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{{short description|Serbian politician}}
{{short description|Serbian politician}}

{{Redirect|Nikola Pasic|the Swedish ice hockey player|Nikola Pasic (ice hockey)}}
{{Redirect|Nikola Pasic|the Swedish ice hockey player|Nikola Pasic (ice hockey)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2020}}
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{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[His Excellency]]
| honorific-prefix = [[His Excellency]]
| name = Nikola Pašić<br/>{{small|Никола Пашић}}
| name = Nikola Pašić
| native_name = {{No bold|Никола Пашић}}
| image = NikolaPasic--balkancockpitpol00pric 0191.png
| native_name_lang = sr
| image = NikolaPasic--balkancockpitpol00pric 0191.png
| caption = Pašić, {{c.}} 1914
| caption = Pašić, {{c.}} 1914
| order1 = 4th
| office1 = [[Prime Minister of Yugoslavia]]
| office1 = Prime Minister of Yugoslavia
| term_start1 = 6 November 1924
| term_start1 = 6 November 1924
| term_end1 = 8 April 1926
| term_end1 = 8 April 1926
| monarch1 = [[Alexander I of Yugoslavia|Alexander I]]
| monarch1 = [[Alexander I of Yugoslavia|Alexander I]]
| predecessor1 = [[Ljubomir Davidović]]
| predecessor1 = [[Ljubomir Davidović]]
| successor1 = [[Nikola Uzunović]]
| successor1 = [[Nikola Uzunović]]
| term_start2 = 1 January 1921
| term_start2 = 1 January 1921
| term_end2 = 28 July 1924
| monarch2 = {{ubl|[[Peter I of Serbia|Peter I]]|Alexander I}}
| term_end2 = 28 July 1924
| predecessor2 = [[Milenko Vesnić]]
| monarch2 = [[Peter I of Serbia|Peter I]]<br/>[[Alexander I of Yugoslavia|Alexander I]]
| predecessor2 = [[Milenko Vesnić]]
| successor2 = [[Ljubomir Davidović]]
| successor2 = [[Ljubomir Davidović]]
| term_label3 = Acting
| term_start3 = 1 December 1918
| term_start3 = 1 December 1918
| term_end3 = 22 December 1918<br/>Acting
| term_end3 = 22 December 1918
| monarch3 = [[Peter I of Serbia|Peter I]]
| monarch3 = [[Peter I of Serbia|Peter I]]
| predecessor3 = Position established
| predecessor3 = ''Position established''
| successor3 = [[Stojan Protić]]
| successor3 = [[Stojan Protić]]
| office4 = [[Prime Minister of Serbia]]
| office4 = [[Prime Minister of Serbia]]
| term_start4 = 12 September 1912
| term_start4 = 12 September 1912
| term_end4 = 1 December 1918
| term_end4 = 1 December 1918
| monarch4 = [[Peter I of Serbia|Peter I]]
| monarch4 = [[Peter I of Serbia|Peter I]]
| predecessor4 = Marko Trifković
| predecessor4 = Marko Trifković
| successor4 = Position abolished
| successor4 = ''Position abolished''
| term_start5 = 24 October 1909
| term_start5 = 24 October 1909
| term_end5 = 4 July 1911
| term_end5 = 4 July 1911
| monarch5 = [[Peter I of Serbia|Peter I]]
| monarch5 = [[Peter I of Serbia|Peter I]]
| predecessor5 = [[Stojan Novaković]]
| predecessor5 = [[Stojan Novaković]]
| successor5 = [[Milovan Milovanović]]
| successor5 = [[Milovan Milovanović]]
| term_start6 = 29 April 1906
| term_start6 = 29 April 1906
| term_end6 = 20 July 1908
| term_end6 = 20 July 1908
| monarch6 = [[Peter I of Serbia|Peter I]]
| monarch6 = [[Peter I of Serbia|Peter I]]
| predecessor6 = [[Sava Grujić]]
| predecessor6 = [[Sava Grujić]]
| successor6 = [[Petar Velimirović]]
| successor6 = [[Petar Velimirović]]
| term_start7 = 10 December 1904
| term_start7 = 10 December 1904
| term_end7 = 28 May 1905
| term_end7 = 28 May 1905
| monarch7 = [[Peter I of Serbia|Peter I]]
| monarch7 = [[Peter I of Serbia|Peter I]]
| predecessor7 = [[Sava Grujić]]
| predecessor7 = [[Sava Grujić]]
| successor7 = [[Ljubomir Stojanović]]
| successor7 = [[Ljubomir Stojanović]]
| term_start8 = 23 February 1891
| term_start8 = 23 February 1891
| term_end8 = 22 August 1892
| term_end8 = 22 August 1892
| monarch8 = [[Alexander I of Serbia|Alexander I]]
| monarch8 = [[Alexander I of Serbia|Alexander I]]
| predecessor8 = [[Sava Grujić]]
| predecessor8 = [[Sava Grujić]]
| successor8 = [[Jovan Avakumović]]
| successor8 = [[Jovan Avakumović]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1845|12|18|df=y}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1845|12|18|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Zaječar]], [[Principality of Serbia|Serbia]]
| birth_place = [[Zaječar]], [[Principality of Serbia|Serbia]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1926|12|10|1845|12|18|df=y}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1926|12|10|1845|12|18|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Belgrade]], [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]]
| death_place = [[Belgrade]], [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]]
| resting_place = [[Belgrade New Cemetery|New Cemetery]]
| resting_place = [[Belgrade New Cemetery|New Cemetery]]
| party = [[People's Radical Party]]
| party = [[People's Radical Party]]
| spouse = Đurđina Duković
| spouse = Đurđina Duković
| children = 3
| children = 3
| alma_mater = [[Belgrade Higher School]]<br/>[[Federal Polytechnic School]]
| alma_mater = {{ubl|[[Belgrade Higher School]]|[[Federal Polytechnic School]]}}
| signature = Nikola Pašić signature.svg
| signature = Nikola Pašić signature.svg
| office9 = [[Ministry of Defence (Serbia)| Minister of the Army]]
| term_label9 = Acting
| term_start9 = 22 November 1914
| term_end9 = 14 December 1914
| primeminister9 = Himself
| predecessor9 = Dušan Stefanović
| successor9 = Radovije Bojović
| office10 = [[Mayor of Belgrade]]
| term_start10 = 30 December 1889
| term_end10 = 14 January 1891
| term_end11 = 13 November 1897
| term_start11 = 10 January 1897
| predecessor11 = Nikola Stevanović
| predecessor10 = Živko Karabiberović
| successor10 = Milovan Malinković
| successor11 = Nikola Stevanović
| office12 = [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Serbia)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
| termstart12 = 21 March 1892
| termstart13 = 8 February 1904
| termstart14 = 30 April 1906
| termstart15 = 12 August 1912
| termend12 = 21 August 1892
| termend13 = 29 May 1905
| termend14 = 20 July 1908
| termend15 = 23 March 1918
| primeminister12 = Himself
| primeminister14 = [[Sava Grujić]] <br> Himself
| primeminister15 = [[Marko Trifković]] <br> Himself
| primeminister13 = [[Sava Grujić]] <br> Himself
| predecessor12 = [[Mihailo Kr. Đorđević]]
| predecessor13 = [[Andra Nikolić]]
| predecessor14 = [[Vasilije Antonić]]
| predecessor15 = [[Jovan Jovanović Pižon]]
| successor12 = [[Jovan Avakumović]]
| successor13 = [[Jovan Žujović]]
| successor14 = [[Milovan Milovanović]]
| successor15 = [[Mihailo Gavrilović]]
}}
}}


