Marijan Varešanin von Varesch (1 February 1847 – 22 April 1917) was a Croatian nobleman and general in the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

imperial army service. He was the governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1909 to 1911.

Life

Varešanin was born in Gunja in

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Bar ...

(now

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

) and was the son of a military officer. He attended cadet school in

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Prim ...

and later joined Theresian Military Academy in

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...

. On 19 August 1866, he earned the rank of lieutenant of an infantry regiment. Between 1869 and 1871, he attended Kriegsschule in Vienna and graduated with honours. On 7 March 1909, he was named as commander of the 15th Corps stationed 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 ...

and as governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 29 July, he was named as chief inspector of military troops. Soon, the command of the 15th Corps was handed over to Moritz von Auffenberg. However, Varešanin remained the governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina and so was targeted by a lone Bosnia youth after the Austro-Hungarian annexation of Bosnia. In 1910 he was titled

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or kn ...

. On 10 June 1910 an assassination attempt was made on him by

Bogdan Žerajić Bogdan Žerajić ( sr-Cyrl, Богдан Жерајић; 1 February 1886 – 15 June 1910) was a Hercegovinian Serb student of the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb. In 1910, he attempted to assassinate General Marijan Varešanin, the ...

, who fired five bullets from a revolver on Varešanin and killed himself with the sixth. The assassination attempt greatly encouraged

Gavrilo Princip Gavrilo Princip ( sr-Cyrl, Гаврило Принцип, ; 25 July 189428 April 1918) was a Bosnian Serb student who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. Pr ...

, who visited Žerajić's grave where he promised to take revenge. He did so by

killing Killing, Killings, or The Killing may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Killing'' (film), a 2018 Japanese film * ''The Killing'' (film), a 1956 film noir directed by Stanley Kubrick Television * ''The Killing'' (Danish TV serie ...

Archduke Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. F ...

in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. After the assassination attempt, Varešanin started to think about retiring. On 10 May 1911, his request for dismissal as governor was accepted, and he was replaced by

Oskar Potiorek Oskar Potiorek (20 November 1853 – 17 December 1933) was an officer of the Austro-Hungarian Army, who served as Governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1911 to 1914. He was a passenger in the car carrying Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austr ...

. On 10 July, he officially retired, after 45 years of service.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * 1847 births 1917 deaths Croatian Austro-Hungarians Croatian military personnel in Austrian armies Barons of Croatia Austrian nobility Austro-Hungarian Army officers Governors of Bosnia and Herzegovina Assassinated military personnel 19th-century Croatian military personnel 20th-century Croatian military personnel 20th-century Croatian nobility Theresian Military Academy alumni {{Austria-bio-stub