The Liberal Party ( sr, Либерална странка, Liberalna stranka; abbr. ЛС or LS) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...

that existed from 1883 to 1895 and was led by historian

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 o ...

and lawyer

Jovan Avakumović Jovan Avakumović (1 January 1841 – 3 August 1928) was a Serbian lawyer, criminologist, statesman, and Prime Minister of Serbia. Biography Born in Belgrade, a descendant of a respected Serbian merchant family of Baba-Dudići, Avakumović was a ...

(1841–1928).

History

The "Liberals" (либерали / ''liberali''), an opposition group formed in the 1840s, established the

Association of Serbian Youth The Association of Serbian Youth ( sr, Дружина младежи српске / ''Družina mladeži srpske'') was the first student organisation in Serbia, founded in 1847 by the students of the Lyceum of the Principality of Serbia. Among the ...

in 1847 (banned in 1851 by the Defenders of the Constitution). These liberals participated in the May Assembly (1–3 May 1848) in Sremski Karlovci and the Petrovdan Assembly (29 June 1848) in

Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Serbia, and is situated on ...

. The liberals had an important role in the overthrow of the regime of Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević in 1858, which resulted in the return of the rival Obrenović dynasty. Liberals founded the

United Serb Youth The United Serb Youth ( sr, Уједињена омладина српска, Ujedinjena omladina srpska), also known as ''Omladina'' ("the Youth"), was a diverse progressive Serbian political, cultural and national movement active between 1866 an ...

. Their ideas were close to those of

(the later leader of LS). The Liberals were Russophiles and Obrenović-supporters, closely linked with the

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...

and especially with Metropolitan Mihailo who himself was a liberal. In national politics, they had the aim of liberation of all Serbs. On the political spectrum, the Liberals were between the Conservatives and the ''Markovićevci'' (followers 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 ...

, who later founded the People's Radical Party in 1881). Liberals founded the Society for the Promotion of Serbian Literature (Дружина за помагање српске књижевности) in 1881, then transformed the organization into a political party, the Liberal Party, in 1883.

Leaders

(1831–1899), historian and diplomat, party leader in 1883–89 *

(1841–1928), lawyer, party leader in 1889–95

Liberal Prime Ministers

References

{{Authority control Political parties in the Kingdom of Serbia Liberalism in Serbia Liberal parties in Serbia Defunct liberal political parties 1883 establishments in Serbia 1895 disestablishments in Europe Political parties established in 1883 Political parties disestablished in 1895

History

Leaders

Liberal Prime Ministers

See also

References