Nastas Petrović (; 5 November 186722 February 1933) was a Serbian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as

interior minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

and

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

Biography

Petrović was born in 1867 in the city of

Čačak Čačak ( sr-Cyrl, Чачак, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Moravica District in central Serbia. It is located in the West Morava Valley. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population ...

, where he completed his early studies, and later moved to study at the

Faculty of Philosophy A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, 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 me ...

. After graduating in 1892, he began working as a teacher at the

Užice Gymnasium Gymnasium of Užice () is a secondary school in Užice, Serbia. Early history Construction of the school began in 1838, there being a serious interest among Užice craftsmen and traders for the development of education in the city. The school o ...

, but was dismissed due to his political support for radicalism, for which he was also placed under custody. In 1900 he was reinstated in the workforce, being hired as a teacher at the

Jagodina Jagodina ( sr-cyrl, Јагодина, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Pomoravlje District in central Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Belica (river), Belica River, in the geographical region of � ...

Men's Teachers' College. As a young man he was a follower of the ideas of the late

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 ...

; while still a student he became the chairman of the "Nada" association and a teacher of the "Pobratimstvo" association, both of which had radical ideologies. In 1902 he joined the

People's Radical Party The People's Radical Party (, abbr. NRS) was a populist political party in Serbia and later Yugoslavia. Led by Nikola Pašić for most of its existence, its ideological profile has significantly changed throughout its history, shifting from ...

(NRS) and began to collaborate with radical newspapers such as "Narodni pokret"; by 1907 he was already the chairman of the Serbian Association of Journalists, holding this post for a long time, simultaneously with that of the chairman of the Association of Municipal Education Directors. Petrović was one of the most famous radical speakers: He was singled out by the media for the strength of his oratory and his temperament. He was first elected to political office in

1901 December 13 of this year is the beginning of signed 32-bit Unix time, and is scheduled to end in January 19, 2038. Summary Political and military 1901 started with the unification of multiple British colonies in Australia on January ...

, taking a seat in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

, and, while not re-elected in

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 10 – The Aceh Sultanate was fully annexed by the Dutch forces, deposing the last sultan, marking the end of the Aceh War that have lasted for al ...

, he returned to the Assembly in

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

, retaining the seat in the Serbian elections of

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

1908 This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time. Events January * January ...

, and

1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...

and in the Yugoslav elections of

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

, and

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

. In 1903 he became the first secretary of the Board of Directors of the People's Radical Party, holding the position until July 1924. He was a deputy to the

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

National Assembly of 1916 and in late 1915, in the midst of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he created a group of independent radicals who broke away from the party and opposed the leadership of

Nikola Pašić Nikola Pašić ( sr-Cyrl, Никола Пашић, ; 18 December 1845 – 10 December 1926) was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and diplomat. During his political career, which spanned almost five decades, he served five times as prime minis ...

. After the end of the war he rejoined the party with his followers, but continued to oppose Pašić, especially on issues concerning

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

: Petrović tried to cooperate closely with

Stjepan Radić Stjepan Radić (11 June 1871 – 8 August 1928) was a Croat politician and the co-founder of the Croatian People's Peasant Party (HPSS), active in Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. He is credited with galvanizin ...

, while Pašić distrusted him and the

Croatian Peasant Party The Croatian Peasant Party (, HSS) is an agrarianism, agrarian List of political parties in Croatia, political party in Croatia founded on 22 December 1904 by Antun Radić, Antun and Stjepan Radić as Croatian Peoples' Peasant Party (HPSS). The ...

. He served twice as

: First in the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

during the government of Pašić, between 12 June 1907 and 12 April 1908; his tenure in the ministry was turbulent, as he was charged with murder after the assassinations of Milan Novaković and Maksim Novaković, supporters of the

deposed Deposition by political means concerns the removal of a politician or monarch.
ORB: The Online Reference for Medie ...

House of Obrenović The House of Obrenović or Obrenović Dynasty (, Обрeновићи / Obrenovići, ) was a Serbian dynasty that ruled Serbia from 1815 to 1842, and again from 1858 to 1903. They came to power through the leadership of their progenitor Milo ...

and opponents of the

Black Hand Black Hand or The Black Hand may refer to: Extortionists and underground groups * Black Hand (), 1919–1924 Mexican-American raiders of the Tierra Amarilla Land Grant * Black Hand (anarchism) (), a presumed secret, anarchist organization based ...

. The debate was brought before the National Assembly three times and was dismissed by the prosecution in 1911. In 1924, after the death of the party leader,

Stojan Protić Stojan Protić ( sr-cyrl, Стојан Протић; 28 January 1857 – 28 October 1923) was a Serbian politician and writer. He served as the prime minister of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes between 1918 and 1919, and again in 1920 ...

, he became chairman of the "Independent Radicals", a small parliamentary group advocating a coalition with the Croats. That same year, and being very close to King

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon from 495 to 454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas, ruler of the Seleucid Empire 150-145 BC * Pope Alex ...

, he was elected as Minister of the Interior for the second time, this time in the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

during the government of

Ljubomir Davidović Ljubomir Davidović (24 December 1863 – 19 February 1940) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who served as prime minister (1919–1920 and 1924) of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later called Yugoslavia). Biography Davido ...

; this government, called the "People's Accord Bloc", was an attempt to create a broad coalition of parties, and consisted of Davidović's Democratic Party,

Anton Korošec Anton Korošec (, ; 12 May 1872 – 14 December 1940) was a Yugoslav politician, a prominent member of the conservative People's Party, a Roman Catholic priest and a noted orator. Early life Korošec was born in Biserjane (then Duchy of Styr ...

Slovenian People's Party The Slovenian People's Party (, , Slovene abbreviation SLS ) is a conservative, agrarian, Christian democratic political party in Slovenia. Formed in 1988 under the name of Slovenian Peasant Union as the first democratic political organization i ...

and

Mehmed Spaho Mehmed Spaho ( sr-cyrl, Мехмед Спахо; 13 March 1883 – 29 June 1939) was a Bosnian Muslim politician and leader of the Yugoslav Muslim Organization. Spaho was described as the "undisputed leader of the Bosniaks between the two world w ...

Yugoslav Muslim Organization The Yugoslav Muslim Organization (, ''JMO'') was an Ethnic Muslim (today Bosniak) political party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It was founded in Sarajevo on the 16 February 1919 and was led by ...

, with support from Radić's Croatian Peasant Party. However, this coalition government only lasted a few months. After being re-elected to the

for the last time in 1925, he lost his political influence and did not return to the People's Radical Party. He died in Belgrade in February 1933.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Petrovic, Nastas 1867 births 1933 deaths People from Čačak People from the Principality of Serbia Serbian journalists 20th-century Serbian politicians People's Radical Party politicians Members of the National Assembly (Serbia) Representatives in the Yugoslav National Assembly (1921–1941) Interior ministers of Serbia Interior ministers of Yugoslavia University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy alumni