'''Nikola Pašić''' ({{lang-sr-Cyrl|Никола Пашић}}, {{IPA-sh|nǐkola pǎʃitɕ|pron}}; 18 December 1845 – 10 December 1926) was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and diplomat who was a leading political figure for almost 40 years. He was the leader of the [[People's Radical Party]] and, among other posts, was twice a mayor of Belgrade (1890–91 and 1897), several times Prime Minister of the [[Kingdom of Serbia]] (1891–92, 1904–05, 1906–08, 1909–11, 1912–18) and Prime Minister of the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]] (1918, 1921–24, 1924–26).
'''Nikola Pašić''' ({{lang-sr-Cyrl|Никола Пашић}}, {{IPA-sh|nǐkola pǎʃitɕ|pron}}; 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 Minister of Serbia|prime minister of Serbia]] and three times as [[Prime Minister of Yugoslavia|prime minister of Yugoslavia]], leading [[List of cabinets led by Nikola Pašić|22 governments]] in total. He played an instrumental role in the founding of [[Yugoslavia]] and is considered one of the most influential figures in Serbian twentieth-century history. With 12 years in office, Pašić was the longest-serving prime minister of Serbia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 August 2005 |title=Nikola Pašić najduže premijer |trans-title=Nikola Pašić is the longest-serving prime minister |url=https://www.blic.rs/vesti/politika/nikola-pasic-najduze-premijer/n98z4dl |access-date=12 November 2023 |website=Blic |language=sr}}</ref>

Born in [[Zaječar]], in eastern [[Principality of Serbia|Serbia]], Pašić studied engineering in [[Switzerland]] and embraced [[Classical radicalism|radical politics]] as a student at the [[ETH Zurich|Polytechnical School]] in [[Zürich]]. On his return to Serbia, he was elected to the [[National Assembly (Serbia)|National Assembly]] in 1878 as a member of the [[People's Radical Party]], which was formally organised three years later. After the failed [[Timok Rebellion]] against the government of King [[Milan I of Serbia|Milan I]], he was sentenced to death but narrowly avoided capture and execution. He spent the next six years exiled in [[Principality of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]]. Following Milan's abdication in 1889, Pašić returned to Serbia and was elected [[President of the National Assembly of Serbia|president of the National Assembly]]. A year later he also became [[mayor of Belgrade]]. In 1891, Pašić became prime minister for the first time, but was forced to resign the following year.

Following the [[May Coup (Serbia)|May Coup]] and the murder of King [[Alexander I of Serbia|Alexander I]], Pašić emerged as a leading figure in Serbian politics while the Radical Party established its dominance. He served as prime minister from 1904 to 1905, 1906 to 1908, 1909 to 1911 and finally from 1912 to 1918, as Serbia entered a golden age of economic growth and growing influence on the continental stage. He led Serbia to victory in the [[Balkan Wars]] against the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] and [[Kingdom of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]], almost doubling the size of Serbian territories. The [[assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand]] brought Serbia to war with [[Austria-Hungary]], sparking the [[First World War]] in which the country was overrun by the [[Central Powers]]. Pašić led the government in exile in the Greek island of [[Corfu]], where the [[Corfu Declaration]] was signed and paved the way for a future state of [[South Slavs]].


