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Andrija Radović ( sr-cyr, Андрија Радовић; 1872–1947) was a Montenegrin politician and statesmen, former Prime Minister and leader of the People's and then Democratic Party, fighter for
parliamentary democracy A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of the legisl ...
and chief proponent of
Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...
's unification with
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
.


Youth

Andrija Radović was born to father
serdar Serdar may refer to * Serdar (given name) * Serdar (surname) Serdar is a surname of the following notable people: * Can Serdar (born 1996), German-Turkish football midfielder * Emerîkê Serdar (1935–2018), Kurdish-Yezidi writer from Armenia * I ...
Jagoš in the village of Martinići,
Danilovgrad Danilovgrad (Cyrillic: Даниловград) is a town in central Montenegro. It has a population of 6,852, according to the 2011 census. It is situated in the Danilovgrad Municipality which lies along the main route between Montenegro's two la ...
into the
Bjelopavlići Bjelopavlići ( cyrl, Бјелопавлићи, ; ) is a historical tribe (pleme) of Albanians, Albanian origin and a valley in the region of the Brda (Montenegro), Brda, in Montenegro, around the city of Danilovgrad. Geography The ''Bjelopavl ...
clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...
, in the still unrecognized
Principality of Montenegro The Principality of Montenegro () was a principality in Southeastern Europe that existed from 13 March 1852 to 28 August 1910. It was then proclaimed a Kingdom of Montenegro, kingdom by Nikola I of Montenegro, Nikola I, who then became King of M ...
on 28 January 1872. After finishing the elementary and secondary schools in Cetinje, he went to professionalize in the
Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...
studying
engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
at the Artillery-Engineering Academy from 1890 to 1894 as Nicholas' Pioneer. Upon returning, he got the job as the Military Engineer later raising to the position of Secretary of the Military Council and Court Marshal. At the end of the century, he was appointed by President of the State Council Božo Petrović-Njegoš as State Engineer, Director of Public Works and Head of Department in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. His 1902 marriage with the Duke's daughter proved to be a decisive connection for his career, as he intimately befriended the dynasty and was frequently sent as its representer on numerous European courts, because of his multi-linguistic capabilities. He actively worked until the general governmental structure was reformed by drafting a Constitution for the Montenegrin Princedom in 1905. From 6 December 1905 to 11 November 1906 he was both Minister of Finance and Construction in the reformist Government of
Lazar Mijušković Lazar Mijušković ( sr-cyrl, Лазар Мијушковић; 24 December 1867 – 29 September 1936) was a Montenegrin politician and diplomat. Biography Mijušković was born on 24 December 1867 in the village of Povija in Pješivci, in the ...
.


Democratic Activities

Andrija Radović ran in his Captainy on the 27 September 1906 parliamentary elections and was elected into the very first session of the Montenegrin National Assembly that was formed in the capital of
Cetinje Cetinje ( cnr-Cyrl, Цетиње, ) is a List of cities and towns in Montenegro, town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital ( cnr-Latn-Cyrl, prijestonica, приjестоница, separator=" / ") of Montenegro and is the location of sev ...
on 31 October 1906. On 19 January 1907 he was sworn Prime Minister of the Princedom of Montenegro and took the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs and acted as the Representative of both the Ministers of War and Finance. 1907 was a year of great turmoil for Radović. He worked actively in an attempt to limit Prince
Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...
' autocracy and united all members of the Serbian National Assembly of the Princedom of Montenegro into the "Club of People's Representatives" (Клуб народних представника), which quickly transformed under the influence of neighboring parliamentary democracy in Serbia into the People's Party (Народна странка/Narodna stranka), the first and sole Montenegrin political party. Andrija became one of its two leaders. The movement quickly became known as "The Clubists" (Клубаши).Jubilej Narodne stranke
IN4S
Radović rapidly lead the NS into opposition with the Monarch, demanding freedom, democracy and more rights to the people and that the Parliament should be the supreme holder of national sovereignty, and the not the sovereign himself. Disgusted also by the worsening relations of Montenegro with the allied brotherly Kingdom of Serbia, Andrija Radovic went into opposition in the face of Nicholas and promoted national enlightenment of the Montenegrin people and the spread of Serbian culture, religion as well as literacy in Montenegro. He demanded that the long promised union with Serbia started to finally be enacted and worked to cooperate with the Serbs outside Montenegro, as well as other
South Slavs South Slavs are Slavic people who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, ...
, in an attempt to achieve total national liberation and unification. It is because of the liberal actions is that Prince Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš sacked Andrija on 4 April 1907 and prosecuted him and his party, chasing them out of political life. Radović's party boycotted the unilaterally newly scheduled 31 October 1907 parliamentary election, as Nikola created his own
True People's Party The True People's Party (, abbr. ПНС/ PNS), also known as the Pravaši (''Rightists''), was a conservative and monarchist political party in the Principality of Montenegro and the Kingdom of Montenegro, founded in 1907. The party represented th ...
, the so-called "Rightists", that supported his regime and managed to get elected with very little votes because they were the only candidates. In the so-called 1908 Cetinje Bomb Trail in which the clubbists were massively prosecuted by the authorities for alleged conspiracies against Prince Nikola, Radović was sentenced to 15 years of prison as a political detainee while Marko Daković (Nikola's nephew) was sentenced to death in absentia. In 1913 King Nicholas succumbed to popular demand and pardoned Andrija and others. This enabled Radović to correct his mistake and run on the 25 October 1913 free parliamentary election. Andrija's party decisively defeated the Rightists in the election. He was appointed State Councilor and since the outbreak of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
he was in charge for supplying food and ammunition from the Allies for the Montenegrin Army. He was shown particularly successful in securing large amounts of ammo and guns from the neighboring Serbia already in late 1914. He also held the seat of Minister of Finance and Construction once more, this time from 20 December 1915 to 29 April 1916, in the national unity government of Milo Matanović.


