Littoral Banovina, at the time headed by Ivo Tartaglia. Tartaglia was unsympathetic to the basilica project. Although the construction of the basilica wasn't finished, it was consecrated on 29 September 1940, while the ceremony was attended by some 8,000 people. The consecrator was the Bishop of Mostar-Duvno Alojzije Mišić and was assisted by a Franciscan, Krešimir Pandžić. In 1937, the Municipality of Brišnik-Oplećani was extracted from the Municipality of Tomislavgrad, so that the Yugoslav Radical Union (JRZ) could remain in power in the Srez of Tomislavgrad. After this decision, the Municipality of Tomislavgrad included only the town of Tomislavgrad, while the rest of the territory was incorporated into the newly-established Municipality of Brišnik-Oplećani. After the Srez of Tomislavgrad became a part of the Banovina of Croatia in 1939, the Municipality of Brišnik-Oplećani was abolished in 1940 and incorporated into the Municipality of Tomislavgrad. Independent State of Croatia After the collapse of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the establishment of the German-Italian puppet the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) on 10 April 1941. The NDH was separated by the demarcation line, one zone controlled by the Italians and the other by the Germans. Tomislavgrad fell under the Italian demarcation zone. The NDH was administratively divided into 22 grand counties. The Kotar of Tomislavgrad was part of the Grand County of Pliva-Rama. The Kotar of Tomislavgrad was further subdivided into several municipalities, including the urban centre – the Municipality of Tomislavgrad. Šime Bančić from Split became the first district president. However, due to his opposition to the Ustaše government, he was quickly moved to Livno. Bančić was succeeded by Tomo Maleš from Sinj, who continued the policy of his predecessor. He was soon recalled to Zagreb and then sent to Sarajevo, where he was arrested and killed. In the summer of 1941, Tomislavgrad gained the third district president – Tripalo. Alongside the civil authorities, the Ustaše established their own authority. The head of the Ustaše for the District of Tomislavgrad was logornik Jozo Brstilo, while the Ustaše organisation on the municipality level was headed by tabornik Bajro Tanović, originally from Gacko. The head of the police in Tomislavgrad was Josip Antić from Ključ. The Italian occupation government disallowed their presence in Tomislavgrad, until the signing of the Treaty of Rome on 18 May 1941, when they were allowed to take control over Tomislavgrad. Immediately after the establishment of the NDH, the Ustaše