Jakov Prodanović (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, th ...

: Јаков Продановић; 23 April 1867 – 1 June 1948) was a Serbian politician and writer. Most of his life he fought against totalitarianism but in his senior years, he joined the communists to usurp the Old Order. In 1945, he became deputy prime minister of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

and held the post for three years until he died, endorsing the shift to totalitarian rule.

Early life and education

Jaša Prodanović attended high schools in Čačak and Belgrade. He subsequently studied at the School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at ''

grandes écoles Grandes may refer to: * Agustín Muñoz Grandes, Spanish general and politician *Banksia ser. Grandes, a series of plant species native to Australia * Grandes y San Martín, a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain ...

'' in Belgrade until 1890. While a student, he established ties with foreign Socialist youth movements. He was one of the editors of the collected writings of

Svetozar Marković Svetozar Marković ( sr-Cyrl, Светозар Марковић, ; 9 September 1846 – 26 February 1875) was a Serbian political activist, literary critic and socialist philosopher. He developed an activistic anthropological philosophy w ...

, his idol. He also edited the youth periodicals ''Srpska Misao'' and ''Narodna Misao''.

Career

In 1890, Prodanović became a high school teacher and took up journalism and literary criticism. In 1901 he joined the

Independent Radical Party The Yugoslav Democratic Party, ''State Party of Serbian, Croatian and Slovene Democrats'' and Democratic Party, also known as the Democratic Union was the name of a series of liberal political parties that existed in succession in the State of S ...

, a faction of the Radical Party. From 1902 to 1912 he edited the party's periodical, ''Odjek'' on an irregular basis. In 1903 he became a Member of Parliament. From 1909 to 1911 he served as minister of the economy in the government of

Stojan Novaković Stojan Novaković ( sr-Cyrl, Стојан Новаковић; 1 November 1842 – 18 February 1915) was a Serbian politician, historian, diplomat, writer, bibliographer, literary critic, literary historian, and translator. He held the post ...

and was instrumental in the adoption of a 1911 law on workers' insurance. In the 1920s he sharply criticized the way the parliamentary system functioned. He openly opposed the authoritarian style of King

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

and criticized the constitution promulgated by the king on 3 September 1931. When World War II ended, he attended the

Potsdam Conference The Potsdam Conference (german: Potsdamer Konferenz) was held at Potsdam in the Soviet occupation zone from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to allow the three leading Allies to plan the postwar peace, while avoiding the mistakes of the Paris Pe ...

as Minister for Serbia in the Provisional Government of Yugoslavia before he joined the communists to become the first deputy prime minister of the

Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yugo ...

Works

He is best remembered as a writer. Prodanović edited anthologies of works by Jovan Ilić (1929), Svetislav Vulović (1932) and

Jovan Jovanović Zmaj Jovan Jovanović Zmaj ( sr-cyr, Јован Јовановић Змаj, pronounced ; 24 November 1833 – 1 June 1904) was a Serbian poet. Jovanović worked as a physician; he wrote in many poetry genres, including love, lyric, patriotic, poli ...

(1933-1937) as well as the collection ''Antologija narodne poezije'' (Anthology of National Poetry). His selected works include: * ''Ustavni razvitak i ustavne borbe u Srbiji'' (Constitutional developments and the struggle for a constitution in Serbia, 1936); * ''Istorija politickih stranaka i struja u Serbiji'' (The history of political parties and influences in Serbia, 1947).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prodanovic, Jasa 1867 births 1948 deaths Politicians from Čačak Writers from Čačak Politicians from Belgrade Members of the National Assembly (Serbia) Deputy Prime Ministers of Serbia Education ministers of Serbia Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery People from the Kingdom of Serbia