Cultural Boundaries in Europe'', pp. 45–58. Lund: Nordic Academic Press, p. 53.</ref><ref>Krile, A.B. "Počasti i polemike oko rodne kuće." ''Slobodna Dalmacija'' (15 May 2003).</ref> His father Stjepan ran a local tavern and was a politically active member of the [[Croatian Peasant Party]] (HSS).{{sfn|Sadkovich|2010|p=38}} He had been president of the HSS committee in Veliko Trgovišće for 16 years (1925–1941 and had been elected as mayor of Veliko Trgovišće in 1936 and 1938).{{sfn|Hudelist|2004|p=14}} Mato, Andraš and Juraj, brothers of Stjepan Tuđman, [[Immigration to the United States|emigrated to the United States]].{{sfn|Hudelist|2004|p=12}} Another brother, Valentin, also tried to emigrate, but a travelling accident prevented him and kept him in Veliko Trgovišće, where he worked as an (uneducated) [[veterinarian]].{{sfn|Hudelist|2004|p=12}}

Besides Franjo, Stjepan Tuđman had an elder daughter Danica Ana (who died as a baby), Ivica (born in 1924) and Stjepan "Štefek" (born in 1926).{{sfn|Hudelist|2004|p=12}} When Franjo Tuđman was seven, his mother Justina ({{Nee|Gmaz}}) died while bearing her fifth child.{{sfn|Hudelist|2004|p=15}}{{sfn|Sadkovich|2010|p=37}} Tuđman's mother was a devout [[Catholic Church in Croatia|Catholic]], unlike his father and stepmother. His father, like [[Stjepan Radić]], had [[anticlerical]] attitudes and young Franjo adopted his views.{{sfn|Sadkovich|2010|p=38}} As a child, Franjo Tuđman served as an [[altar boy]] in the local parish.{{sfn|Hudelist|2004|p=20}} Tuđman attended elementary school in his native village from 15 September 1929 to 30 June 1933 and was an excellent student.{{sfn|Hudelist|2004|p=18}}

He attended secondary school for eight years, starting in the autumn 1935.{{sfn|Hudelist|2004|p=23}} The reasons for the interruption are not clear, but it is assumed that the primary cause was an economic crisis in that period.{{sfn|Hudelist|2004|p=27}} According to some sources, the local parish helped young Franjo to continue his education{{sfn|Hudelist|2004|p=28}} and his teacher even proposed him to be educated to become a priest.{{sfn|Hudelist|2004|p=35}} When he was 15, his father brought him to [[Zagreb]], where he met [[Vladko Maček]], the president of the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS).{{sfn|Sadkovich|2010|p=38}} At first young, Franjo liked the HSS, but later he turned towards [[communism]].{{sfn|Sadkovich|2010|p=48}} On 5 November 1940, he was arrested during student demonstrations celebrating the anniversary of the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[October Revolution]].{{sfn|Sadkovich|2010|p=50}}