Milan Stojadinović
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Milan Stojadinović ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Стојадиновић; 4 August 1888 – 26 October 1961) was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and economist who was the
Prime Minister of Yugoslavia The prime minister of Yugoslavia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Премијер Југославије, Premijer Jugoslavije) was the head of government of the Yugoslav state, from the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918 until the ...
from 1935 to 1939. He also was
Foreign Minister 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 ...
from 1935 to 1939 and as
Finance Minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
three times (1922–1924, 1924–1926, 1934–1935).


Early life

Milan Stojadinović was born on 4 August 1888 in the Serbian town of
Čačak Čačak ( sr-Cyrl, Чачак, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Moravica District in central Serbia. It is located in the West Morava Valley. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population ...
. His father, Mihailo, was a municipal judge who relocated 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 ...
in 1904. It was here that the young Stojadinović finished his secondary education and became a sympathizer of the Serbian Social Democratic Party (SSDP). Later, he came to believe that the liberation of ethnic Serbs who lived in the
Austro-Hungarian 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 between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
and Ottoman empires was more important than bridging the gap between the upper and lower classes, and followed in his father's footsteps by joining the People's Radical Party (NRS) of
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 summer of 1906, Stojadinović was sent to Austria to learn German as a reward for successfully completing secondary school. While there, he fell under the influence of South Slavic youth movements and became a supporter of Yugoslav unity. He later returned to Serbia and began his studies at the
University of Belgrade Faculty of Law The Faculty of Law of the University in Belgrade (/''Pravni fakultet Univerziteta u Beogradu''), also known as the Belgrade Law School, is one of the first-tier educational institutions of the University of Belgrade, Serbia. The building is locate ...
, specializing in economics and finance. He spent three years studying abroad, staying in
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
and
Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
during the 1910–11 school year, Paris between 1911 and 1912, and London between 1912 and 1913. Stojadinović's stay 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 ...
had a profound effect on his economic views and led him to write a doctoral dissertation on the country's budget. He was greatly influenced by the German historical school of economics, which argued that economic policies should be developed according to the specific economic and cultural conditions prevalent in a society rather than being based on a universal model.


Economist

Stojadinović's competence as an economist became evident during the
Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...
of 1912 and 1913 and during
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 ...
, when he began working in the Serbian
Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
. Following the Serbian Army's retreat through Albania during the winter of 1915, he withdrew with the Serbian government-in-exile to the Greek island of
Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...
. He stayed there between 1916 and 1918 and distinguished himself as a financial expert by helping to stabilize the
Serbian dinar The dinar (, ; paucal: dinara / динара; Currency symbol, abbreviation: DIN (Gaj's Latin alphabet, Latin) and дин (Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Cyrillic); ISO 4217, code: RSD) is the currency of Serbia. The dinar was first used in Serbia in ...
. Stojadinović met his future wife Augusta – a woman of mixed
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
-German heritage – during his stay in Corfu. The two settled in Belgrade following the war. Stojadinović was appointed assistant manager of a local branch of the English Commercial Bank in 1919, but resigned as director-general of the State Accounts Board of the newly formed
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 ...
because of disagreements with the government of 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 ...
and his Democratic Party. He lectured economics at the
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 ...
from 1920 to 1921, but quickly gave up on
academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
.


Finance Minister

Stojadinović became the
Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...
in 1922, aged only 34. He began writing for the Belgrade daily ''
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 ...
'' and the
English-language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
weekly ''
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''. Following the proclamation of a royal dictatorship by King
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon from 495 to 454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas, ruler of the Seleucid Empire 150-145 BC * Pope Alex ...
in 1929, he sided with a faction of the NRS that opposed the royal dictatorship. The Radical Party broke into two in 1929, with the largest faction supporting King Alexander's dictatorship and Stojadinović joining the opposition faction headed by the party's Main Committee. Despite being suspected of opposition to the monarchy, he was once again appointed to the position of Finance Minister in the government of
Bogoljub Jevtić Bogoljub Jevtić (Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: Богољуб Јевтић; 24 December 1886 – 7 June 1960) was a Serbian diplomat and politician in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He was plenipotentiary minister of Yugoslavia in Al ...
, who became prime minister following Alexander's assassination in
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
in October 1934. By this point, Stojadinović was the vice-president of the Belgrade Stock Exchange, chairman of a river navigation company, and the director of a British-owned broadcasting station and a British-owned shipbuilding company. Despite clear evidence, presented by Yugoslavia, that Italy and Hungary were behind the assassination of King Alexander, the
League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
failed to take action against either of those countries, convincing Stojadinović that the League was useless.


