Momčilo Ninčić ( – 23 December 1949) was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and economist, president of 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 ...

from 1926 to 1927.

Early life and education

Momčilo Ninčić was born in

Jagodina Jagodina ( sr-cyrl, Јагодина, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Pomoravlje District in central Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Belica (river), Belica River, in the geographical region of � ...

on to Aaron and Paula Ninčić. His family was of Jewish descent, and originated from the town of

Kanjiža Kanjiža ( sr-Cyrl, Кањижа, pronounced ) formerly Stara Kanjiža ( sr-cyrl, Стара Кањижа; ; , formerly ''Kanizsa'') is a town and municipality located in the North Banat District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Kan ...

in northern Serbia. Ninčić's father was a well-known lawyer and judge in Jagodina, and served as Serbian Minister of Justice between 1895 and 1896. In 1903, he was elected to the Parliament of Serbia. Ninčić finished

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

in Jagodina and attended high school in

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 finished law school in

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and received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in 1899.

Political career

He held several ministerial positions in the government 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 ...

as a member of the People's Radical Party, beginning in 1912. He was president of the General Assembly of the

from 1926-27. During

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 ...

he was a member of the Yugoslav government in exile in

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, holding the position of Minister of External Affairs from 1941 to 1943. Ninčić sought good relations with the three Great Allies, particularly the United States. Ninčić accompanied young King Peter II of Yugoslavia on a visit to the United States and Canada in June and July 1942 which generated good publicity for the "Yugoslav cause," but in practice the concern shown by the Roosevelt Administration amounted to no more than superficial benevolent attitude. At the post-war Belgrade Process he was found guilty of installing

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 ...

as leader of the Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland

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 ...

force and supporting him and the army. Mihailović in turn warred with the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...

. After the war, the communists under Tito took power in Yugoslavia. The military court in

sentenced General

Dragoljub Mihailović Dragoljub ( sr-cyr, Драгољуб) is a Serbian masculine given name, derived from Slavic ''-drag, drag-'' ("dear, beloved") and ''ljub'' ("love, to like"), both very common in Slavic dithematic names. It roughly means "dear love". It may refer ...

to death in 1946 and also passed a sentence ''

in absentia ''In Absentia'' is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the f ...

'' of eight years hard labour on Momčilo Ninčić. The accused was found guilty of ''continuing the policy of the pro-fascist dictatorship in old Yugoslavia'' and pursuing ''a policy supplying the occupation and suppressing the Communist National Liberation uprising''. The indictment of the

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officials was even worse:

"an insufferable bore and a clumsy liar," "an extreme Serb," "an obscurantist and obstinate intriguer with a pro-German, pro-Italian past, a not very pleasant present, and ...no future at all," "an evil old man," "garrilous icand muddle-headed," "tortuous and hidebound."

Ninčić died in exile in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in 1949. He had written serious disquisitions on European, Serbian and Yugoslav politics. In 2006 a court in

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 ...

rehabilitated Momčilo Ninčić to the same stature he held before the communist party and people of Yugoslavia won power and freedom in their anti-fascist struggle. His daughter Olga married Avdo Humo just before

and stayed in occupied

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 ...

when her parents fled with the royal government to Britain in 1941.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nincic, Momcilo 1876 births 1949 deaths Politicians from Jagodina 20th-century Serbian Jews People's Radical Party politicians Finance ministers of Serbia Government ministers of Serbia Finance ministers of Yugoslavia Government ministers of Yugoslavia Serbian economists Serbian exiles People convicted in absentia Construction ministers of Serbia Presidents of the Assembly of the League of Nations