Branka Lalić (b. 1932, Iriški Venac, Croatia) is the wife of Serbian poet Ivan V. Lalić and the mother of Vlajko and Marko Lalić. She was among the founding members of Jeunesses Musicales Yugoslavia and remained involved in the organization for many years. She is the daughter of Antonija (Tončika) and Dr. Stjepan Kašnar.

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Until the age of seven, Branka lived with her parents in a remote and unpopulated area of Yugoslavia. “I lived with my parents in a small hospital directed by my father. Apart from that, there was nothing—no houses, no neighbors—just nature. Truly nature was my only friend.” After her family was targeted by the Croatian fascist regime for her father's ties to the partisans during World War II, they relocated to Zagreb in 1945, where he was given funding to establish a tuberculosis hospital. In its early years, the hospital operated without trained nurses, and Branka took on many of their responsibilities herself—caring for patients and assisting with basic medical tasks.

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She met her future husband, Ivan V. Lalić, shortly after the death of his mother, who had been treated at the clinic. “I was taking this tall stack of books for him to his room. I knocked, he opened the door, and boom—I fell in love with that boy. And I love him still.” They married in 1956. 

 

From 1957 to 1997, Branka served in a leading role at Jeunesses Musicales Yugoslavia. She represented Yugoslavia in official meetings and performances, nationally and internationally. Branka moved to Belgrade in 1961, eventually returning to Zagreb in 2013. Over the course of her life, she has lived through the Second World War (1939–1945) and the Yugoslav Wars (1991-2001), witnessing the country’s wartime devastation, postwar rebuilding, and ultimate dissolution. She continued to assist in the publication of Ivan’s works in collaboration with Aleksandar Jovanović, Svetlana Šeatović, and others. She continues to live in Zagreb today at the age of 93.