Prime minister

In 1935, he became the leader of the Serbian Radical Party, which with some other parties formed a coalition ''Jugoslovenska Radikalna Zajednica'' ( Yugoslav Radical Union, JRZ) and won the elections. The JRZ was made of the Serb Radicals, the Slovene People's Party led by Father
Anton Korošec Anton Korošec (, ; 12 May 1872 – 14 December 1940) was a Yugoslav politician, a prominent member of the conservative People's Party, a Roman Catholic priest and a noted orator. Early life Korošec was born in Biserjane (then Duchy of Styr ...
and the Yugoslav Muslim Organization led by Mehmed Spaho, which Stojadinović called a "three-legged chair" that was missing a "fourth leg", namely the support of the Croats. Stojadinović wrote in his memoirs: "I called our party the three-legged chair, on which it was possible to sit when necessary, although a chair with four legs is far more stable". On 24 June 1935 he was elected prime minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He survived an assassination attempt by Damjan Arnautović, a school teacher, in 1935. The Regent for the boy king Peter II, the Prince Regent Paul, appointed Stojadinović Prime Minister partly because he was regarded as a financial expert who could deal with the effects of the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, and partly because Stojadinović was believed capable of making a deal with Croat politicians to resolve whether Yugoslavia was to be a federation or a unitary state. One of Stojadinović's first acts was to loosen censorship on the press and to free 10,000 political prisoners. Through the JRZ Stojadinović had a submissive ''skupshtina'' (parliament), but the JRZ never became the mass movement that Stojadinović had envisioned.


Domestic issues

The British historian Richard Crampton wrote that the basis of Stojadinović's power was "political jobbery" and corruption as the JRZ functioned more as a patronage machine of a type common to the Balkans rather than the fascistic mass movement that Stojadinović had intended. Interwar Yugoslavia was characterized by an etatist economic system with the state playing a large role in the economy. The Yugoslav state owned all or most of the railroads, docks, mines, steel mills, forests, mills, hospitals, banks, publishing houses, hotels, theatres and opera houses in the country, together with the state having monopolies over the manufacturing, distribution and sales of matches, salt, cigarette paper, tobacco and kerosene. As public-sector jobs were better paid than those in the private sector, and presented more opportunities for corruption, there was much competition for jobs in the public sector, especially in a country as poor as Yugoslavia, enabling any party in power to build support by handing out public-sector jobs in exchange for votes. Every government in interwar Yugoslavia used patronage to reward its supporters with public-sector jobs and punish its enemies by denying them the chance to work in the public sector. Stojadinović, like his predecessors, created a patronage machine as the basis of his power with JRZ members being rewarded with employment in the public sector. Moreover, the gradual improvement of the Yugoslav economy in the late 1930s, as it recovered from its 1932 nadir, won Stojadinović a further measure of popularity. Stojadinović believed that the solution to the Great Depression lay in closer economic links with Germany, which lacked many raw materials necessary for a modern industrial economy and whose population exceeded the capacity of German farmers to feed it. Yugoslav exports of both food and raw materials such as iron, bauxite, copper and manganese to Germany fueled Yugoslav economic growth after 1935 and placed Yugoslavia in the German economic sphere of influence. The
Prince regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness) or ab ...
had hoped that Stojadinović would make overtures to the Croats, but Stojadinović's unwillingness to discuss federalisation of Yugoslavia presented major difficulties to this end. As part of an attempt to reach out to the Croats, Stojadinović signed a
concordat A concordat () is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960 [1 ...
with the Vatican in 1935. Stojadinović hoped that the Concordat would incline the Catholic Church would use its influence with Croat voters in favor of the JRZ, but opposition from the Serbian Orthodox Church led Stojadinović to delay the Concordat's submission for ratification. In another concession to the Croats, Stojadinović allowed the erection of a statue of the assassinated Croat politician Stjepan Radić in Zagreb and, and allowed Croats who had gone into exile under King Alexander to return, including the son-in-law of Radić who had once called for Craot independence. Though in theory a supporter of economic liberalism, in practice Stojadinović favored an etatist economic policy, arguing that the state should intervene to end the Great Depression.