In 1918, the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes]] was officially proclaimed, and Pašić was recognised as the ''de facto'' prime minister of the new state. Despite his resignation just a month later, he took part in the [[Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920)|Paris Peace Conference]] as the Serbian representative. He served as prime minister on two more occasions, from 1921 to July 1924 and from November 1924 to 1926. During his final tenure, he oversaw the creation of the [[Vidovdan Constitution|kingdom's first constitution]]. He died of a heart attack in late 1926, at age 80. A proponent of [[populism]], [[nationalism]], and [[Realpolitik|political pragmatism]], Pašić began his career as a [[socialist]] but became a [[conservative]] in the 1910s.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Maričić |first=Slobodan |date=12 April 2022 |title=Koja je tajna duge vladavine Nikole Pašića |language=sr |trans-title=What is the secret to the long rule of Nikola Pašić |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/serbian/lat/srbija-61070641 |access-date=12 November 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Vulićević |first=Marina |date=27 March 2023 |title=Pašićeve promašaje trpimo i danas |trans-title=We still suffer from Pašić's failures today |url=https://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/544895/Pasiceve-promasaje-trpimo-i-danas |access-date=12 November 2023 |website=Politika |language=sr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Müller |first=Jan-Werner |last2=Pešić |first2=Vesna |last3=Stojanović |first3=Dubravka |date=14 November 2017 |title=Šta ja nama populizam |trans-title=What is populism to us |url=https://pescanik.net/sta-je-nama-populizam/ |access-date=12 November 2023 |website=Peščanik |language=sr}}</ref>
He was an important politician in the [[Balkans]], who, together with his counterparts, like [[Eleftherios Venizelos]] in [[Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg)|Greece]], managed to strengthen their emergent national states against foreign influence and interference, most notably those of [[Austria-Hungary]], the [[Ottoman Empire]] and the [[Russian Empire]].


