Nikola Uzunović
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Nikola Uzunović ( sr-cyr, Никола Узуновић; 3 May 1873 – 19 July 1954) was a
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
n politician who served as
Prime Minister of Yugoslavia The prime minister of Yugoslavia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Премијер Југославије, Premijer Jugoslavije) was the head of government of the Yugoslavia, Yugoslav state, from the Creation of Yugoslavia, creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croa ...
on two occasions.


Early life

Born in the city of
Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...
, as Nicola Uzun to a family of Aromanian ancestry, he graduated from Faculty of Law at the Great School in Belgrade (now
University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade ( sr, / ) is a public university in 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 merged with the Kragujevac-b ...
). Later he would practice law as a judge, and became the president of the first instance court, the district chief, and secretary of the Cassation Court in Belgrade.


Political career

In 1904, aged 31 he was elected to the Niš municipality, and after eight months, a deputy in front of the Radical Party, a party he would remain in until 1934. During the
First World 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 ...
Uzunović was a reserve officer, and thereafter again politically involved. In the following years he was minister for agricultural issues and the minister of construction. After the War, he was re-elected deputy. In April 1926, faced with corruption scandals Prime Minister
Nikola Pašić Nikola Pašić ( sr-Cyrl, Никола Пашић, ; 18 December 1845 – 10 December 1926) was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and diplomat who was a leading political figure for almost 40 years. He was the leader of the People's Radical P ...
was forced resign. Uzunović became the eighth Prime Minister of Yugoslavia on 8 April 1926, however faced with internal conflict within the party, a succession of short term governments, came and went under his watch. Tired, Uzunović also had twelve crises and multiple cabinet reshuffles, in response to a further sharp attack against his government, and the party responded on 17 April 1927 when Uzunovićnew position as Prime Minister ended. He was replaced by
Velimir Vukićević Velimir Vukićević (11 July 1871 – 27 November 1930) was a Serbian Yugoslav politician. He served as Prime Minister of Yugoslavia from 17 April 1927 until 28 July 1928. After the parliamentary election on 11 September 1927 he was re-elected. ...
, a member of Uzunovićnew's own party the National Radical Party.


6 January Dictatorship

On 6 January 1929, King
Alexander I of Yugoslavia Alexander I ( sr-Cyrl, Александар I Карађорђевић, Aleksandar I Karađorđević, ) ( – 9 October 1934), also known as Alexander the Unifier, was the prince regent of the Kingdom of Serbia from 1914 and later the King of Yug ...
dissolved the
Yugoslav Parliament The Parliament of Yugoslavia was the legislature of Yugoslavia. Before World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia it was known as the National Assembly (''Narodna skupština''), while in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia the name was c ...
and abolished the constitution, banning all political parties in the process. This became known as the 6th January Dictatorship, a policy Uzunović was in support of. In 1931, a new constitution was put into place, which provided for limited democracy. However, most of the political power remained in the hands of the King and the government, appointed by him. In May 1932, Uzunović helped found the Yugoslav Radical Peasants' Democracy (renamed in June 1933 as Yugoslav National Party) to support Alexander's government, under the leadership of
Petar Živković Petar Živković ( sr-cyr, Петар Живковић; 1 January 1879 – 3 February 1947) was a Serbian military officer and political figure in Yugoslavia. He was Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 7 January 1929 until 4 Apr ...
, adopting a program stressing the unity of the Yugoslav nation, centralized government and secularism. In 1932 Uzunović became chairman of the Yugoslav Radical Peasant Democracy. In January 1934, King Alexander, facing mounting pressure to solve the internal political crisis facing Yugoslavia, replaced
Milan Srškić Milan Srškić (3 March 1880 – 12 April 1937) was a Yugoslav politician and lawyer, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia during the dictatorship of King Alexander I. Even before the establishment of the 6 January Dictatorship, Srškić ...
as prime minister. On 27 January Uzunović was once again the head of Government The designated prime minister Uzunović tasked to reduce the Croat - Serb tensions, address the effects of the economic crisis and to combine parliamentarism with an authoritarian conception of government.