Diplomacy

Stojadinović recognized the military threats from
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
,
Fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...
and surrounding countries as imminent. From the beginning of his prime-ministership, Stojadinović sought closer ties with Germany despite Yugoslavia's traditional friendship with France. In late 1935, Stojadinović appointed a well known Germanophile as the Yugoslav minister in Berlin to replace the former minister who had a more critical attitude towards the ''Reich''. Even before the remilitarization of the Rhineland, Yugoslavia under Stojadinović was moving towards a pro-German foreign policy. In 1935, Yugoslavia observed the sanctions that the League of Nations imposed on Italy, which hurt the Yugoslav economy, and Stojadinović signed his first economic treaty with Germany at the same time. In February 1936, Stojadinović welcomed King
Boris III of Bulgaria Boris III (; 28 August 1943), originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver (Boris Clement Robert Mary Pius Louis Stanislaus Xavier), was the Tsar of the Kingdom of Bulgaria from 1918 until his death in 1943. The eldest son ...
to Belgrade, marking the beginning of Yugoslav-Bulgarian rapprochement as Stojadinović wanted more friendly relations with Sofia to settle the " Macedonian Question" which poisoned Yugoslav-Bulgarian relations in the interwar period. Yugoslavia had signed a treaty of alliance with France in 1927, when France still occupied the Rhineland, and during Franco-Yugoslav staff talks, it was promised that France would take the offensive into western Germany if Germany should start another war. As long as the Rhineland remained demilitarized, there was always the possibility of a French offensive into western Germany, which reassured Yugoslavia. Weinberg wrote that the demilitarized status of the Rhineland the treaty of Versailles had imposed was "...the single most important guarantee of peace in Europe," for, as long as the Rhineland was demilitarized, it was impossible for Germany to attack any of France's allies in Eastern Europe without exposing itself to the risk of a devastating French offensive into western Germany. The remilitarization of the Rhineland on 7 March 1936 enabled Germany to start building the West Wall along its border with France, ending any hope of a French offensive into western Germany. From the Yugoslav viewpoint, the remilitarization of the Rhineland and the construction of the West Wall meant that Germany could now launch offensives into eastern Europe without fear of France, which led Stojadinović to break with the traditional pro-French foreign policy of Yugoslavia and to seek an understanding with the ''Reich''. On 15–20 June 1936, the chiefs of staff of the
Little Entente The Little Entente was an alliance formed in 1920 and 1921 by Czechoslovakia, Romania and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia from 1929 on) with the purpose of common defense against Hungarian revisionism and the prospect of ...
(Romania, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia) met in Bucharest to discuss their plans now that the Rhineland was re-militarized. The gloomy conclusion of the Bucharest meeting was that France was not a factor in Eastern Europe, and henceforward there were only two great powers in Eastern Europe, namely the Soviet Union and Germany, and the victory of either in another war would mean the end of their independence. Stojadinović worked increasingly toward a goal of neutrality like that of Switzerland. Examples of his work to that end were the non-aggression treaty with Italy and Yugoslavia's extension of its treaty of friendship with France. The policies pursued by Fascist Italy towards Yugoslavia were usually hostile, but starting in 1936, Benito Mussolini made a major effort to persuade Yugoslavia to renounce its alliance with France. After the election of the Popular Front government of
Léon Blum André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister of France. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of socialist l ...
in France, Italian foreign policy turned anti-French, and Mussolini as part of his anti-French strategy wanted to detach Yugoslavia from the ''cordon sanitaire'' as Yugoslavia was the only one of France's eastern European allies that bordered Italy. Mussolini also had plans to annex Albania and to use it as a base to conquer Greece, which was allied to Yugoslavia in the
Balkan Pact The Balkan Pact, or Balkan Entente, was a treaty signed by Greece, Romania, Turkey and Yugoslavia on 9 February 1934
, making an alliance with Belgrade useful from his viewpoint. Mussolini had expected the assassination of King Alexander in 1934, which he financed, to cause a civil war between the different peoples of Yugoslavia, which in turn would allow the Italians to seize the parts of Yugoslavia that they had long coveted. The assassination of Alexander on 9 October 1934 while on a state visit to France did not cause the expected civil war, showing Mussolini that Yugoslavia was more stable than he thought, causing him to temporarily abandon his plans against that country, and inclining him instead to work for a rapprochement with Belgrade, which Stojadinović welcomed. From 1936 onward, there were increasing signs that Italy and Germany were putting aside their differences on the "Austrian Question," with Mussolini proclaiming in a speech in Milan in October 1936 that there was now a " Berlin-Rome axis" in Europe. The existence of the "Berlin-Rome axis" ended whatever hopes the Yugoslavs might have had of playing off Italy against Germany.


