Early Life and Education
Born in Zadar, Austria-Hungary to Serbian-Austrian father Ljubomir Velebit and Slovenian-Croatian mother Olga Šeme, Vladimir's family had a long military tradition. His father Ljubomir was an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army who fought on the Russian front during World War I and later became brigadier-general in the Royal Yugoslav Army, while his grandfather Dušan Velebit was a general in the Austrian Army who married Elisabeth Marno von Eichenhorst, the daughter of another Austrian general Adolf Marno von Eichenhorst. Even Vladimir's great grandfather Ilija Velebit was an officer in the Austrian army.
His male ancestors were Serbs originating from the village of Gornja Pastuša near Petrinja in Banija region that was part of the Austrian-created Military Frontier. They were recruited into the Austrian army and eventually achieved high ranks.
Velebit began his formal education in Timișoara in German language. His family left the city just after the outbreak of World War I and went to Trieste while his father was off in Russia fighting for the Austro-Hungarians. Young Vladimir was soon moved again, this time to Vienna where he got enrolled in private school that held classes in French language. Following the end of the war in 1918 and final break-up of Austria-Hungary, the family moved to Zagreb that was now a part of newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. At this point, 11-year-old Vladimir spoke very little Serbo-Croatian and had to study hard in order to be able to communicate in school. Due to his father's (who was now in the Royal Yugoslav Army) job, the family then moved to Čakovec and later to Varaždin, which is where Vladimir graduated high school in 1925.
He started studies at the University of Zagreb's Faculty of Law and then went to Paris for specialization, before returning to Zagreb to graduate in 1931. He earned his PhD two years later in 1933 from the same university.
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