Bušić was born in the village of Vinjani Donji near Imotski. By the time he enrolled into high school in Imotski, he was already involved in activities which communist authorities considered rebellious. In 1957, he joined a group called Tiho whose aim was to "fight for freedom, equality and the formation of a free Croatia based on democratic principles". It was at that time that the UDBA began watching him. Bušić, along with his schoolmates who had also participated in Tiho, was expelled from school soon after. Two years later, the expelled students were allowed to return to school. Bušić went on to enroll in the University of Zagreb and earned a degree in economics in 1964. The following year, he got a job at the Institute for the History of Croatia's Workers' Movement, which was run by former Yugoslav general and future Croatian presidentFranjo Tuđman. In 1966, he was sentenced to prison for his political views, but he had escaped to Austria during the trial. At the behest of Tuđman, who still had great influence in Yugoslavia, Bušić returned to Zagreb and was not sent to prison. In 1967, he resumed work at the Institute. In 1969, Bušić moved on to write for the Hrvatski književni list. There he confronted several issues considered controversial by Yugoslav officials. The paper was eventually banned. This led Bušić to emigrate to Paris for a period of time during which he attended the Sorbonne. Upon his return in 1971, he became one of directors of the Hrvatski tjednik. That same year the Yugoslav government issued a crackdown on what had been called the Croatian Spring. Bušić was among those arrested and spent time in prison until 1973. He left Yugoslavia for the last time in 1975. He spent most of the time afterwards living in England, but travelled extensively through the rest of Europe. He wrote for Nova Hrvatska during this period. He was killed in Paris, France, in 1978 by an agent of UDBA, the Yugoslav secret police. Exactly 21 years after his death, with Croatia having gained independence, his remains were moved from Paris to the Mirogoj cemetery in Zagreb and laid to rest next to the dead of the Croatian War of Independence. Vinko Sindičić, a former UDBA agent, was prosecuted for the murder of Bušić. He was found not guilty in 2000. On 6 June 2005, Supreme Court of Croatia upheld the verdict.
