Vasilije Jovanović ( sr-cyrl, Василије Јовановић; February 1874 – 31 December 1970), also known as Vasa Makedonac ("Vasa the Macedonian;" sr-cyrl, Васа Македонац), was a Serbian lawyer, politician, founder of the

Chetnik movement 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 Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist movement and guerrilla ...

and a founding member 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 ...

Early years and education

Faced with ethnic Albanian violence, Jovanović's family fled the village of Kožlje. They found refuge in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

, where Vasilije was born. After his primary education, the family moved 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 ...

where young Jovanović finished high school and Law Faculty. He rounded out his education with a PhD in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Founding of the Chetnik movement

As a lawyer in Belgrade he was a member of a

masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

lodge ''Pobratimstvo'' where he was acquainted with

Luka Ćelović Luka Ćelović also known as Luka Ćelović-Trebinjac ( sr-cyr, Лука Ћеловић; 18 October 1854 – 15 August 1929) was a Serbian businessman, merchant and rentier. At the beginning of the 20th century, he was one of the richest and in ...

and

Milorad Gođevac Milorad Gođevac ( sr-cyr, Милорад Гођевац, 1 March 1860 – 21 September 1933) was the organizer of the Serbian Chetnik Organization, a medical doctor by profession. Life Born in Valjevo, Principality of Serbia, he finished t ...

who already kept touch with Serbs in Macedonia, especially those acting within VMRO. In September 1903 the group formed a Serb revolutionary and guerrilla committee for Macedonia – ''Glavni odbor četničke akcije''. Jovanović became its secretary and one of its leaders until 1905. After the

Young Turk The Young Turks (, also ''Genç Türkler'') formed as a constitutionalist broad opposition-movement in the late Ottoman Empire against the absolutist régime of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (). The most powerful organization of the movement, a ...

revolution in 1908 when affairs in Macedonia seemed to be going towards a political solution, Jovanović took part in the First Conference of Serbs of Old Serbia and Macedonia (12-15 August 1908) in

. He was elected as a member of the Central Committee of the newly founded Serb Democratic League (political party of Serbs living in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

). Jovanović also took part as a member of the Assembly of Serbs in

, which first met in February 1909 and was active until the end of that year when it was banned by the

Young Turks The Young Turks (, also ''Genç Türkler'') formed as a constitutionalist broad opposition-movement in the late Ottoman Empire against the absolutist régime of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (). The most powerful organization of the movement, ...

.В. Крестић, Р. Љушић, Програми и статути српских политичких странака до 1918, Београд 1991, стр. 407, 410

WW1 and later political career

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 ...

he was mobilized and later on was sent to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

by Serbian government. After the War he was in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

as a Yugoslav member of the

. In

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 ...

he took active role in politics and acted as a Minister of Transport in several governments.

Notes

References

S. Simić, Srpska revolucionarna organizacija, komitsko četovanje u Staroj Srbiji 1903–1912, Beograd 1998, pp. 22, 38-43 {{DEFAULTSORT:Jovanovic, Vasa 1874 births 1970 deaths Politicians from Skopje Serbs of North Macedonia Diplomats from Skopje People from the Kingdom of Serbia 20th-century Serbian people Serbian Chetnik Organization Date of birth missing Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Serbia

Early years and education

Founding of the Chetnik movement

WW1 and later political career

See also

Notes

References