Entrepreneur Juroslav Buljubašić Has Passed Away

The well-known Split entrepreneur Juroslav Buljubašić has passed away at the age of 63 after a severe stroke. He was one of the most important Dalmatian entrepreneurs in the last thirty years, and throughout his long career, he was involved in tourism, shipping, energy, banking, and cable television.

According to Telegram, he was briefly politically active as a member of HNS and the founder of the independent political list Velo Misto in Split. He was the honorary consul of Chile and the vice president of the Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP). A few years ago, it was announced that Buljubašić was the first person from Croatia to pay for a seat reservation for a space flight organized by Virgin Galactic, which he also discussed with Lider.

He was one of the largest private shipowners in Croatia, the owner of several hotels and a travel agency, and the founder of the Split-Dalmatian Bank. He started working as early as elementary school when he began selling ice cream and unloading goods from ships. He launched his first business after finishing technical high school when he resold lettuce and chrysanthemums at the Zagreb Britanac on weekends.

Buljubašić was always focused on innovation – he was the first to engage in fax machines and satellite antennas in this region, and he did so very successfully. He was known to the Croatian public for his company SEM (Split Elektromont) for the installation of telephone exchanges and devices, after which he even carried the same nickname.

– When we first started assembling fax machines during socialism, it was not accepted because teleprinters had dominated until then. The same was true for cable television, digital telephony, wind turbines, solar plants, and even now with hydrogen production. All of these are business challenges full of risks, but they also bring something good. When you are among the first, the environment does not understand you, business partners do not understand you, banks do not understand you… But if you succeed among the first, you ‘harvest’ more profit than others – he said for Lider in 2021 when he stated that he is a ‘peaceful entrepreneur’ who relaxes on his boat.