Dr. Juraj Krnjević: političko djelovanje od 1929. do 1941

Nakon proglašenja diktature kralja Aleksandra 6. siječnja 1929. zabranjen je politički rad svih stranaka u Kraljevini Jugoslaviji. Vodstvo Hrvatske seljačke stranke (HSS) odlučilo je poslati Jurja Krnjevića i Augusta Košutića u emigraciju. Njihova je zadaća bila pokušati, uz pomoć europskih sila, riješiti probleme u vezi s položajem Hrvatske u Kraljevini Jugoslaviji. Juraj Krnjević većinu svog desetogodišnjeg (1929. - 1939.) boravka u emigraciji proveo je na relaciji Ženeva-Pariz-London. Njegov je zadatak bio osigurati podršku Francuske, Velike Britanije i Lige naroda oko rješavanja hrvatskog pitanja. Pritom je primao upute i informacije iz domovine te slao izvještaje vodstvu stranke o međunarodnoj situaciji u suprotnom smjeru. Nakon sklapanja sporazuma Cvetković–Maček, 26. kolovoza 1939., Krnjević se vratio u novoosnovanu Banovinu Hrvatsku i preuzeo funkciju glavnog tajnika HSS-a. Kao glavni tajnik HSS-a obavljao je organizacijski posao unutar stranke i intenzivan rad na terenu tijekom kojeg je održao brojne skupštine HSS-a diljem Banovine Hrvatske. Za vrijeme svog političkog djelovanja beskompromisno je radio na suzbijanju širenja ustaških i komunističkih ideja u društvu. U trenutcima raskola unutar stranke ostao je vjeran izvornoj HSS-ovoj „politici čekanja” i predsjedniku stranke Vladku Mačeku. Krnjevićev boravak u domovini trajao je do travnja 1941. kada nakon oficirskog puča u Beogradu i početka ratnih sukoba na području Kraljevine Jugoslavije odlazi u svoju drugu emigraciju. Nastavio je političko djelovanje kao potpredsjednik jugoslavenske izbjegličke vlade u Londonu. Ondje je branio interese hrvatskog naroda i nastojao osigurati što bolji položaj Hrvatske nakon završetka Drugog svjetskog rata.After King Alexander declared dictatorship on 6 January 1929, the political work of all parties in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was prohibited. The leadership of the Croatian Peasant Party (Hrvatska seljačka stranka – HSS) decided to send Juraj Krnjević and August Košutić out of the country. Their mission was to try to solve the problems related to the position of Croatia within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia with the help of powerful European countries. Juraj Krnjević spent most of his ten years of emigration (1929–1939) between Geneva, Paris and London. His task was to ensure the support of France, Great Britain and the League of Nations regarding the Croatian question, while receiving instructions and information from the homeland and sending the reports on the international situation back to the party leadership. After the Cvetković–Maček Agreement on 26 August 1939, Krnjević returned to the newly-established Banate of Croatia and assumed the position of the party secretary of HSS. As the party secretary he was in charge of organizational work within the party, as well as intensive fieldwork during which he held numerous HSS assemblies throughout the Banate of Croatia. During his political career, Krnjević worked uncompromisingly to supress the spreading of Ustasha and communist ideas in the society. While his party was going through a division, he stayed faithful to the original HSS’s wait-and-see policy and to the party president Vladko Maček. Krnjević stayed in his homeland until April 1941. After the Yugoslav coup d'état in Belgrade and the beginning of armed conflicts on the territory of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Krnjević emigrated for the second time. He continued his political work in London as the vice-president of the Yugoslav government-in-exile. He stood for the interests of the Croatian people and tried to secure a good position for Croatia after the end of World War II