Josip Vošnjak (4 January 1834 – 21 October 1911) was a Slovene politician and author, leader of the in the Duchy of Styria, one of the most prominent representatives of the Young Slovene movement. He was born in a wealthy merchant family in the Lower Styrian town of Šoštanj, then part of the Austrian Empire. His father was a wealthy leather manufacturer and landowner. Josip grew up in a nationally indifferentiated environment; although his mother tongue was German, he was fluent in Slovene since childhood. He attended the prestigious First Celje Grammar School, where he became involved in the Slovene national revival. He continued his high school studies in Graz and in Vienna. He studied medicine at the University of Vienna. After graduation in 1858, he practiced as a physician in his hom