Balkan relations

In October 1936, while on his way back from Istanbul, Stojadinović stayed at Kricim Castle, the rural residence of King Boris. During his stay there, Stojadinović agreed to a friendship treaty. Under the terms of the Balkan Pact, approval by the other members was required if any member wanted to sign a treaty with another Balkan state. Stojadinović faced little opposition from Turkey, but both Romania and Greece objected strenuously, believing that Yugoslavia was deserting the alliance, and only reluctantly gave permission in January 1937. Romania and Greece assented only when Stojadinović threatened to sign the pact without their permission, which would have broken up the Balkan Pact. In late 1936, Stojadinović sabotaged a French effort to strengthen the Little Entente of Czechoslovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia, the terms of which the Quai d'Orsay sought to change to require united action to oppose aggression by any state, not just Hungary. Both King
Carol II of Romania Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930, until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. As the eldest son of King Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I, in 1914. He was the f ...
and President
Edvard Beneš Edvard Beneš (; 28 May 1884 – 3 September 1948) was a Czech politician and statesman who served as the president of Czechoslovakia from 1935 to 1938, and again from 1939 to 1948. During the first six years of his second stint, he led the Czec ...
of Czechoslovakia supported the French proposal, and Stojadinović was the lone holdout who refused to discuss amending the treaty which created the Little Entente. Stojadinović explained later to a French envoy that Yugoslavia was now so deeply entrenched in Germany's economic sphere of influence that he simply could not risk a war with the ''Reich'', Yugoslavia's largest trading partner and investor. Gwermany itself did not even see any need for an alliance with Belgrade, as it expected economic interests alone to make Yugoslavia Germany's ''de facto'' ally. By 1938, 60% of Yugoslavia's trade was with Germany, making the ''Reich'' Yugoslavia's largest trading partner, with Germany importing bauxite, copper, and manganese to aid its preparations for war, while most consumer goods and capital equipment in Yugoslavia were German imports. On 24 January 1937, Stojadinović signed the friendship pact with Bulgaria. Although the pact said little more than that the peoples of Yugoslavia and Bulgaria would henceforward live together in peace and friendship, Stojadinović and his Bulgarian counterpart Georgi Kyoseivanov informally agreed that Bulgaria would cease making claims on Yugoslav Macedonia in exchange for which Stojadinović would support Bulgarian claims against Greece. Stojadinović wanted much of
Greek Macedonia Macedonia ( ; , ) is a geographic and former administrative region of Greece, in the southern Balkans. Macedonia is the largest and geographic region in Greece, with a population of 2.36 million (as of 2020). It is highly mountainous, wit ...
for Yugoslavia, especially the port city of
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
, and the purpose of the friendship pact was to lay the basis of a Yugoslav-Bulgarian alliance against Greece. At the time of the signing, Stojadinović and Kyoseivanov agreed that
Alexandroupoli Alexandroupolis (, ) or Alexandroupoli (, ) is a city in Greece and the capital of the Evros (regional unit), Evros regional unit. It is the largest city in Greek Thrace and the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, with a population of 71,75 ...
would go to Bulgaria while Yugoslavia would take Thessaloniki. As Bulgaria was an ally of Italy by virtue of Boris' marriage to Princess Giovanna, daughter of King
Victor Emmanuel III of Italy Victor Emmanuel III (; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albania ...
, improving relations with Sofia fitted in with Stojadinović's plans to improve relations with Rome. Stojadinović intended to end the problem of Ustasha terrorism in Croatia by a rapprochement with Italy that would cause the Italians to cease supporting the Ustasha, which would help with his plans to settle the "Croat question".


