Vladimir Ljotić ( sr-cyr, Владимир Љотић; 1846 – 27 July 1912) was a Serbian politician and diplomat who served as the Serbian government

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

to Greece.

Biography

He was born into the well-known Ljotić family in

Smederevo Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about downstream of the Serbian capital, ...

. The family was loyal to the Karađorđević dynasty which is why Vladimir's father Dimitrije "Mita" had to emigrate from Serbia following the return to the throne of the Obrenović dynasty in 1858. While abroad, Dimitirje's father was the secretary of Prince Alexander Karađorđević. During this time, young Vladimir remained in Serbia and began studying law but after the assassination of Prince Mihailo Obrenović in 1868, he had to leave the country because of the unfavourable situation for the families loyal to the Karađorđević dynasty. He continued studying law in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. He took part in the founding of the United Serbian Youth in 1870. While abroad, he was in the socialist circles around

Svetozar Marković Svetozar Marković ( sr-Cyrl, Светозар Марковић, ; 9 September 1846 – 26 February 1875) was a Serbian political activist, literary critic and socialist philosopher. He developed an activistic anthropological philosophy ...

. His socialist feelings in his youth are evident as he was the first to translate ''

The Communist Manifesto ''The Communist Manifesto'' (), originally the ''Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (), is a political pamphlet written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, commissioned by the Communist League and originally published in London in 1848. The ...

'' into Serbian, published in 1871 in the newspaper ''Pančevac''. He returned to Serbia after the abdication of King Milan I on 22 February 1889. When

Sava Grujić Sava Grujić ( sr-Cyrl, Сава Грујић, ; 25 November 1840 – 3 November 1913) was a Serbian politician, statesman, general, army officer, and author, serving five times as Prime Minister of Serbia#Kingdom of Serbia (1882–1918), Prime ...

formed a government led by the People's Radical Party in 1890, Ljotić became the Serbian consul in

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 ...

. After his diplomatic service, he continued working in politics as the president of the Municipality of Smederevo and as a member of parliament. He was one of the deputies who 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 ...

in 1903 publicly called on King Peter I to inherit the Serbian throne. From 1904 to 1909, he was again the consul in Thessaloniki. He died on 27 July 1912 and is interred near the

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...

church at the Smederevo Old Cemetery.D. Subotić, Delatnost Vladimira Ljotića u oslobađanju srpskog naroda u Turskoj do 1909. godine. ''Srbija i oslobođenje srpskog naroda u Turskoj 1804–1912''. Belgrade, 1912. Pgs. 260–262.

Personal life

His eldest son

Dimitrije Ljotić Dimitrije Ljotić ( sr-cyr, Димитрије Љотић; 12 August 1891 – 23 April 1945) was a Serbian and Yugoslav fascist politician and ideologue who established the Yugoslav National Movement (Zbor) in 1935 and collaborated with N ...

was a politician and ideologue who established the

Yugoslav National Movement The Yugoslav National Movement (), also known as the United Militant Labour Organization (, or Zbor / ), was a Yugoslav fascist movement and organization led by politician Dimitrije Ljotić. Founded in 1935, it received considerable German financ ...

(Zbor) in 1935 and collaborated with German occupational authorities in the

Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia The Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia (; ) was the area of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia that was placed under a military government of occupation by the Wehrmacht following the invasion, occupation and dismantling of Yugoslavia in ...

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 ...

. Dimitrije's son was named Vladimir after Vladimir Ljotić. His younger son was assassinated in his apartment 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 ...

on 8 July 1974 by agents of the Yugoslav State Security Administration.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ljotic, Vladimir 1846 births 1912 deaths Politicians from Smederevo People from the Principality of Serbia Government ministers of Serbia University of Belgrade Faculty of Law alumni Burials at Serbian Orthodox monasteries and churches