Evgenije "Đena" Popović GBE (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, t ...

: Евгеније Поповић; 6 January 1842,

Risan Risan ( Montenegrin: Рисан, ) is a town in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro. It traces its origins to the ancient settlement of Rhizon, the oldest settlement in the Bay of Kotor. Lying in the innermost portion of the bay, the settlement was pro ...

, Dalmatia,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

- 4 April 1931,

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...

) was a Montenegrin statesman, journalist, diplomat, writer and editor.

Biography

Evgenije "Đena" Popović was born in 1842 on his father's ship in

, a town in the

Kingdom of Dalmatia The Kingdom of Dalmatia ( hr, Kraljevina Dalmacija; german: Königreich Dalmatien; it, Regno di Dalmazia) was a crown land of the Austrian Empire (1815–1867) and the Cisleithanian half of Austria-Hungary (1867–1918). It encompassed the entire ...

of the Dual Monarchy of

. Though born in Risan, where his father Drago and grandfathar Krsto are from. Popović's family descends from the Kuči tribe. He finished grade school in

as a school friend of Prince Nicholas of Montenegro. He later graduated Law School in Italy, gaining a PhD, and settled his life permanently in Italy naturalized. He was a lawyer in Italy, however, casually engaged in journalism and even the editing of Diritto newspaper for a period. He also wrote works on the Adriatic sea and several articles, which were published by local and international press. Popović was a friend of Italian patriot and member of the

Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

, participating in the detachments of Giuseppe Garibaldi during the struggle for Italian unification. Popović also participated in the Montenegrin-Ottoman War of 1876-1878, in which he was wounded twice. Together with several soldiers, Popović reported the events of the Montenegrin-Ottoman War to international press. Popović was the Montenegrin consul in Rome, Italy from 1897 till 1900, when he became the Montenegrin general-consul in Rome. While consul, Popovic visited a rich collection of Montenegro antiques. He held his position as general-consul until 1917. After Milo Matanovic resigned from position of PM, King Nicholas invited and appointed Evgenije Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Montenegro in Exile as well as Minister of Internal Affairs at the same time which was a traditional Montenegrin custom, on 11 June 1917. Since the Government has lost most support on the international scene after the break-off of Andrija Radović, Popović worked actively and hardly to regain the prestige for King Nicholas. He tried to persuade the Montenegrin consul to lobby Nicholas' policy in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, however he has already declared loyalty to Radović's Committee for Unification. With the liberation of Montenegro from the Central Powers' occupation by the Serbian armed forces after the break through the Balkan Front, Popović attempted to secure the return of Nicholas and the Government to Montenegro on 16 November 1918 at the British Court, but this attempt has met only refusal. Although also failing to secure France's support for Nicholas' return, he has managed to get confirmation that France shall respect the legal Montenegrin authorities in exile and secure that the local military administration shall administer in the name of the King. France also claimed it will remain neutral for Montenegro's internal affairs, respecting the King's authority but also not opposing the desire and free will of the Montenegrin people to decide. Popović's government and King Nicholas have accepted these terms, which henceforth became the basis for the Podgorica Assembly. Since late 1918 he was no longer in Neuilly, so the position of Minister of Internal Affairs is held by Dr. Pero Šoć. With the end 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 ...

, Popović has lobbied at the Allied Powers' courts and managed to secure a Montenegrin seat for the post-war Paris Peace Conference. After the

Podgorica Assembly The Great National Assembly of the Serb People in Montenegro ( sr, Велика народна скупштина српског народа у Црној Гори, Velika narodna skupština srpskog naroda u Crnoj Gori), commonly known as the Po ...

has declared unification with Serbia and dethroned the

Petrović-Njegoš dynasty Petrović-Njegoš (Serbian Cyrillic: , / ) is the Serbian family that ruled Montenegro from 1697 to 1916. Montenegro was ruled from its inception by '' vladikas'' ( prince-bishops) since 1516, who had a dual temporal and spiritual role. In 169 ...

, Popović dismissed and declared its decisions nullified and void. Popović complained to the Great Powers that the decision was illegal, but met little response. Disappointed by Popović's work, Nicholas replaced him with Jovan S. Plamenac, the organizer of the Christmas Uprising, an event which occurred several days earlier and met Popović's condemnation.

References

* Istorijski leksikon Crne Gore, 5. dio: ''Popović Evgenije''
Serb Land of Montenegro: Ministers of Foreign Affairs from the establishment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Princedom of Montenegro and Kingdom of Montenegro in Fatherland and exile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Popovic, Evgenije 1842 births 1931 deaths People from Kotor Montenegrin writers Montenegrin male writers Montenegrin politicians Prime Ministers of Montenegro Italian newspaper editors Italian male journalists Government ministers of Montenegro Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire