Pavle Radić (10 January 1880 – 20 June 1928) was a Croatian politician and member of the Croatian People's Peasant Party (HPSS). Radić was shot and killed in parliament by the Serbian

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

politician

Puniša Račić Puniša Račić ( sr-cyr, Пуниша Рачић; 12 July 1886 – 16 October 1944) was a Montenegrin Serb leader and People's Radical Party (NRS) politician. He assassinated Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) representatives Pavle Radić and Đuro B ...

. This assassination further alienated the Croats and the Serbs and initiated the breakdown of the

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

, culminating in the

6 January Dictatorship The 6 January Dictatorship ( sr-cyr, Шестојануарска диктатура, Šestojanuarska diktatura; hr, Šestosiječanjska diktatura; sl, Šestojanuarska diktatura) was a royal dictatorship established in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croa ...

of 1931.

Biography

Assassination in Parliament

In the

Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

, a member of the

People's Radical Party The People's Radical Party ( sr, Народна радикална странка, Narodna radikalna stranka, abbr. НРС or NRS) was the dominant ruling party of Kingdom of Serbia and later Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes from the l ...

, got up and made a provocative speech which produced a stormy reaction from the opposition but Radić himself stayed completely silent. Finally, Ivan Pernar shouted in response, "''thou plundered

bey Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...

s''" (referring to accusations of corruption related to him). In an earlier speech Radić accused Račić of stealing from civilian population and later refused to apologize when Račić asked him to. Puniša Račić made his way to the speaker podium facing the Croats. He put his hand in his pocket, where he held the revolver, and faced the president Ninko Perić and told him: "I ask of you, Mr. President, to sanction Pernar. If you fail to stop me, I shall punish him myself!" After that threat shouting started in the room. But Račić continued his threats: "Whoever tries to stand between me and Pernar will be killed!" At that moment Puniša Račić took out his parabellum. Minister Milorad Vujičić, sitting at the bench behind Račić, grabbed his hand in order to stop him. At the same time, minister Kujundžić came to his aid, but Račić, however, being very strong, broke himself free. At exactly 11:25 AM shots were fired and Pernar was hit 1 cm above the heart. When he collapsed, Račić took aim at Stjepan Radić.

Đuro Basariček Đuro Basariček (; Zagreb, 13 March 1884 – Belgrade, 20 June 1928) was a Croatian politician, lawyer and social activist. He was a member of the Croatian Peasant Party from its founding in 1904. He was assassinated in the National Assembly of t ...

noticed this and leaped to help him. Račić, however, turned his way and shot him, bullet entering his loins and exiting around his

scapula The scapula (plural scapulae or scapulas), also known as the shoulder blade, is the bone that connects the humerus (upper arm bone) with the clavicle (collar bone). Like their connected bones, the scapulae are paired, with each scapula on eithe ...

. Basariček fainted immediately. Ivan Granđa ran in front of Stjepan Radić and Račić shot him in the arm. As soon as he was down, Račić aimed at Stjepan Radić, and shot him in the chest. At that point Pavle Radić jumped towards Račić, who didn't get confused, but remarked: "Ha! I've been looking for you!" and fatally shot him 1 cm below the heart. It was believed Račić would shoot

Svetozar Pribičević Svetozar (Cyrillic script: Светозар) is a Slavic origin given name and may refer to: *Svetozar Boroević (1856–1920), Austro-Hungarian Field Marshal * Svetozar Čiplić (born 1965), Serbian politician *Svetozar Đanić (1917–1941), Ser ...

, sitting next to Stjepan Radić, next, but Račić instead left the room through the ministers' chambers. The whole assassination was over in less than a minute. It was one of the first assassinations in a government building in history. This assassination was seen as causing a permanent rift in Croat–Serb relations in the old Yugoslavia. Following the political crisis triggered by the shooting, in January 1929, King Aleksandar Karađorđević abolished the constitution, dissolved the parliament, banned all ethnic, regional and religious political parties, and declared a royal dictatorship. Radić is buried in the

Mirogoj Cemetery The Mirogoj City Cemetery (, hr, Gradsko groblje Mirogoj), also known as Mirogoj Cemetery ( hr, Groblje Mirogoj), is a cemetery park that is considered to be among the more noteworthy landmarks in the city of Zagreb. The cemetery inters members o ...

in Zagreb.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radic, Pavle 1880 births 1928 deaths People from Martinska Ves, Sisak-Moslavina County People from the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia Croatian Peasant Party politicians Representatives in the Yugoslav National Assembly (1921–1941) Assassinated Croatian politicians Deaths by firearm in Yugoslavia People murdered in Yugoslavia 19th-century Croatian people 20th-century Croatian people Assassinated Yugoslav people Assassinations in Serbia 1928 in Yugoslavia 1928 murders in Europe Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery Grand Officers of the Order of the White Lion