Lujo Bakotić (21 November 1867 – 31 March 1941) was a Serbian writer, publicist, lawyer, lexicographer and diplomat.

Biography

Bakotić was born in

Senj Senj (; it, Segna, la, Senia, Hungarian language, Hungarian and german: Zengg) is a town on the upper Adriatic coast in Croatia, in the foothills of the Mala Kapela and Velebit mountains. The symbol of the town is the Nehaj Fortress ( hr, Tvr ...

to Ignacije Bakotić and Adela Gravisi. He was baptized Alojzije ("Lujo") Juraj Franjo Ivan Josip Bakotić. Though he was

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, Bakotić considered himself Serbian, as had his father. He completed his high school (gymnasium) education in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

, and jurisprudence in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

. He was a lawyer by profession who was also politically active, representing the Serbian Party in the

Diet of Dalmatia The Diet of Dalmatia ( hr, Dalmatinski sabor, it, Dieta della Dalmazia) was the regional assembly of the Kingdom of Dalmatia within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was founded in Zadar in 1861 and last convened in 1912, before being formally diss ...

. Owing to his party's ideals he had to flee to

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

in 1913. With the start of the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he left Belgrade for

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...

and then went to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and finally

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 ...

, where he was made a secretary in the Vatican to work on a mission, preparing a

Concordat A concordat is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960 st Ed ...

between Serbia and the Vatican (which never materialized). After the war, he was Yugoslavia's envoy at the Vatican from 1920 until 1923. He represented the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, and later he was sent by the Serbian government to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. He retired as a civil servant in 1935. He died in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

. Classically educated, Bakotić spoke several languages fluently, including: French, Italian, German, English, Latin and a number of Slavic languages and dialects.

Major works

* ''Justinijanove institucije''/ Justinian's Institution (translated from Latin, 1911). * ''Dalmatinsko pitanje''/ The Dalmatian Question (published in Switzerland in French, 1915) * ''Rečnik srpskohrvatskog jezika''/ Serbo-Croatian Dictionary (1936) * Translated the Bible (''Stari i Novi Zavet''/ New and Old Testament, 1938) * ''Srbi u Dalmaciji''/ Serbs in Dalmatia (1939).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bakotic, Lujo 1867 births 1941 deaths People from the Kingdom of Dalmatia 20th-century Serbian writers 20th-century Serbian lawyers Serbian diplomats Writers from Belgrade Serbian Roman Catholics People's Party (Dalmatia) politicians 19th-century Serbian lawyers