==Early life==
==Early life==
Pašić was born in [[Zaječar]], [[Principality of Serbia]]. According to Slovenian ethnologist [[Niko Zupanič]], Pašić's ancestors migrated from the [[Tetovo]] region in the 16th century and founded the village of [[Zvezdan (Zaječar)|Zvezdan]] near Zaječar.<ref name=ZMSKJ-359>{{cite book|title=Zbornik Matice srpske za književnost i jezik|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vRU_AQAAIAAJ|year=1974|publisher=Matica srpska|page=359|quote=Милетић је претпостављао да је Никола Пашић пореклом из Тетевена, одакле му је дошао отац или дед. Ја сам га упозорио да словеначки етнолог Нико Жупанич констатује да је Н. Пашић пореклом из трговачке породице која се под крај XVI века доселила од Тетова и основала село Звездан код Зајечара (Станојевићева Енциклопедија III, 309) а и сам Пашић у више ма- хова казивао је да су му се стари доселили из околине тетовскога манастира Леш[о]ка. Ово је између осталога казао мом оцу Петру, с којим је зајед- но суђен због ивањданскога атентата, а говорио је тако у Бури Илкићу, школ- ском другу свога сина и домаћем пријатељу породице, који је још жив, као и другима кад би се распитивали}}</ref> Pašić himself said that his ancestors settled from the area of the Lešok Monastery in Tetovo.<ref name=ZMSKJ-359/> [[Jovan Dučić]] concluded that Pašić hailed from [[Veliki Izvor]] near Zaječar, and that Pašić's ancestry in Tetovo had been long lost.<ref name="Dučić1969">{{cite book|author=Jovan Dučić|title=Sabrana djela|volume=6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jcJKAAAAMAAJ|year=1969|page=197|quote=Пашић је пореклом из Извора у близини За- јечара. Тамо се налази неко људско насеље где су сви људи мање него осредњи, плавих јасних очију, који мало говоре, а воле брзе коње. Пашић је сам за своју породицу говорио да је из Тето- ва у Маћедонији, макар што се онамо затро сва- ки спомен на његове претке; а Бугари су то об- ртали говорећи да је Пашић из Тетувена у Бу- гарској}}</ref> Bulgarian ethnologist [[Stilian Chilingirov]] stated that Pashić's roots were from the village of [[Veliki Izvor]], founded during the 18th century by refugees from the [[Ottoman Bulgaria]]n village of [[Golyam Izvor, Lovech Province|Golyam Izvor]] in [[Teteven Municipality|Teteven area]] in today Bulgaria.<ref>Чилингиров, Стилиян. Какво е дал българинът на другите народи. 1938, 1939, 1941, 1991, 2006. с. 90-91.</ref> [[Ljubomir Miletić]] also claimed that Pašić's grandfather settled in [[Veliki Izvor]] from [[Teteven Municipality|Teteven area]], which was refuted by Serbian authors.<ref name=ZMSKJ-359/> claiming his parents were both born in Zaječar.{{sfn|Dimitrijević|2004|p=61}} However, the village of [[Veliki Izvor]], was really founded by refugees from the village of [[Golyam Izvor, Lovech Province|Golyam Izvor]], Teteven area.<ref>Представители от тетевенското село Голям извор гостуваха на с. Велики извор, община Зайчар, Сърбия. [http://www.teteven.bg/index.php/2016-07-27-14-47-27/2016-08-04-07-48-36/item/3556-predstaviteli-ot-tetevenskoto-selo-golyam-izvor-gostuvaha-na-s-veliki-izvor-obshtina-zaichar-sarbiya 27 Сеп 2018 г. Официален сайт на Община Тетевен.]</ref> [[Carlo Sforza]] mentioned that Pašić "was lucky in another respect, he belonged to the [[Shopi]] community".{{sfn|Sforca|1990|p=16|loc=" Пашић је имао још једну срећу: припадао је шопској..."}}
Pašić was born in [[Zaječar]], [[Principality of Serbia]]. According to Slovenian ethnologist [[Niko Županič]], Pašić's ancestors migrated from the [[Tetovo]] region in the 16th century and founded the village of [[Zvezdan (Zaječar)|Zvezdan]] near Zaječar.<ref name=ZMSKJ-359>{{cite book|title=Zbornik Matice srpske za književnost i jezik|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vRU_AQAAIAAJ|year=1974|publisher=Matica srpska|page=359|quote=Милетић је претпостављао да је Никола Пашић пореклом из Тетевена, одакле му је дошао отац или дед. Ја сам га упозорио да словеначки етнолог Нико Жупанич констатује да је Н. Пашић пореклом из трговачке породице која се под крај XVI века доселила од Тетова и основала село Звездан код Зајечара (Станојевићева Енциклопедија III, 309) а и сам Пашић у више ма- хова казивао је да су му се стари доселили из околине тетовскога манастира Леш[о]ка. Ово је између осталога казао мом оцу Петру, с којим је зајед- но суђен због ивањданскога атентата, а говорио је тако у Бури Илкићу, школ- ском другу свога сина и домаћем пријатељу породице, који је још жив, као и другима кад би се распитивали}}</ref> Pašić himself said that his ancestors settled from the area of the Lešok Monastery in Tetovo.<ref name=ZMSKJ-359/> [[Jovan Dučić]] concluded that Pašić hailed from [[Veliki Izvor]] near Zaječar, and that Pašić's ancestry in Tetovo had been long lost.<ref name="Dučić1969">{{cite book|author=Jovan Dučić|title=Sabrana djela|volume=6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jcJKAAAAMAAJ|year=1969|page=197|quote=Пашић је пореклом из Извора у близини За- јечара. Тамо се налази неко људско насеље где су сви људи мање него осредњи, плавих јасних очију, који мало говоре, а воле брзе коње. Пашић је сам за своју породицу говорио да је из Тето- ва у Маћедонији, макар што се онамо затро сва- ки спомен на његове претке; а Бугари су то об- ртали говорећи да је Пашић из Тетувена у Бу- гарској}}</ref> Bulgarian ethnologist [[Stilian Chilingirov]] stated that Pašić's roots were from the village of [[Veliki Izvor]], founded during the 18th century by refugees from the [[Ottoman Bulgaria]]n village of [[Golyam Izvor, Lovech Province|Golyam Izvor]] in [[Teteven Municipality|Teteven area]] in today's [[Bulgaria]].<ref>Чилингиров, Стилиян. Какво е дал българинът на другите народи. 1938, 1939, 1941, 1991, 2006. с. 90-91.</ref> [[Ljubomir Miletić]] also claimed that Pašić's grandfather settled in [[Veliki Izvor]] from [[Teteven Municipality|Teteven area]], which was refuted by Serbian authors,<ref name=ZMSKJ-359/> claiming his parents were both born in Zaječar.{{sfn|Dimitrijević|2004|p=61}} However, the village of Veliki Izvor, was really founded by refugees from the village of Golyam Izvor, Teteven area.<ref>Представители от тетевенското село Голям извор гостуваха на с. Велики извор, община Зайчар, Сърбия. [http://www.teteven.bg/index.php/2016-07-27-14-47-27/2016-08-04-07-48-36/item/3556-predstaviteli-ot-tetevenskoto-selo-golyam-izvor-gostuvaha-na-s-veliki-izvor-obshtina-zaichar-sarbiya 27 Сеп 2018 г. Официален сайт на Община Тетевен.]</ref> [[Carlo Sforza]] mentioned that Pašić "was lucky in another respect, he belonged to the [[Shopi]] community".{{sfn|Sforca|1990|p=16|loc=" Пашић је имао још једну срећу: припадао је шопској..."}} There also are claims attributing [[Aromanians|Aromanian]] descent to Pašić.<ref name="aro1">{{cite journal|url=https://dinitrandu.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Alex-Gica-Rcent-history.pdf|title=The recent history of the Aromanians in Southeast Europe|first=Alexandru|last=Gica|journal=[[The Newsletter of the Society Farsharotu]]|volume=24–25|issue=1–2|pages=1–22|year=2009–2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/serbian/cyr/srbija-61070641|title=Политика, историја и избори у Србији: Која је тајна дуге владавине Николе Пашића|first=Slobodan|last=Maričić|newspaper=BBC News Serbian|date=12 April 2022|language=sr}}</ref><ref>Radenković, Mile. Цинцари, балкански Хазари. p. 19. {{in lang|sr}}</ref>