Croatia

In January 1937, Stojadinović met with
Vladko Maček Vladimir Maček (20 June 1879 – 15 May 1964) was a politician in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. As a leader of the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) following the 1928 assassination of Stjepan Radić, Maček had been a leading Croatian political figure ...
of the
Croatian Peasant Party The Croatian Peasant Party (, HSS) is an agrarianism, agrarian List of political parties in Croatia, political party in Croatia founded on 22 December 1904 by Antun Radić, Antun and Stjepan Radić as Croatian Peoples' Peasant Party (HPSS). The ...
. Stojadinović rejected Maček's demands for a federation, and instead preferred that Maček establish ties with Serbian opposition leaders to divide Yugoslav politics into two blocs that would transcend ethnicity, language and religion. One bloc would be a federalist bloc, the other unitarist, a dichotomy Stojadinović saw as the solution to Yugoslavia's problems of unity as it would create pan-Yugoslav ties that would ultimately weaken the prevailing ties of language, ethnicity and religion. Stojadinović tried to make himself the "national" leader of the Serbs in a way comparable to how Maček was viewed as the "national" leader of the Croats, Father Korošec as the "national" leader of the Slovenes and Spaho as the "national" leader of the Bosnian Muslims, but the heterogeneous values of the Serb voters caused the failure of his bid to be the Serb "national leader". That the Serbs were the largest ethnic group in Yugoslavia meant that Serb voters did not feel the need to rally around a single "national" leader as did Yugoslavia's smaller ethnicities, who, feeling more embattled and threatened than Serbs, each tended to vote for a single party.


