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

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

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

Life

Varešanin was born in Gunja in

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

(now

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

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

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

and later joined Theresian Military Academy in

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; Lower_Austria.html" ;"title=".e. Lower Austria">.e. Lower Austria , ) 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 administr ...

. 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 ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

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 Moritz Friedrich Joseph Eugen Freiherr Auffenberg von Komarów (born Auffenberg; since 1919 Moritz Auffenberg; 22 May 1852 – 18 May 1928) was an Austro-Hungarian Military officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army and Minister of War. At the outbreak ...

. 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 title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

. 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 Herzegovinian Serb student of the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb. In 1910, he attempted to assassinate General Marijan Varešanin, th ...

, who fired five bullets from a revolver on Varešanin and killed himself with the sixth. The assassination attempt served as inspiration for

Gavrilo Princip Gavrilo Princip ( sr-Cyrl, Гаврило Принцип, ; 25 July 189428 April 1918) was a Bosnian Serb student who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie, Duchess von ...

, who visited Žerajić's grave where he promised to take revenge. He did so by killing Archduke Franz Ferdinand 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. On 10 July, he officially retired, after 45 years of service.

References

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