Academician Pravdić was born in Zagreb on August 11, 1931. After graduating from the Faculty of Technology, University of Zagreb, and receiving a doctorate from the Faculty of Science, in 1956 he began working at the RBI, where 12 years later he established the Electrochemistry and Surface Chemistry Laboratory. He was a visiting professor at Lehigh University in the United States and for many years was a lecturer in postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry and the Faculty of Natural Science, University of Zagreb. He organized several international summer schools in the field of chemistry and international conferences in the field of environmental protection. He was a member, and from 1978 to 1981 the president, of the UN Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Protection (GESAMP), and since 1990 actively participated in the work of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the largest and most important world organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. Academician Pravdić was a member of the Croatian Chemical Society, the Croatian Biological Society, the International Association of Colloid and Interface Scientists, the International Electrochemical Society, the Croatian Society of Natural Sciences, the Croatian Society for Energy Matters, the Council for Spatial Planning and Environmental Protection of the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Council for Environmental Protection of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.

He wrote over 120 scientific papers, most of which were published in distinguished international journals.

Funeral services for Academician Velimir Pravdić will be held on Thursday, January 20, 2011, at 2:20 p.m. at the Zagreb Crematorium.