Živojin "Žika" Lazić (; 12 February 18767 November 1958) was a

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

and Yugoslav politician who served as the first Ban of

Vardar Banovina The Vardar Banovina, or Vardar Banate ( Macedonian and ; ), was a province ( banate) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. History It was located in the southernmost part of the country, encompassing the whole of today's North Mace ...

from 1929 to 1932 and the

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

from 1932 to 1934.

Biography

Lazić was born in 1876 in Svračkovci, near

Gornji Milanovac Gornji Milanovac ( sr-Cyrl, Гoрњи Милановац, ) is a town and municipality located in the Moravica District of central Serbia. The population of the town is 23,109, while the population of the municipality is 38,985 (2022 census data). ...

. He graduated from the

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, 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 me ...

and later specialized in the field of national security in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. From 1919 to 1921, he was the head of the Public Security Department of the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

. In September 1923, he founded the

Association against Bulgarian Bandits The Association against Bulgarian Bandits (, sr-Cyrl, Удружење против бугарских бандита) was a paramilitary organization based in Štip, then in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, that was active during the ...

, an organization whose goal was to prevent the support of the

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...

population for the

Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; ; ), was a secret revolutionary society founded in the Ottoman territories in Europe, that operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1893 in Salonica, it initia ...

(IMRO). Prime Minister

Ljubomir Davidović Ljubomir Davidović (24 December 1863 – 19 February 1940) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who served as prime minister (1919–1920 and 1924) of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later called Yugoslavia). Biography Davido ...

openly disagreed with Lazić's decision to appoint former IMRO members and to head the organization, to which Lazić replied that "he did not find a better mechanism than the mutual extermination of former and current Bulgarian komitadjis." In 1923, he also led the Yugoslav delegation to a conference that led to the signing of the Treaty of Niš, and was then appointed Deputy Minister of the Interior. In 1927, he participated as a public prosecutor in the Skopje Student Trial against the Macedonian Youth Secret Revolutionary Organization members. On 13 July 1928, under the orders of Ivan Mihailov, IMRO member carried out an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Lazić. Momchilov entered Lazić's office in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, shot him in the head, and then committed suicide. Lazić was badly wounded, but still survived. In 1929, Živojin Lazic was appointed Ban of the

with its headquarters in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

. He was in the leadership of the local board of the

Soko Soko ( sh-Cyrl, Соко) was a Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav aircraft manufacturer based in Mostar, Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina. The company was responsible for the production of ...

organization and

Narodna Odbrana Narodna Odbrana ( sr-cyr, Народна одбрана, literally, "The People's Defence" or "National Defence") was a Serbian nationalist organization established on October 8, 1908 as a reaction to the Austro-Hungarian annexation of Bosnia and ...

. In the period from 2 July 1932 to 20 December 1934, he served the

in the government led by the

Yugoslav National Party The Yugoslav National Party (, Југославенска национална странка, JNS; ), established as Yugoslav Radical Peasants' Democracy (; ), was the sole-ruling party of Yugoslavia during the period of royal authoritarian di ...

. At the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the establishment of the new communist regime, Lazić left Yugoslavia and went overseas to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He died in

Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

in 1958 at the age of 82, where he was buried.

References

Literature

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lazic, Zivojin 1876 births 1958 deaths People from Gornji Milanovac University of Belgrade Faculty of Law alumni Interior ministers of Yugoslavia Yugoslav National Party politicians Yugoslav emigrants to Canada Serbian emigrants to Canada Bans of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia Yugoslav shooting survivors Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery