Božo Petrović-Njegoš ( cyrl, Божо Петровић-Његош; 1846−1929) was a Montenegrin '' vojvoda'' and politician. After taking command of the Southern Army in the Montenegrin–Ottoman War of 1876–1878, he represented the

Principality of Montenegro The Principality of Montenegro ( sr, Књажевина Црна Горa, Knjaževina Crna Gora) was a principality in Southeastern Europe that existed from 13 March 1852 to 28 August 1910. It was then proclaimed a kingdom by Nikola I, who then ...

at the

Congress of Berlin The Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878) was a diplomatic conference to reorganise the states in the Balkan Peninsula after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, which had been won by Russia against the Ottoman Empire. Represented at th ...

. He served as the head of government of Montenegro from 1879 to 1905.

Biography

Božo studied in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

. He returned to Montenegro following his studies. As cousin of Prince Nikola, Božo served as

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

from 1860 to 1871, when Nikola's first son

Danilo Danilo is a given name found in Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Serbian. Notable people with the name Danilo include: Athletes Footballers * Danilo (footballer, born 1979), Brazilian footballer Danilo de Andrade * Danilo (footballer, born 19 ...

was born. Božo was the commander of the Southern Army during the Montenegrin–Ottoman War of 1876–1878. He had great success in the Battles of Medun and Trijebač. However, in his memoirs, '' vojvoda'' Ilija Plamenac claims he was the ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' leader of the Southern Army as Božo was too young and inexperienced. After the war, Božo was the Montenegrin representative at the

. He was a candidate for Prince of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

in 1879. After the Congress, Božo served as head of government for more than 25 years. First as President of the Senate, and after that as President of the Council of State from 1879 to 1905. He retired from politics with the proclamation of the liberal 1905 Constitution of Montenegro. In 1915, he was made governor of Shkodër and

Malësia Malësia e Madhe ("Great Highlands"), known simply as Malësia ( sq, Malësia, cnr, / ), is a historical and ethnographic region in northern Albania and eastern central Montenegro corresponding to the highlands of the geographical subdivision ...

following their occupation in World War I. Božo was jailed in December 1918 during the events that led to the

creation of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia was a state concept among the South Slavic intelligentsia and later popular masses from the 19th to early 20th centuries that culminated in its realization after the 1918 collapse of Austria-Hungary at the end of World War I and the ...

. He was arrested near

Nikšić Nikšić ( cnr, Никшић, italic=no, sr-cyrl, Никшић, italic=no; ), is the second largest city in Montenegro, with a total population of 56,970 located in the west of the country, in the centre of the spacious Nikšić field at the foot ...

with his two younger brothers, general Đuro Petrović and former district councilor Marko Petrović. All three were interned in

Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; lit. 'under the hill') is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd (Cyrillic: Титоград, ) between 1946 and 1992—in the period that Montenegro form ...

. Božo and Marko were released after almost one year, and were later interned in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

. General Đuro was kept in Podgorica where he suffered from

cataract A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble ...

. He died in 1929 and is buried in the Church of St. Sava graveyard in Erakovići, near Cetinje.

References

External links

1846 births 1929 deaths Montenegrin generals Politicians from Cetinje Petrović-Njegoš dynasty Prime Ministers of Montenegro {{Montenegro-politician-stub People of the Principality of Montenegro Burials at Serbian Orthodox monasteries and churches Military personnel from Cetinje