Negotiations with the Axis powers

In March 1937, Stojadinović told Raymond Brugère, the French minister in Belgrade, that France was secure behind the Maginot Line, but the construction of the West Wall meant that the French Army would probably stay behind the Maginot Line if Germany should attack any of France's allies in Eastern Europe, which led him to conclude that Yugoslavia must not "provoke" Germany. Without informing France, Czechoslovakia or Romania, Stojadinović opened negotiations in the winter of 1936–37 for an Italo-Yugoslav treaty intended to resolve all of the outstanding problems between the two countries. On 25 March 1937, the Italian foreign minister, Count
Galeazzo Ciano Gian Galeazzo Ciano, 2nd Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari ( , ; 18 March 1903 – 11 January 1944), was an Italian diplomat and politician who served as Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister in the government of his father-in-law ...
, arrived in Belgrade to sign the treaty alongside Stojadinović. Under the terms of the Italo-Yugoslav treaty, Italy promised to rein in the Ustasha, respect the borders of Yugoslavia,, and accept Yugoslavia's membership in the Little Entente, the League of Nations and the Balkan pact in exchange for which Yugoslavia accepted Albania as being in the Italian sphere of influence. Although Stojadinović did not formally repudiate the alliance with France or the Little Entente, the Italo-Yugoslav treaty brought Yugoslavia much closer to the Axis powers, did much to weaken its existing alliances, and brought a definitive end to the French effort to strengthen the Little Entente. American historian
Gerhard Weinberg Gerhard Ludwig Weinberg (born 1 January 1928) is a German-born American Diplomatic history, diplomatic and Military History, military historian noted for his studies in the history of Nazi Germany and World War II. Weinberg is the William Rand Ke ...
summarized the effects of the Italo-Yugoslav treaty: "Having signed with Italy, he tojadinovićcould hardly be expected to sign an agreement with France that was designed to protect Yugoslavia against her new associate. Conversely, he could not promise to assist Czechoslovakia against Germany, Italy's Axis partner. Stojadinović could, therefore, now safely assure the Germans that there would be no Yugoslav assistance pact with France". The attempted Concordat with the
Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
caused severe protests from the
Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church#Constit ...
in 1937 and thus never came into effect. When the Concordat came up for ratification by the ''skupshtina'' on 23 July 1937, protests broke out overnight in Belgrade by Orthodox priests who called the concordat a sell-out to the Roman Catholic Church. The very night that the parliament was holding the vote to ratify the Concordat, the Patriarch Varnava of the Serbian Orthodox Church died, which Orthodox faithful saw as a sign that God disapproved of the Concordat. That the Patriarch died the same night caused an immense backlash against the Concordat among the Serbs, and the Orthodox Church announced that all Orthodox deputies in the ''skupshtina'' who voted for the Concordat were now penalised. Stojadinović withdrew the Concordat in a bid to save his popularity with the Serbs, damaging his own reputation among Croats as a fair-minded negotiator and prompting Maček to accuse him of dealing in bad faith. Thus, the failed Concordat cost Stojadinović popular support in both Croatia and Serbia. In October 1937, Maček signed an accord called the Bloc of National Agreement which brought together his own Croatian Peasant Party with the anti-Stojadinović faction of the Serb Radicals, the Democrats, the Agrarian Party and the Independent Democrats. By this time, despite the economic upturn, Stojadinović was widely unpopular owing to rampant corruption within his government. British novelist Rebecca West who went to Yugoslavia in 1937 to research her book ''Black Lamb and Grey Falcon'' reported that ordinary people had told her that Stojadinović was "a tyrant and enemy of freedom" who was "hated throughout the length and breadth of the land" amidst rumors that Stojadinović and his associates were looting the public treasury. In December 1937, Stojadinović visited Rome to meet
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
and his son-in-law, the Foreign Minister, Count
Galeazzo Ciano Gian Galeazzo Ciano, 2nd Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari ( , ; 18 March 1903 – 11 January 1944), was an Italian diplomat and politician who served as Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister in the government of his father-in-law ...
, both of whom he regarded as friends. Ciano wrote in his diary that Stojadinović: "...liked the Mussolini formula: strength and consensus. King Alexander had only strength. S ojadinovićwants to popularize his dictatorship". Ciano reciprocated Stojadinović's admiration of Fascist Italy, writing in his diary he is "our sincere friend... a strong, full-blooded man with a resonant laugh and a strong handshake... a man who inspires confidence... Of all the political men I have encountered so far in my European wanderings, he is the one I find the most interesting". Although Stojadinović brought along his wife, Ciano arranged parties "with the most beautiful women of Rome society", knowing that Stojadinović was a womanizer who took many of the Roman beauties he met to his bed. Under the Little Entente of 1921, Yugoslavia was obligated to go to war if Hungary attacked either Czechoslovakia or Romania. In January 1938, Stojadinović visited Germany to meet
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
, assuring him that he was a personal admirer of ''der Führer'' who wanted much closer German-Yugoslav ties. Hitler assured Stojadinović that, as long as he continued his pro-German policies, Germany not only would never attack Yugoslavia, but would also not support Hungary's claims against Yugoslavia. Stojadinović promised Hitler that Yugoslavia would accept any ''Anschluss'' with Austria as Yugoslavia regarded the question of annexing Austria as an "internal" German matter. Stojadinović stated that Yugoslavia had always enjoyed good relations with Germany except when it viewed the ''Reich'' through "somebody's else spectacles" (a reference to France), leading Hitler to say that Germany no longer viewed Yugoslavia "through Viennese spectacles". Stojadinović's remarks during his visit to Berlin led to an explosive meeting with Raymond Brugère, the French minister upon his return to Belgrade. Brugère was a bumptious character who did not always follow the niceties of diplomacy. Brugère confronted Stojadinović, expressing "astonishment" about his statements in Berlin, leading to charge that Stojadinović was abandoning Yugoslavia's friends for its enemies. Stojadinović who did not want to end the alliance with France responded by saying maintaining the alliance with France remained a "fundamental" element of his foreign policy, leading Brugère to demand proof of such intentions. Brugère demanded that staff-level talks between the Yugoslav and French armies resume and that that Yugoslavia start buying French arms again, saying that as far as he was concerned Yugoslavia was a French ally only in word, not deed. In 1938, Germany was planning to attack Czechoslovakia and Mussolini, in a bid to assist Hitler, worked to detach Yugoslavia from the Little Entente. In June 1938, Stojadinović met with Count Ciano and promised him that Yugoslavia would do nothing if Germany attacked Czechoslovakia. In return, Stojadinović asked that the Italians use their influence with the Hungarians to keep Hungary from attacking Czechoslovakia, saying the Little Entente was directed against Hungary, and as long as Hungary remained neutral, so would Yugoslavia. After the
Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...
, Stojadinović appeared quite comfortable with the idea of Germany as the hegemonic power in Eastern Europe, and German-Yugoslav relations had improved so much that in late 1938, Stojadinović began talks about buying weapons from Germany for Yugoslavia. Stojadinović started to call himself , Serbo-Croatian for "leader", but stopped doing so because its resemblance to the Serbo-Croatian word for "devil," , led his opponents to mock JRZ supporters for hailing the "devil". Furthermore, Stojadinović's use of the title "the leader" led the Prince Regent Paul to doubt his loyalty to King Peter II.