Pašić completed elementary school in Zaječar, and finished his [[gymnasium (school)|gymnasium]] work in [[Negotin]] and [[Kragujevac]].{{sfn|Dragnich|1974|p=11}}{{sfn|Stokes|1990|p=56}} In the fall of 1865, he enrolled in the [[University of Belgrade#History|Belgrade Higher School]] and in 1867 received a state scholarship to study railroad engineering at the [[ETH Zurich|Polytechnical School]] in [[Zürich]].{{sfn|Stokes|1990|p=56}} Historian Gale Stokes wrote that Pašić was a "serious student" who "went beyond the required subjects of his specialization".{{sfn|Stokes|1990|p=58}} According to Stokes, Pašić's early socialist ideals were shaped by German experiences rather than Marxist or Russian populist, as his studies were focused on German history and contemporary events which were taught by [[Germanophile]] professors.{{sfn|Stokes|1990|p=58}} He graduated as an engineer but, apart from his brief participation in the construction of the [[Vienna]]–[[Budapest]] railroad, he never worked in this field.{{sfn|Stokes|1990|p=62}}
Pašić completed elementary school in Zaječar, and finished his [[gymnasium (school)|gymnasium]] work in [[Negotin]] and [[Kragujevac]].{{sfn|Dragnich|1974|p=11}}{{sfn|Stokes|1990|p=56}} In the fall of 1865, he enrolled in the [[University of Belgrade#History|Belgrade Higher School]] and in 1867 received a state scholarship to study railroad engineering at the [[ETH Zurich|Polytechnical School]] in [[Zürich]].{{sfn|Stokes|1990|p=56}} Historian Gale Stokes wrote that Pašić was a "serious student" who "went beyond the required subjects of his specialization".{{sfn|Stokes|1990|p=58}} According to Stokes, Pašić's early socialist ideals were shaped by German experiences rather than [[Marxism|Marxist]] or Russian populism, as his studies were focused on German history and contemporary events which were taught by [[Germanophile]] professors.{{sfn|Stokes|1990|p=58}} He graduated as an engineer but, apart from his brief participation in the construction of the [[Vienna]]–[[Budapest]] railroad, he never worked in this field.{{sfn|Stokes|1990|p=62}}


==Radical Party==
==Radical Party==
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===Timok Rebellion===
===Timok Rebellion===
{{Main|Timok rebellion}}
{{Main|Timok rebellion}}
The party and Pašić quickly gained popularity; the Radicals received 54 percent of the vote in the September 1883 elections, while the Progressive Party, favored by King [[Milan Obrenović IV]] only got 30 percent.<ref>{{cite web |title=DA LI JE NIKOLA PAŠIĆ ZASLUŽIO OVAKAV KRAJ? Srbi su ga OBOŽAVALI, a porodica mu je UNIŠTILA KARIJERU |url=https://www.telegraf.rs/vesti/politika/1897728-da-li-je-nikola-pasic-zavrsio-ovakav-kraj-srbi-su-ga-obozavali-a-porodica-mu-je-unistila-karijeru-foto-video |website=Telegraf.rs |date=10 December 2015}}</ref> Despite the Radicals' clear victory, the pro-Austrian king, who disliked the pro-Russian Pašić and the Radical party, nominated old non-partisan hardliner [[Nikola Hristić]] to form a government.{{sfn|Dragnich|1974|p=26}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=MacKenzie |first1=David |title=Violent Solutions: Revolutions, Nationalism, and Secret Societies in Europe to 1918 |date=1996 |publisher=University Press of America |isbn=978-0-76180-399-7 |page=233}}</ref> The assembly refused to cooperate and the session was suspended.<ref name="McClellan">{{cite book |last1=McClellan |first1=Woodford |title=Svetozar Markovic and the Origins of Balkan Socialism |date=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-40087-585-6 |page=271 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eBjWCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA271}}</ref>
The party and Pašić quickly gained popularity; the Radicals received 54 percent of the vote in the September 1883 elections, while the Progressive Party, favored by King [[Milan Obrenović IV]] only got 30 percent.<ref>{{cite web |title=DA LI JE NIKOLA PAŠIĆ ZASLUŽIO OVAKAV KRAJ? Srbi su ga OBOŽAVALI, a porodica mu je UNIŠTILA KARIJERU |url=https://www.telegraf.rs/vesti/politika/1897728-da-li-je-nikola-pasic-zavrsio-ovakav-kraj-srbi-su-ga-obozavali-a-porodica-mu-je-unistila-karijeru-foto-video |website=Telegraf.rs |date=10 December 2015}}</ref> Despite the Radicals' clear victory, the pro-Austrian king, who disliked the pro-[[Russian Empire|Russian]] Pašić and the Radical party, nominated old non-partisan hardliner [[Nikola Hristić]] to form a government.{{sfn|Dragnich|1974|p=26}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=MacKenzie |first1=David |title=Violent Solutions: Revolutions, Nationalism, and Secret Societies in Europe to 1918 |date=1996 |publisher=University Press of America |isbn=978-0-76180-399-7 |page=233}}</ref> The assembly refused to cooperate and the session was suspended.<ref name="McClellan">{{cite book |last1=McClellan |first1=Woodford |title=Svetozar Markovic and the Origins of Balkan Socialism |date=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-40087-585-6 |page=271 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eBjWCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA271}}</ref>


The atmosphere was made worse when Hristić attempted to take away peasants' guns, in order to establish a regular army.<ref name="McClellan"/> As a result, clashes began in eastern Serbia, in the [[Timok]] valley. King Milan blamed the unrest on the Radicals and sent troops to crush the rebellion. Pašić was sentenced to death in absentia and he narrowly avoided arrest by fleeing to Hungary.<ref name="McClellan"/> Twenty-one others were sentenced to death and executed,<ref name="McClellan"/> and 734 more were imprisoned.
The atmosphere was made worse when Hristić attempted to take away peasants' guns, in order to establish a regular army.<ref name="McClellan"/> As a result, clashes began in eastern Serbia, in the [[Timok]] valley. King Milan blamed the unrest on the Radicals and sent troops to crush the rebellion. Pašić was sentenced to death in absentia and he narrowly avoided arrest by fleeing to Hungary.<ref name="McClellan"/> Twenty-one others were sentenced to death and executed,<ref name="McClellan"/> and 734 more were imprisoned.