Exile and unification

In early 1916 the
Kingdom of Montenegro The Kingdom of Montenegro was a monarchy in southeastern Europe, present-day Montenegro, during the tumultuous period of time on the Balkan Peninsula leading up to and during World War I. Officially it was a constitutional monarchy, but absolu ...
was being occupied by the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...
, so Andrija fled together with Nikola to friendly free Italy. On 12 May 1916 Nicholas convinced him to form a Government of the Kingdom of Montenegro in Exile, which settled in
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
,
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. From October '16 he was stationed in
Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...
which was given to Nicholas by the French for the capital of Montenegro in Exile. 1917 was another year of great activities by Radovic. After the government carefully drafted the Memorandum of Unification of Serbia and Montenegro, he as Prime Minister handed it over to King Nikola. The previous negotiations about forming a Yugoslavian confederate realm in which Montenegro would be an autonomous Principality headed by Nicholas have led to the Montenegrin highest officials in exile working on the matter. However the King didn't sign it to make it official, demanding that the form and process of unification should only be decided after the end of World War I. As a sign of protest, Andrija resigned on 17 January 1917 the Premiership job and on 4 March 1917 he created the "Montenegrin Committee for National Unification" in
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with four other Montenegrin leaders, three Ministers and the High Judge. This Board worked in organizing the Montenegrin internees within
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 ...
, most notable of whom was
Sekula Drljević Sekula Drljević ( sr-cyrl, Секула Дрљевић; 7 September 1884 – 10 November 1945) was a Montenegrin nationalism, Montenegrin nationalist, Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav jurist, politician, orator, and theoretician. During Wo ...
, and founded Volunteer Legions sending them to fight on the Balkan Front. The Montenegrin Committee put forward liberation of Montenegro from Austro-Hungarian occupation and unification of Montenegro and Serbia into one state, which would then be joined by other Yugoslavian territories, as its prime goals. Andrija was the Editor-in-Chief of the Committee's "Unification" magazine printed since April '17 in Geneva that propagated the idea of unification of Serbia and Montenegro with national liberation against the Central Powers' occupation as an integral part of such a movement. For his turning to opposition of Nicholas once more, his financing was cut and he had to search the Serbian government in Exile for support. The "Unification" was published from August '17 to 15 November 1918 in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. The
Yugoslav Committee The Yugoslav Committee (, , ) was a World War I-era, unelected, '' ad-hoc'' committee. It largely consisted of émigré Croat, Slovene, and Bosnian Serb politicians and political activists whose aim was the detachment of Austro-Hungarian l ...
and Serbian Royal Government signed the
Corfu Declaration The Corfu Declaration ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Krfska deklaracija, Крфска декларација) was an agreement between the prime minister of Serbia, Nikola Pašić, and the president of the Yugoslav Committee, Ante Trumbić, concluded on the G ...
on 20 July 1917 that designed the future
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...
; the Montenegrin Board under Andrija Radović gave its consent and adopted the resolution's declarations. Andrija Radović also published his thesis on a democratic election and in detail explained the process of unification in his "Unification of Montenegro and Serbia" work that summed the basic lines of the Montenegrin government's memorandum. In October '18 Andrija Radovic formed together with three prominent supporters of a union with Serbia a Central Executive Committee for Unification of Serbia and Montenegro, that acted from the recently liberated Berane. On 25 October 1918 Andrija drafted the rules for election of a general Assembly and scheduled the election. As a Deputy of Metropolitan bishop Gavrilo Dožić's White List within the on 19 November 1918 elected "Great National Assembly of the Serb People in Montenegro", he saw his work fulfilled on 26 November 1918 when unification of the Serbian people was proclaimed and King Nicholas I Petrović dethroned. He wrote a book about the situation in Montenegro and about its potential future inside Serbia, which was used as an informative source by the Allied Powers. The Italian-induced Green insurgents raised the Christmas Uprising on 7 January 1919; Radović supported and coordinated the Montenegrin Youth in fighting off the insurgents and subsequently crushing the remaining guerrilla resisters. Chosen by the Great Serbian People's Assembly for representer of Montenegro, Andrija Radović went as the alongside