Replacement

A day before the elections on 11 December 1938, Stojadinović told a group of Belgrade journalists that the JRZ's platform was "One King, one nation, one state, prosperity at home, peace on the borders". During the election, Stojadinović presented himself as a strongman, with campaign pamphlets that proclaimed the slogan "one king, one nation, one state" and that featured photographs of Stojadinović giving speeches to uniformed followers. In late 1938 he was re-elected, albeit with a smaller margin than expected. As Stojadinović jad failed to pacify the
Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...
, had raised a legion of uniformed followers ('Green Shirts'), and had no clear political programme, the regent
Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...
saw fit to replace Stojadinović, on 5 February 1939, with Dragiša Cvetković. Prince Paul had by early 1939 come to see the ambitious Stojadinović, with his fascist pretensions, as a threat to his own power. The Prince Regent then went further, detaining Stojadinović without proper cause and eventually exiling him on 17 March 1941, possibly with help from
King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...
of the UK (who had been the Prince Regent's best man in 1923), to the British Crown colony of
Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
, where he was kept during World War II. By this point, Paul favored exile as he feared Stojadinović could be the focus of a pro-Axis coup directed from Berlin. Paul wanted to ensure that there was no alternative leadership in Belgrade through which the Axis powers could make a deal. British prime minister
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
justified interning Stojadinović in Mauritius as he was a "potential Quisling and an enemy".


Emigration

In 1946, Stojadinović went to
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
, and then to
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
, where he was reunited with his wife and two daughters. Stojadinović spent the rest of his life as presidential advisor on economic and financial affairs to governments in
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
and founded the financial newspaper ''El Economista''. Stojadinović was close to the Argentine president
Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine military officer and Statesman (politician), statesman who served as the History of Argentina (1946-1955), 29th president of Argentina from 1946 to Revolución Libertad ...
to whom he was an economic adviser. The affluent lifestyle of Stojadinović in Buenos Aires suggested that the rumors of personal corruption on his part during his time as prime minister were well founded. In 1954, Stojadinović met with
Ante Pavelić Ante Pavelić (; 14 July 1889 – 28 December 1959) was a Croatian politician who founded and headed the fascist ultranationalist organization known as the Ustaše in 1929 and was dictator of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), a fasc ...
, the former '' Poglavnik'' of the
Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...
(NDH) who also lived in Buenos Aires, and agreed to cooperate with him on the creation of two independent and enlarged Croatian and Serbian states. Since Pavelić's regime during World War II had killed between 300,000 and 500,000 Serbs, Stojadinović's willingness to work with Pavelić largely discredited him both in Yugoslavia and among the Serb diaspora overseas. The Ustasha campaign against the Serbs in World War II is viewed by the Serbs as well as scholars'The United States' Response to Genocide in the Independent State of Croatia, 1941 – 1945' Genocide Studies and Prevention 3 (2008), pp. 75 – 98. as an act of genocide, and photographs of Stojadinović shaking hands with Pavelić ruined whatever was left of his good reputation. He died in 1961. Stojadinović's memoirs, titled ''Neither War, Nor Pact'' (''Ni rat, ni pakt''), were posthumously published in Buenos Aires in 1963 and were re-printed 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 ...
in 1970.


See also

* List of Finance Ministers of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stojadinovic, Milan 1888 births 1961 deaths Politicians from Čačak People's Radical Party politicians Yugoslav National Party politicians Yugoslav Radical Union politicians Argentine people of Serbian descent University of Belgrade Faculty of Law alumni Prime ministers of Yugoslavia Finance ministers of Yugoslavia Yugoslav emigrants to Argentina Yugoslav nationalists People exiled to Mauritius