Dimitrije Matić ( sr, Димитрије Матић; 18 August 1821 – 17 October 1884) was a Serbian philosopher, jurist, professor, and politician who served as Minister of Education, Minister of Justice and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was President of the National Assembly, which ratified the 1878 Treaty of Berlin proclaiming Serbia's independence. He was a liberal-minded philosopher and politician who believed that the rule of force was unacceptable and that governments should promote and support popular education.Daskalov 2013, p. 112 A prominent lawyer, writer and translator, he helped organized the college's law school; a prominent statesman, he secured major reforms in education. Matić was a tireless worker who dedicated his life to the creation of modern Serbia.

Early life and education

Dimitrije Matić was born in 1821 in

Ruma Ruma (; hu, Árpatarló) is a town and municipality in the Srem District of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2011, the town has a population of 30,076, while the municipality has a population of 54,339. History Traces of org ...

, the Kingdom of Slavonia, a province of the Habsburg monarchy within the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

. His father, Iliya Matić, is said to have participated in the wars against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. His mother Spasenija was the aunt of Vladimir Jovanović. Dimitrije Matić had three brothers Matej, Miloje, and Djordje. Matić completed elementary school in Ruma, a secondary school in

Sremski Karlovci Sremski Karlovci ( sr-cyrl, Сремски Карловци, ; hu, Karlóca; tr, Karlofça) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Danu ...

before moving to the

Principality of Serbia The Principality of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Књажество Србија, Knjažestvo Srbija) was an autonomous state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation wa ...

.
He first attended Military School then after being offered a scholarship entered the newly founded

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the t ...

. The teachers had been trained abroad in Austria, Switzerland, and France and the classes were taught in Latin and German.
In the summer of 1840, Matić completed his cursus of Philosophy then a year later his Legal Studies. The same year he moved to Belgrade joining his older brother Matej, who works as a clerk in the office of Prince

Mihailo Obrenović Prince Mihailo Obrenović III of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Михаило Обреновић, Mihailo Obrenović; 16 September 1823 – 10 June 1868) was the ruling Prince of Serbia from 1839 to 1842 and again from 1860 to 1868. His first reign ended w ...

, and entered the civil service. After the Skupština elected Alexander Karađorđević there is a shift of dynasty and Mihailo Obrenović is deposed, Matić left the country with the Prince; during that time Matić lived in the Vrdnik Monastery on

Fruška Gora Fruška gora ( sr-Cyrl, Фрушка гора; hu, Tarcal-hegység) is a mountain in Syrmia, administratively part of Serbia with a part of its western side extending into eastern Croatia. The area under Serbian administration forms the country ...

mountain returning in 1843. On his return, he starts working as a lawyer and becomes secretary of Captain

Miša Anastasijević Mihailo "Miša" Anastasijević ( sr-cyr, Миша Анастасијевић; February 24, 1803 – January 27, 1885) was a businessman and the second richest man in Serbia in the 19th century, through his successful salt export from Wallachia ...

Matić received a post-graduate scholarship from the government to study philosophy in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and Law in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. In 1847 he received his Ph.D. degree in philosophy at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

. His doctoral thesis was called: ''Dissertatio de via qua Fichtii, Schellingii, Hegeliique philosophia e speculativa investigatione Kantiana exculta sit;'' it addressed the question of how the philosophy of

Fichte Johann Gottlieb Fichte (; ; 19 May 1762 – 29 January 1814) was a German philosopher who became a founding figure of the philosophical movement known as German idealism, which developed from the theoretical and ethical writings of Immanuel Ka ...

, Schelling and Hegel developed from

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...

's speculative thought. Among his professors in Berlin were Hegel's successor Georg Andreas Gabler (1786–1853),

Otto Friedrich Gruppe __NOTOC__ Otto Friedrich Gruppe (15 April 1804 – 7 January 1876) was a German philosopher, scholar-poet and philologist who served as secretary of the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin. Poems by Gruppe were set to music by Johannes Brahms ...

and Johann Karl Wilhelm Vatke. He was mostly influenced by his Berlin professor

Karl Ludwig Michelet Karl Ludwig Michelet (4 December 1801 – 15 December 1893)
was a German Karl Heinrich Rau. After obtaining the approval of the Ministry of Education, he left Heidelberg for Paris to extend his law studies. During the uprising of the Serbs against the force of Hungary, Matić was a member of the People's Committee in Karlovci and participated in organizing the army as deputy secretary of the Military Council, as an elected member of the Main Board at the May Assembly of 1848 he oversaw the proclamation of Serbian Vojvodina. His younger brother Stevan was severely wounded and later died of his wounds in Belgrade.Jovanovic 2008, p. 65.

