Milan Gavrilović (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

: Милан Гавриловић; 23 November 1882 – 1 January 1976) was a Serbian

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

, and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He is one of the founders of the Agrarian Party and after 1939 was its leader. He was the director of ''

Politika ( sr-Cyrl, Политика, lit=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 ownership is publ ...

'' (1924−1930). Gavrilović was first ambassador of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, 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" () h ...

to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(1940−1941). He served as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, Supply and Food in the

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Hugueno ...

government-in-exile in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He was also a

Chetnik The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...

volunteer in 1912 in the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

Biography

Gavrilović was born in Belgrade on 23 November 1882, in the family of Uroš Gavrilović and Agnjica Božić. As a student in 1905, Gavrilović was a participant in the

action. He was wounded as a Chetnik in the

Battle of Čelopek The Battle of Čelopek (, sr-Cyrl, Борба на Челопеку) was fought at the Čelopek, Staro Nagoričane, Čelopek plateau, near Kozjak (Kumanovo), Kozjak, between the Serbian Chetnik Organization and Ottoman officers accompanied by Ott ...

near Staro Nagoričane. Gavrilović received his doctorate 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 ...

and was a diplomat. He also performed the duty of the secretary to

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 ...

. Like

Milan Rakić Milan Rakić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милан Ракић; 18 September 1876 – 30 June 1938) was a Serbian poet-diplomat and academic. He focused on dodecasyllable and hendecasyllable verse, which allowed him to achieve beautiful rhythm and rh ...

, who was also a diplomat, Gavrilović took leave from the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

to take part in the

as a Chetnik volunteer. He served as a diplomat in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. From June 1940, he was the ambassador of the

to the

. Following the death of Jovan Jovanović Pijon in 1939, Gavrilović became head of the Agrarian Party. Gavrilović was a journalist since his student days. He was the editor-in-chief of

. He accepted participation in the government from 27 March 1941, which gathered representatives of parliamentary political parties rooted in the people. Before the

German Invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put forward in "Fü ...

, Gavrilović was an envoy of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia to the Soviet Union. His status as the official Yugoslav representative in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

ended on 6 May 1941, when the Soviet government declared him an ordinary citizen. At the end of July 1941, he was appointed

charge d'affaires Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aq ...

of the Royal Yugoslav government-in-exile in

. Upon his arrival in

in January 1942, he was appointed Minister of Justice in the government of Slobodan Jovanović. He also cooperated with Slobodan Jovanović in the Yugoslav People's Committee (1944), and at the trial of General

Draža Mihailović Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб "Дража" Михаиловић; 27 April 1893 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslavs, Yugoslav Serb general during World War II. He was the leader of the Chetniks, Chetnik Detachments ...

, he was convicted in absentia together with Slobodan Jovanović. After the war, Gavrilović lived in exile in the United States, where he died on 1 January 1976. His written legacy, created in the period from 1938 to 1976, was transferred in November 2013 from the

Hoover Institution The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace and formerly The Hoover Institute and Library on War, Revolution, and Peace) is an American public policy think tank which promotes personal and economic ...

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in the USA to the Archives of Yugoslavia.Документи Милана Гавриловића пребачени из САД у Београд (Politika, 1 December 2013)
/ref>

Literature

* Tomasevich, Jozo (1975): War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: The Chetniks. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-0857-9. * Radojević, Mira (2010): "The Emigrant Government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia on Yugoslav-Soviet Relations (Milan Gavrilović's Views)". Liberation of Belgrade 1944: Proceedings. Belgrade: Institute for Recent History of Serbia. p. 31—51. * Radojevic, Mira (2012): "Milan Gavrilović on the idea of the Balkan community 1941-1945" (PDF). Our past. 13: 175—187. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 27, 2018. Accessed July 27, 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gavrilovic, Milan 1882 births 1976 deaths Politicians from Belgrade Ambassadors of Yugoslavia to the Soviet Union Yugoslav government officials Chetnik personnel of World War II Chetniks in the Balkan Wars Serbian exiles People convicted in absentia Diplomats from Belgrade People from Bethesda, Maryland Serbian newspaper editors Burials at the Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery in Libertyville, Illinois