Mihailo Polit-Desančić ( sr-Cyrl, Михаило Полит-Десанчић; 16 April 1833 – 30 March 1920) was a political figure, a journalist and a Serbian writer. He was a member of the Serbian Learned Society (''Srpsko učeno društvo'') and the Serbian Royal Academy (''Srpska kraljevska akademija''), predecessors of the current

Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Serbica, sr-Cyr, Српска академија наука и уметности, САНУ, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, SANU) is a national academy and the ...

Biography

Mihailo Polit-Desančić was born in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...

, and was an Aromanian or had mixed Aromanian–

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

origins. In Vienna, Polit-Desančić graduated in

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

and obtained another degree in Paris in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. Polyglot and scholar, he became a close collaborator of

Svetozar Miletić Svetozar Miletić ( sr-cyr, Светозар Милетић; 22 February 1826 – 4 February 1901) was a Serbian lawyer, journalist, author and politician who served as the mayor of Novi Sad between 1861 and 1862 and again from 1867 to 1868. ...

and, with him, one of the most important political figures of the Serbs of Vojvodina of the time, integrated in the possessions of the House of Austria. He then published the periodical ''Branik'', from 1890 the organ of the Serbian Liberal Party in Hungary. He was a member of the parliaments of Croatia and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

and a member of

Sremski Karlovci Sremski Karlovci ( sr-cyrl, Сремски Карловци, ; hu, Karlóca; tr, Karlofça) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Danub ...

's Ecclesiastical and School Council (''Crkveno-školski sabor''). After the dissolution of Svetozar Miletić's party, he was a member of the Radical Popular Party (''Narodna radikalna stranka'') and a member of the People's Liberal Party (''Narodna liberalna stranka'') and the leader of the liberals of

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

. He died in

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

, and is buried in the Dormition Cemetery in Novi Sad, where his funerary monument is part of a set of 24 tombs of historical, cultural and other personalities inscribed on the list of protected cultural monuments (ID No. SK 1588) of the Republic of Serbia.

Works

Among his works are ''Verenica Crnogorka'' (The Montenegrin Bride, 1863), the historical drama ''Branivoj knez Zahumski'' (Prince Branivoj of Zahumlje, 1868), the travelogue ''Putne uspomene'' (Travels Souvenirs), books of memories like ''Kako sam svoj vek proveo'' (How I passed through my century), ''Uspomene iz 1848–1849'' (Memories of 1848–1849), ''Pokojnici'' (The Deceased) and four books entitled ''Besede'' (Words).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polit-Desancic, Mihailo 1833 births 1920 deaths Serbian writers Journalists from Austria-Hungary Serbian journalists Serbian political people Serbian people of Aromanian descent Aromanian politicians