===Exile in Bulgaria===
===Exile in Bulgaria===
For the next six years, Pašić lived with relatives in Bulgaria, supported by the Bulgarian government. He lived in Sofia, where he worked as a building contractor, and worked for a short time in the Ministry of Interior According to Bulgarian sources, he spoke quite fluent Bulgarian, but mixed it with a large number of Serbian words and phrases, and it is claimed that he asked [[Petko Karavelov]]'s friends who hailed from [[Stara Planina]] about the characteristics of that region in Bulgaria, explaining that his ancestors had migrated from there to Serbia some generations before.{{sfn|Sforca|1990|p=36|loc= "Пашић је говорио доста течно бугарски, али је у говор мешао велики број српских речи и израза. Оне младе пријатеље Каравелове који су били пореклом из области Старе Планине Пашић је често питао о карактеристика- ма тога краја Бугарске. Објашњавао им је да су се његови преци иселили одатле у Србију пре неколико генерација. Бугарска сведочанства потпуно се разилазе у једном важном питању: да ли се Пашић бавио активном политиком за време свога изгнанства у Софији."}}
For the next six years, Pašić lived with relatives in Bulgaria, supported by the Bulgarian government. He lived in [[Sofia]], where he worked as a building contractor, and also worked for a short time in the [[Ministry of Interior (Bulgaria)|Ministry of Interior]]. According to Bulgarian sources, he spoke quite fluent [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]], but mixed it with a large number of [[Serbian language|Serbian]] words and phrases, and it is claimed that he asked [[Petko Karavelov]]'s friends who hailed from [[Stara Planina]] about the characteristics of that region in Bulgaria, explaining that his ancestors had migrated from there to Serbia some generations before.{{sfn|Sforca|1990|p=36|loc= "Пашић је говорио доста течно бугарски, али је у говор мешао велики број српских речи и израза. Оне младе пријатеље Каравелове који су били пореклом из области Старе Планине Пашић је често питао о карактеристика- ма тога краја Бугарске. Објашњавао им је да су се његови преци иселили одатле у Србију пре неколико генерација. Бугарска сведочанства потпуно се разилазе у једном важном питању: да ли се Пашић бавио активном политиком за време свога изгнанства у Софији."}}


Bulgarian testimonies completely differ in one important respect, whether Pašić worked actively in politics during his exile in Sofia.{{sfn|Sforca|1990|p=36}} The official Bulgarian support became one of several reasons for Milan's decision to start the [[Serbo-Bulgarian War]] in 1885.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}} After suffering a decisive defeat, Milan granted an amnesty for those sentenced for the Timok rebellion, but not for Pašić, who remained in Bulgarian exile until Milan's abdication in 1889.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}} A few days later the newly formed Radical cabinet of [[Sava Grujić]] pardoned Pašić.<ref>{{cite book |last1=St. Protić |first1=Milan |title=Between Democracy and Populism: Political Ideas of the Peopleʹs Radical Party in Serbia:(The Formative Period: 1860ʹs to 1903) |date=2015 |publisher=Balkanološki institut SANU |isbn=978-8-67179-094-9 |page=53 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y5qgDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA53}}</ref>
Bulgarian testimonies completely differ in one important respect, whether Pašić worked actively in politics during his exile in Sofia.{{sfn|Sforca|1990|p=36}} The official Bulgarian support became one of several reasons for Milan's decision to start the [[Serbo-Bulgarian War]] in 1885.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}} After suffering a decisive defeat, Milan granted an amnesty for those sentenced for the Timok rebellion, but not for Pašić, who remained in Bulgarian exile. In 1889, Milan abdicated in favor of [[Alexander I of Serbia|his 12-year-old son Alexander]].<ref>Christopher Clark, ''The Sleepwalkers'', p.17</ref> A few days later the newly formed Radical cabinet of [[Sava Grujić]] pardoned Pašić.<ref>{{cite book |last1=St. Protić |first1=Milan |title=Between Democracy and Populism: Political Ideas of the Peopleʹs Radical Party in Serbia:(The Formative Period: 1860ʹs to 1903) |date=2015 |publisher=Balkanološki institut SANU |isbn=978-8-67179-094-9 |page=53 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y5qgDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA53}}</ref>


==High politics 1890–1903==
==High politics 1890–1903==
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On 13 October 1889, Pašić was elected president of the National Assembly, a duty he would perform (''de jure'' though, not ''de facto'') until 9 January 1892. He was also elected mayor of Belgrade from 11 January 1890 to 26 January 1891. His presiding over the assembly saw the largest number of laws being voted in the history of Serbian [[parliamentarism]], while as the mayor of Belgrade he was responsible for [[cobblestone|cobbling]] the muddy city streets. He was reelected twice as president of the National Assembly from 13 June 1893 to April 1895 (though from September 1893 only in name; his deputy [[Dimitrije Katić]] acted for him) and 12 July 1897 to 29 June 1898 and once more mayor of Belgrade 22 January 1897 to 25 November 1897.<ref name="Dragnich 1998 pp 36-37">Dragnich (1998) pp 36-37.</ref>
On 13 October 1889, Pašić was elected president of the National Assembly, a duty he would perform (''de jure'' though, not ''de facto'') until 9 January 1892. He was also elected mayor of Belgrade from 11 January 1890 to 26 January 1891. His presiding over the assembly saw the largest number of laws being voted in the history of Serbian [[parliamentarism]], while as the mayor of Belgrade he was responsible for [[cobblestone|cobbling]] the muddy city streets. He was reelected twice as president of the National Assembly from 13 June 1893 to April 1895 (though from September 1893 only in name; his deputy [[Dimitrije Katić]] acted for him) and 12 July 1897 to 29 June 1898 and once more mayor of Belgrade 22 January 1897 to 25 November 1897.<ref name="Dragnich 1998 pp 36-37">Dragnich (1998) pp 36-37.</ref>