Nikola Pašić Nikola Pašić ( sr-Cyrl, Никола Пашић, ; 18 December 1845 – 10 December 1926) was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and diplomat. During his political career, which spanned almost five decades, he served five times as prime minis ...
in the Delegation on the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes to the 1919-1920 Paris Peace Conference. Radović convinced the victorious Great Powers of Nicholas' dreadful path and made them break off all links with the Montenegrin Government in Exile. As the expert of the Montenegrin question and offering some sort of a final option to the demanded self-determination of the Montenegrin People which Nikola and his close men pleaded for and worried about the bloody events induced by
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, he affirmed an agreement to wait for the Constitutional Assembly general election. In the case of majority's turnout and the victory of pro-unification forces, the created status will have to be accepted by everyone. He proposed the annexation of
Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...
and explained its question, which brought him in great conflict with Nikola Pasić who demanded respect of the international territorial integrity of
Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
. In '18 the
Podgorica Assembly The Great People's Assembly of the Serb People in Montenegro (), commonly known as the Podgorica Assembly (, ), was an ''ad hoc'' popular assembly convened in November 1918, after the end of World War I in the Kingdom of Montenegro. The commit ...
on its last session nominated Andrija as one of the Montenegrin members in the Kingdom's Collective Presidency. He was also elected into the Central Montenegrin Committee for Unification, a provisional executive administrating body for Montenegro in the process of unification. Though seated in
Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...
, Radović managed to move it to Cetinje demanding respect for Montenegro's historical legacy. In August 1919 the Greens decided to attack Radović's property in Martinići, furious because of his acts. A detachment of Green rebels traveled four days from their outland hideout to the area of Podgorica and on 6 August 1919 broke into his family's home. They kidnapped Andrija's mother and sister and assaulted his father, who resisted with his personal gun and ended up quickly killed in the shooting. The Greens then left the building and burned the entire Radović household with the corps in it and then razed the remainder of the property. The house contained all of Andrija's precious things and the historical achievements of his family. He never heard from his mother and only sibling again. Andrija condemned the event and demanded that the perpetrators get punished, but that never occurred. He also called for seizure of violence and reconciliation of the two conflicted political currents in Montenegro. Andrija Radović founded together with other prominent Montenegrin intellectuals the Democratic Party in Montenegro, inspired by the pro-reformist democratic views of the Kingdom's construction of DS. On the 28 November 1920 Constitutional Assembly election, he was elected in Montenegro into the parliament as DS's candidate. The election had international mediators and with more than a 67% turnout in Montenegro and victory of the unionist political options in Montenegro, Radović's unification acts were confirmed and the question was sealed, with the Greens' call for
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suffering a decisive defeat. Radović's DS managed to continually locally win in the northern areas of former Montenegro. Since 1921 he was member of the Directorate of Monopolies. Reelected into the parliament on the 11 September 1927
parliamentary election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...
on DS's list, he was elected a member of the Yugoslavian National Bank. In 1928 appointed Vice-Governor of the Belgrade-based National Bank, he completely abandoned politics partially disappointed by the poor functioning of democracy in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Permanently moving to
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 ...
, he spent the rest of his life there, including the
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 ...
1941-1944
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occupation. He reached an old age and died in 1947.


Works

*''Unification of Montenegro and Serbia'', Geneva (1917) *''Le Montenegro, son passe et son avenir'' (Montenegro, its Past and Future), Paris (1918) *''Question de Scutari'' (The Question of Skadar), Paris (1919)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radovic, Andrija 1872 births 1947 deaths People from Danilovgrad People from the Principality of Montenegro Bjelopavlići Serbs of Montenegro People's Party (Montenegro, 1906) politicians Democratic Party (Yugoslavia) politicians Prime ministers of Montenegro Finance ministers of Montenegro Defence ministers of Montenegro Representatives in the Yugoslav National Assembly (1921–1941)