Law career

Law Professor

He returned to Serbia in 1848 and is appointed Professor of Political Science and Civil Law at the

in Belgrade, he will stay until 1851. Since few textbooks existed, he wrote and printed the Civil Code, the Principles of State Law and the Public Law of Serbia. Dimitrije Matić and Kosta Cukić were both professors at the Lyceum whose lectures captivated the imagination and spoke to the anxieties of the first self-defined liberal generation. While continuing the tradition of cultivating, on the German model, the "Principles of the Rational State Law; as he entitled one of his major works (1851), Matić took the contrasting of the "legal state" to the "police state" one sizable step further by upholding a

Kantian Kantianism is the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher born in Königsberg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia). The term ''Kantianism'' or ''Kantian'' is sometimes also used to describe contemporary positions in philosophy of mind, ...

notion of "freedom as legality" personal autonomy and rule of law and demanding a definite check on the state's power to interfere with individual freedom. Matić was the first to talk about the "people's rights" (narodna prava), such as personal freedom, political and civil rights, which constituted a "natural limit to the state power"; and about popular representation as to the "organ of the people's rights." A constitutional monarchy with a representative body safeguarding the "people's rights" (not sovereignty) was for Matić the "historical" form of the state that stood closest to the "rational idea of the state". Dimitrije Matić and Kosta Cukić texts and lectures helped lay the theoretical foundations of Serbian liberalism as they criticized the existing political system in Serbia. An entire generation of the future leaders of the Serbian liberal movement were their students, most notably

Jevrem Grujić Jevrem Grujić ( sr-Cyrl, Јеврем Грујић; November 8, 1827 – September 15, 1895) was a Serbian lawyer, politician and diplomat in the mid to late 19th century. Grujić was active at the highest levels of Serbian politics, contributing ...

, Vladimir Jovanović, and

Jovan Ristić Jovan Ristić ( sr-Cyr, Јован Ристић; 16 January 1831 – 4 September 1899) was a Serbian politician, diplomat and historian. Biography Born at Kragujevac, he was educated at Belgrade, Heidelberg, Berlin and Paris. After failing to ob ...

. Three years later, Matić and Cukić were dismissed from their positions because of what was seen as their negative influence on students. Dimitije Matić is transferred into the administration. He became a member of the Court of Cassation, the highest court in the Serbian judicial system. Together with Dimitrije Crnobarac, he was sent by the Serbian government on a mission to Western countries to learn the judicial organization, and especially the procedure in civil disputes, with the aim to shorten and speed up court proceedings in Serbia. On his return he was tasked with drafting the proposal of the first Serbian university; he also worked in the commission proposing new civil procedures. In 1848 Matić became a member of the Society of Serbian Letters (''Društvo srpske slovesnosti''), a precursor to the

Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Serbica, sr-Cyr, Српска академија наука и уметности, САНУ, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, SANU) is a national academy and the ...

. The society was founded in November 1841 to promote the codification of the modern Serbian language, work on the issue of spelling and spread literacy and teaching throughout the country. King Mihailo suspended the activity of the society in 1864 as he suspected some of its members of using its offices to spread liberal ideas. Dimitrije Matić was an honorary member then a permanent member of the Department of Philology and Philosophy then the committee for the spread of science and literature. Matić's History of Philosophy (1865) and "Encyclopaedia of Science" was written within the framework of the Serbian Learned Society.

Ministerial offices

Upon the return of Miloš Obrenović, Dimitrije Matić is appointed Minister of Education on 3 November 1859, in the Government of Cvetko Rajović. In that post, he is succeeded by

Ljubomir Nenadović Ljubomir Nenadović (14 September 1826 — 21 January 1895) was Serbian writer, poet, translator, diplomat, minister of education and member of the Serbian Royal Academy. Family Ljubomir was born in Brankovina, Valjevo, Principality of Serbia ...

. Matić urged the elderly Prince to create a university. Based on the experience he had gained in foreign universities (Berlin, Heidelberg, Paris) and using the Greek example (Athens University founded in 1837), Matić thinks that he has quite a willing pre-condition for starting a university in Serbia, which he proposes to Prince Miloš. At first, Miloš ordered that Matić's project be implemented immediately but suddenly changes his mind, Matić who could not hide his dissatisfaction with the monarch and resigned in protest from his position. After the death of Miloš and the return of Prince

in September 1860, Matić returned to the cassation court in late 1860, staying until 1862. On 10 June 1868 Prince Mihailo is killed and regency is established to rule in 14-year-old Prince Milan's name; in this three-way appointment,

Milivoje Blaznavac General Milivoje Petrović Blaznavac (16 May 1824, in Blaznava – 5 April 1873, in Belgrade) was Serbian soldier and politician who served as the president of the ministry of Serbia from 1872 to 1873. Biography Milivoje Petrović Blaznavac fin ...

and Jovan Ristić played the main role. Dimitrije Matić becomes secretary-general of the State Council. In 1868 Matić became Minister of Education again in the government of Đorđe Cenić then in the government of

Radivoje Milojković Radivoje Milojković ( sr-Cyrl, Радивоје Милојковић; 9 January 1833 – 16 December 1888) was a Serbian politician. In the aftermath of Prince Mihailo's assassination in 1868, he served as Interior Minister under several Libera ...

. For four years, he was able to organize multiple reforms; opening a higher institution of learning such as Écoles normales supérieures for more advanced education, and the first training college for teachers in the Principality of Serbia, in Kragujevac in 1871. He is also credited for the introduction of physical education in elementary schools when in 1868 he sent a Circular to 207 elementary school teachers recommending them to dedicate 3–4 lessons weekly to

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

. Matić increased teachers' s salaries and introduced modern methods of teaching. He was also acting minister of Foreign Affair during the period in the government of Đorđe Cenić then in the government of Radivoje Milojković, in 1872 became a member of the State Council again.

Independence of Serbia

Matlć was a member of the delegation that signed a military alliance with Montenegro, before declaring war on Turkey. After the conflict he is a member of the diplomatic corps that negotiated peace with Turkey on 1 March 1877.
On March 3, 1878, The Peace Agreement of San Stefano did not meet the war plans for the expansion of Serbia and caused the dissatisfaction of the Great Powers, which demanded its revision and call for the Congress of Berlin. Serbia tried to attain support for its independence and territorial expansion within the requested borders from many countries. The attempt of the Serbian government to ensure Italian support at the Congress of Berlin was encouraged by the arrival of Italian volunteers who participated In the armed conflict during 1876. The goal or the diplomatic mission and Dimitrije Matić was to ensure Italian support to Serbia, which the Italian representative In Serbia and the Italian government In resignation also supported. The Serbian Prince opted for diplomatic action in Italy and decided to send Dimitrije Matić to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Matić assessed the audience with King

Umberto I Umberto I ( it, Umberto Rainerio Carlo Emanuele Giovanni Maria Ferdinando Eugenio di Savoia; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) was King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination on 29 July 1900. Umberto's reign saw Italy attempt colo ...

as a diplomatic success since he enjoyed all honors and was able to put forward Serbian demands. In 1878 Dimitrije Matić is elected president of the National Assembly of Serbia, which accepted the provisions of the Treaty of Berlin and recognized Serbia's independence; Serbia acquired almost 4,000 square miles (10,360 km) on its southeastern frontier. Serbia remained a principality until 1882, when it became a kingdom.

Minister of justice

At the new Assembly, elected on October 29, 1878, the liberals got an even more convincing majority; Dimitrije Matić became Minister of Justice in the second government of Jovan Ristić. After the Muslims had left, the question of their property occurred, in many cases, the Turks were the landowners, and the Serbian peasants were tilling the soil and they had to give a certain part of the harvest to the Turks. After the Berlin congress, the Serbian Government decided to give that land to the peasants, for Serbia was a country of free peasant's estates, but before that, a temporary solution was found. All of the Turkish state property, as well as the private land of those Muslims, who tilled it by themselves, had been rented out. The peasants who worked on the Turkish private land had to continue to do so until the final solution was found According to article 39 of the Berlin treaty, Muslims, who did not wish to live in Serbia, were allowed to keep their property and to rent it to other people. This article disabled the ceding of the land to peasants without any payments to its owners, and the Serbian government did not have enough money to give compensations to the Turks. Therefore, the government and the Assembly had to agree and a special “agricultural law” was passed by which it was decided that the peasants should pay for the land by themselves. Prices and payment conditions were to be established by a free bargain. The peasants had misused this law in different ways, so the Government was forced to float a loan abroad and to pay off the former landowners

Personal life

Dimitrije Matić was married and had three children: * Colonel Dr. Stevan Matić (1855–1913) * Persida Durić married to General

Dimitrije Đurić Dimitrije Đurić ( sr-Cyrl, Димитрије Ђурић; 29 September 1838 – 19 October 1893) was a Serbian army officer, minister of defence, professor at the military academy and member of the Serbian Royal Academy of Science. He also serve ...