Assassination of King Alexander

In October Alexander of Yugoslavia, despite some missgiving agreed to conference in
Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, a visit in which the king would reserve the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...
. It was reported that Uzunović had discouraged the monarch from traveling to Marseille, which would eventually prove fatal for Alexander. Arriving in
Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
to start a
state visit A state visit is a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country, at the invitation of the head of state of that foreign country, with the latter also acting as the official host for the duration of the state visit. Speaking for the host ...
to
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, to strengthen the two countries' alliance in the
Little Entente The Little Entente was an alliance formed in 1920 and 1921 by Czechoslovakia, Romania and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (since 1929 Yugoslavia) with the purpose of common defense against Hungarian revanchism and the prospect of a Hab ...
.Matthew Graves
"Memory and Forgetting on the National Periphery: Marseille and the Regicide of 1934"
PORTAL: Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies, vol 7, No. 1, January 2010.
King Alexander was received by Foreign Minister Barthou at
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
in October 1934. On 9 October, while the two was being slowly driven in a car through the streets a gunman — the Macedonian Velicko Kerin, a Bulgarian revolutionary wielding a handgun. stepped from the street and shot the King twice and the chauffeur with a
Mauser C96 The Mauser C96 (''Construktion 96'') is a semi-automatic pistol that was originally produced by German arms manufacturer Mauser from 1896 to 1937. Unlicensed copies of the gun were also manufactured in Spain and China in the first half of the 2 ...
semiautomatic pistol. He died in the car, slumped backwards in the seat, with his eyes open. The assassination was planned in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
by
Ante Pavelić Ante Pavelić (; 14 July 1889 – 28 December 1959) was a Croatian politician who founded and headed the fascist ultranationalist organization known as the Ustaše in 1929 and served as dictator of the Independent State of Croatia ( hr, l ...
in August 1934. Pavelić was assisted by Georg Perčević, a former Austro-Hungarian military officer. France unsuccessfully requested the extraditions of both men. After the assassination, Uzunović strengthened the government, namely by inviting new ministers and former prime ministers
Živković Živković (sometimes transliterated Zivkovic, sr-Cyrl, Живковић, ) is a Croatian and Serbian surname derived from a masculine given name Živko. It is the most common surname in the Šibenik-Knin County in Croatia, and among the most fr ...
,
Marinković Marinković ( sr-Cyrl, Маринковић) is a Serbo-Croatian surname, a patronymic derived from the given name '' Marinko''. It may refer to: * Aleksandar Marinković (footballer, born 1990), football goalkeeper *Bojana Marinković (born 1996) ...
and Srškić to the cabinet. However, on 22 December
Bogoljub Jevtić Bogoljub Jevtić (Serbian Cyrillic: Богољуб Јевтић; 24 December 1886 – 7 June 1960) was a Serbian diplomat and politician in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He was plenipotentiary minister of Yugoslavia in Albania, Austria and Hungary. ...
was appointed prime minister, removing Uzunović for a second time. Regent Prince Paul, now acting on behalf of the infant Prince Peter (later Peter II of Yugoslavia) was, unlike Alexander, inclined much more toward democracy. In its broadest outline, his domestic policy worked to eliminate the heritage of the Alexandrine dictatorship's centralism, censorship, and military control and to pacify the country by solving the Serb-Croat problem. The following year questioned Uzunović the Regent advice and refused rapprochement with the opposition, leading to a revolt of some ministers and the collapse of the government. Regent Prince Paul declared that the Kingdom of Yugoslavia would join the Tripartite Pact on 25 March 1941 to avoid the same fate as Poland.


Retirement and death

After leaving office in December 1934, he went into seclusion. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and Occupation of the Axis powers he refused to attach his name under the anticommunist petition of prominent Serbs. Nevertheless, after the war, most of his lands and property were appropriated by the state, including his Villa, which the government of
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
donated to 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 territorie ...
, which owns it to this day. Uzunović died on 19 July 1954 in
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
. However some sources suggest he died a year earlier in 1953. Serbian Actor Tanasije Uzunovic is his Grand Nephew.


Honours

On 20 February 1927 Uzunović was awarded the
Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...
from the
President of Poland The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Polan ...
Ignacy Mościcki Ignacy Mościcki (; 1 December 18672 October 1946) was a Polish chemist and politician who was the country's president from 1926 to 1939. He was the longest serving president in Polish history. Mościcki was the President of Poland when Germany ...
.
Politika ''Politika'' ( sr-Cyrl, Политика; ''Politics'') is a Serbian daily newspaper, published in Belgrade. Founded in 1904 by Vladislav F. Ribnikar, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in the Balkans. Publishing and owners ...
, br. 6.762, od ponedeljka 21. februara 1927., strana 4.


References


External links


Uzunović, Nikola
"
Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
Premium Service. {{DEFAULTSORT:Uzunovic, Nikola 1873 births 1954 deaths People's Radical Party politicians Yugoslav National Party politicians Prime Ministers of Yugoslavia Finance ministers of Yugoslavia Representatives in the Yugoslav National Assembly (1921–1941) Mayors of Niš