Marta Brilej

Marta Brilej (née Guček; born 30 April 1917) was a Yugoslavian Slovenian diplomat, partisan, political courier, war hero, revolutionary, philanthropist and patron of the arts. She was born in Dobje pri Planini. She was the wife of the late Yugoslavian ambassador and war hero Jože Brilej until his death in 1981. She was the former director of PR for the board of Yugoslav tourism. She was the first woman to drive a car in the city of Belgrade.

World War II and the Partisans

During World War II she was an active member of the partisan resistance, operating under a codename to avoid capture and to protect the whereabouts of her husband and family. She served as a political courier and later also briefly commanded a battalion. She was also active distributing the contra-band partisan news and culture publication Ljudska pravica. The Nazis and their collaborators made many unsuccessful attempts to catch and execute her, mainly in an attempt to get to her husband Jože Brilej who was a prominent partisan. The Italian fascists caught and arrested her in Ljubljana, deporting and imprisoning her first in a concentration camp for a year and then in as a political prisoner of war in a prison in Perugia. There she was given a 12-year sentence, but was later released when the Italians surrendered. Upon her release she immediately made her way back to Slovenia and re-joined the partisans where she resumed her post as a political courier until the end of the war.

Political and Diplomatic Career

She became a member of the Slovenian branch of the Yugoslav social democrat party at the age of 16, and remained a dedicated and active member. The party is now known as the Social Democrat party of Slovenia. She served as ambassadress of Yugoslavia alongside her husband Jože Brilej in London, New York City, Mexico, Cairo, Yemen.

As Yugoslavia's first ambassadors to London, England, she and her husband Joze Brilej were presented at the Court of St James's and successfully had the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia recognised by the British government. As a result, they hosted Anthony Eden at Lake Bled, Slovenia with President Tito as the first western leader to formally recognise the new country. They were at the time of their appointment to London, Yugoslavia's youngest diplomats at a transitional time for England with the funeral of King George VI and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. They were well received in England also due to their wartime bravery during which Joze Brilej rescued and safely returned many Allied and British servicemen particularly from the RAF, most prominently Major Randolph Churchill. During their time in London they became friends with Winston Churchill and Sir Fitzroy Maclean. Later in her career, when her husband was reposted to parliament in Belgrade, Marta resumed her post as director of PR for Yugoslav tourism.

Alongside her husband, Brilej was present at most important Yugoslav state functions especially where visiting foreign dignitaries were in attendance. They were also tasked with hosting these eminent guests in Slovenia. This included: Anthony Eden, King Haile Selassie, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, King Paul of Greece, Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Private Life

Brilej was married on 11 July 1936 at Ljubljana Cathedral (St. Nicholas' Cathedral) to her childhood sweetheart Dr. Joze Brilej. They had a son and a daughter. A lifelong patron of the arts, she and her husband nurtured a close circle of friends who were literary figures, artists, musicians and poets including Mosa Pijade, Ivo Andric, Miroslav Krleza, Dubravka Tomsic, Zinka Milanov, Kajuh, Savo Radulovic.

She and her husband were the first to purchase and build a second "weekend" home in the former Yugoslavia in 1959. Although a sensation to begin with, causing a brief scandal in parliament, it quickly set a new fashion in the socialist country which saw thousands follow suit building holiday homes in the subsequent decade. She was the first woman to drive a car in Belgrade.

Awards and Decorations