, twice Minister of Defense and professor at the military academy; they had three sons: artillery Captain Milan Đurić (died at the battle of Vranje on March 30, 1911), Miloš and Velizar and four daughters: Stanislava married to Colonel Dr Roman Sondermajer (children: Lt Col Vladislav Sondermajer, aviation pioneer Tadija Sondermayer, Stanislav Sondermayer, the youngest hero of the

battle of Cer The Battle of Cer, ; german: Schlacht von Cer; hu, Ceri csata. Also known as the Battle of the Jadar River (Јадарска битка, ''Jadarska bitka''; ''Schlacht von Jadar''; ''Jadar csata''). was a military campaign fought between Austr ...

and daughter Jadviga); Dragica Sajnović married to Vladimir Sajnović, Spasenija "Pata" Marković married to Major Djordje Ristić and Ljubica married to Colonel Mihailo Naumović. * Jelena Čolak-Antić married to Colonel Ilija Čolak-Antić, commander of the Ibar Army (1836–1894), a descendant of Vojvoda

Čolak-Anta Simeonović Antonije "Anta" Simeonović, better known as Čolak-Anta ( sr-cyr, Чолак-Анта Симеоновић; 1777–1853) was a Serbian fighter and military commander ('' Vojvoda''), one of the most important figures of the First Serbian Uprisin ...

; they had a daughter, Jovanka and two sons: Boško Čolak-Antić Marshal of the Court under King Peter I and Division General Vojin Čolak-Antić married to Mara Grujić, daughter of prime minister

Sava Grujić Sava Grujić ( sr-cyr, Сава Грујић, ; 25 November 1840 – 3 November 1913) was a Serbian politician, statesman, general, army officer, and author, serving five times as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Serbia under two different mona ...

Dimitrije Matić died aged 63 on October 17, 1884, in Belgrade.

Published works

Matić was a prolific and eminent writer in Serbian, German and French, his most important work is The Public Law of the Principality of Serbia. * The Explanation of the Civil Code in three volumes (1850–1851) * Public Law of the Principality of Serbia (1851) * His own diary during his studies in Germany entitled "Đački Dnevnik" (Student's Diary, 1845–1848) * The Principles of Rational State Law according to Heinrich Zoepfl's (1851) (new edition 1995) *Short Review (according to Hegel's Psychology in Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences) *Translated "The Science of Education" by Gustav Adolf Riecke in three parts (1866–1868)Die wechselseitige Schul-Einrichtung und ihre Anwendung auf Würtemberg.'' Esslingen: Harburger, 1846 (Digitalisate Bibliothek für Bildungsgeschichtliche Forschung, MDZ München)'' *Translated "Machat's Little French Grammar "by Jean Baptise Machat (1854) *Translated "The History of Philosophy" by

Albert Schwegler Albert Schwegler (10 February 18195 January 1857) was a German philosopher and Protestant theologian. Biography Schwegler was born at Michelbach in Württemberg, the son of a country pastor. He entered the University of Tübingen in 1836, and w ...

in two parts (1865) * Translated "History of Philosophy" by

* Translated "Homage to Marcus Aurelius" by

Antoine-Léonard Thomas Antoine Léonard Thomas (1 October 1732 – 17 September 1785) was a French poet and literary critic, best known in his time for his great eloquence, especially for wikt:éloge, éloges in praise of past luminaries. It was in recognition of this ...

* Translated "Marcus Aurelius" by Ignaz Aurelius Fessler in three volumes (1844)

Notes

: a. In 1863 when Matić was Secretary-General of the State Council, Captain Miša Anastasijevic donated his magnificent

building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fu ...

for the use of education. It is today the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade ( sr, / ) is a public university in Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-ba ...

's administration and governance building.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matic, Dimitrije 1821 births 1884 deaths 19th-century Serbian philosophers Serbian political philosophers Belgrade Higher School alumni Leipzig University alumni Heidelberg University alumni People from Ruma Politicians of Vojvodina Presidents of the National Assembly (Serbia) Serbian jurists Foreign ministers of Serbia Education ministers of Serbia Justice ministers of Serbia