After wisely not accepting to head the government immediately after his return from exile, Nikola Pašić became prime minister for the first time on 23 February 1891. However, ex-king Milan returned to Serbia in May 1890 and again began campaigning against Pašić and the Radicals. On 16 June 1892, [[Kosta Protić]], one of three regents during the minority of [[Alexander I of Serbia|Alexander Obrenović V]], died. Under the constitution, the National Assembly was to elect a new regent, but as the assembly was on several months' vacation, Pašić had to call for an emergency session. [[Jovan Ristić]], the most powerful regent, fearing Pašić might be elected co-regent and thus undermine his position, refused to allow the extra session, and Pašić resigned as prime minister on 22 August 1892. During his tenure, he was also foreign minister from 2 April 1892 and acting finance minister from 3 November 1891.<ref name="Dragnich 1998 pp 36-37"/>
After wisely not accepting to head the government immediately after his return from exile, Nikola Pašić became prime minister for the first time on 23 February 1891. However, ex-king Milan returned to Serbia in May 1890 and again began campaigning against Pašić and the Radicals. On 16 June 1892, [[Kosta Protić]], one of three regents during the minority of [[Alexander I of Serbia|Alexander I]], died. Under the constitution, the National Assembly was to elect a new regent, but as the assembly was on several months' vacation, Pašić had to call for an emergency session. [[Jovan Ristić]], the most powerful regent, fearing Pašić might be elected co-regent and thus undermine his position, refused to allow the extra session, and Pašić resigned as prime minister on 22 August 1892. During his tenure, he was also foreign minister from 2 April 1892 and acting finance minister from 3 November 1891.<ref name="Dragnich 1998 pp 36-37"/>


===Alexander's coup d'état===
===Alexander's coup d'état===
After King Alexander declared himself of age ahead of time and dismissed the regency, he offered a moderate Radical [[Lazar Dokić]] to form a government. Though he received approval from some members of the Radical party to participate in the government, Pašić refused. In order to exclude him from the political scene in Serbia, Alexander sent Pašić as his extraordinary envoy to [[Saint Petersburg]], Russia, 1893–1894. In 1896, the king managed to force Pašić to back off from pushing for constitutional reforms. However, since 1897 both kings, Milan and Alexander, ruled almost jointly; as both disliked Pašić, in 1898 they had him imprisoned for 9 months because ''Samouprava'' published a statement about his previous opposition to King Milan. Pašić claimed he was misquoted, with no effect.{{sfn|Djokic|2010|p=24}}
In 1893, though still only 16 years old, King Alexander declared himself of age and dismissed the regents who had governed since 1889. He named moderate Radical [[Lazar Dokić]] to form a government. Though he received approval from some members of the Radical party to participate in the government, Pašić refused. To exclude him from the political scene in Serbia, Alexander sent Pašić as his extraordinary envoy to Russia in 1893–1894. In 1894, Alexander brought his father back to Serbia. In 1896, the king managed to force Pašić to back off from pushing for constitutional reforms. However, since 1897 both kings, Milan and Alexander, had ruled almost jointly. As both disliked Pašić, in 1898 they had him imprisoned for nine months because ''Samouprava'' published a statement about his previous opposition to King Milan. Pašić claimed he was misquoted, with no effect.{{sfn|Djokic|2010|p=24}}


===Ivandan's assassination attempt===
===Ivandan's assassination attempt===
Former fireman, Đura Knežević, who was sentenced to death, tried to assassinate ex-king Milan in June 1899 (Serbian: ''Ивандањски атентат''). The same evening, Milan declared that the Radical Party tried to kill him and all heads of the Radical Party were arrested, including Pašić who had just been released from prison from his previous sentence.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Draganich |first1=Alex N. |title=The Development of Parliamentary Government in Serbia |date=1978 |publisher=East European quarterly |isbn=978-0-91471-037-0 |page=90}}</ref> The accusations that the Radicals or Pašić were linked to the assassination attempt were unfounded. Still, Milan insisted that Nikola Pašić and [[Kosta Taušanović]] be sentenced to death.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Draganich |first1=Alex N. |title=Serbia and Yugoslavia: Historical Studies and Contemporary Commentaries |date=1998 |publisher=East European Monographs |isbn=978-0-88033-412-9 |page=18}}</ref> Austria-Hungary feared that the execution of the pro-Russian Pašić would force Russia to intervene, abandoning an 1897 agreement to leave Serbia in status quo. A special envoy was sent from Vienna to Milan to warn him that Austria would boycott the Obrenović dynasty if Pašić was executed. Noted Serbian historian [[Slobodan Jovanović]] later claimed that the entire assassination was staged so that Milan could get rid of the Radical Party.
Former fireman, Đura Knežević, who was sentenced to death, tried to assassinate ex-king Milan in June 1899 (Serbian: ''Ивандањски атентат''). The same evening, Milan declared that the Radical Party tried to kill him and all heads of the Radical Party were arrested, including Pašić who had just been released from prison from his previous sentence.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Draganich |first1=Alex N. |title=The Development of Parliamentary Government in Serbia |date=1978 |publisher=East European quarterly |isbn=978-0-91471-037-0 |page=90}}</ref> The accusations that the Radicals or Pašić were linked to the assassination attempt were unfounded. Still, Milan insisted that Nikola Pašić and [[Kosta Taušanović]] be sentenced to death.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Draganich |first1=Alex N. |title=Serbia and Yugoslavia: Historical Studies and Contemporary Commentaries |date=1998 |publisher=East European Monographs |isbn=978-0-88033-412-9 |page=18}}</ref> Austria-Hungary feared that the execution of the pro-Russian Pašić would force Russia to intervene, abandoning an 1897 agreement to leave Serbia in status quo. A special envoy was sent from Vienna to Milan to warn him that [[Austria-Hungary]] would boycott the Obrenović dynasty if Pašić was executed. Noted Serbian historian [[Slobodan Jovanović]] later claimed that the entire assassination was staged so that Milan could get rid of the Radical Party.


Imprisoned and unaware of Austria-Hungary's interference,<ref name="Clark">{{cite book |last1=Clark |first1=Christopher |title=The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 |date=2013 |publisher=Harper Collins |isbn=978-0-06219-922-5 |page=29 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TE0iZ4U2ZvUC&pg=PT29}}</ref> Pašić confessed that the Radical Party had been disloyal to the dynasty, which probably saved many people from prison.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pavkovic |first1=Aleksandar |last2=Redan |first2=Peter |title=The Serbs and their Leaders in the Twentieth Century |date=2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-42977-259-7 |page=62 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tnp_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT62}}</ref> As part of the deal reached with the interior minister [[Đorđe Genčić]], the government officially left its own role out of the statement, so that it appeared that Pašić behaved cowardly and succumbed to the pressure. Pašić was sentenced to five years but released immediately. This caused future conflict within the Radical Party as younger members considered Pašić a coward and traitor, and split from the party. For the remainder of Alexander's rule, Pašić retired from politics. Although the young monarch disliked Pašić, he was often summoned for consultations but would refrain from giving advice and insist that he is no longer involved with politics.
Imprisoned and unaware of Austria-Hungary's interference,<ref name="Clark">{{cite book |last1=Clark |first1=Christopher |title=The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 |date=2013 |publisher=Harper Collins |isbn=978-0-06219-922-5 |page=29 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TE0iZ4U2ZvUC&pg=PT29}}</ref> Pašić confessed that the Radical Party had been disloyal to the dynasty, which probably saved many people from prison.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pavkovic |first1=Aleksandar |last2=Redan |first2=Peter |title=The Serbs and their Leaders in the Twentieth Century |date=2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-42977-259-7 |page=62 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tnp_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT62}}</ref> As part of the deal reached with the interior minister [[Đorđe Genčić]], the government officially left its own role out of the statement, so that it appeared that Pašić behaved cowardly and succumbed to the pressure. Pašić was sentenced to five years but released immediately. This caused future conflict within the Radical Party as younger members considered Pašić a coward and traitor, and split from the party. For the remainder of Alexander's rule, Pašić retired from politics. Although the young monarch disliked Pašić, he was often summoned for consultations but would refrain from giving advice and insist that he was no longer involved with politics.


==Golden age of democracy 1903–1914==
==Golden age of democracy 1903–1914==
===Royal assassination===
===Royal assassination===
{{Main|May Coup (Serbia)}}
{{Main|May Coup (Serbia)}}
Nikola Pašić was not among the conspirators who plotted to assassinate King Alexander. [[May Coup (Serbia)|The assassination]] occurred on the night of {{OldStyleDate|10–11 June|1903|28–29 May}}, and both the King and Queen [[Draga Mašin]] were killed, as well as Prime Minister [[Dimitrije Cincar-Marković]] and Defence Minister [[Milovan S. Pavlović]]. The Radical Party did not form the first cabinet after the coup d'état, but after winning the elections on 4 October 1903, they remained in almost uninterrupted power for the next 15 years.
Nikola Pašić was not among the conspirators who plotted to assassinate King Alexander. The [[May Coup (Serbia)|assassination]] occurred on the night of {{OldStyleDate|10–11 June|1903|28–29 May}}, and both the King and Queen [[Draga Mašin]] were killed, as well as Prime Minister [[Dimitrije Cincar-Marković]] and Defence Minister [[Milovan S. Pavlović]]. The Radical Party did not form the first cabinet after the coup d'état, but after winning the elections on 4 October 1903, they remained in almost uninterrupted power for the next 15 years.


In the beginning, the Radicals opposed the appointment of a new king, [[Peter I Karađorđević]], calling his appointment illegal. But Pašić later changed his mind after seeing how people willingly accepted the new monarch as well as king Peter I, educated in Western Europe, was a democratic, mild ruler, unlike the last two despotic and erratic Obrenović sovereigns. As it will be shown in the next two decades, the major clash between the king and the prime minister will be Pašić's refusal to raise to royal [[appanage]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}
In the beginning, the Radicals opposed the appointment of a new king, [[Peter I Karađorđević]], calling his appointment illegal. But Pašić later changed his mind after seeing how people willingly accepted the new monarch as well as King Peter I, educated in Western Europe, was a democratic, mild ruler, unlike the last two despotic and erratic Obrenović sovereigns. In the next two decades, the major clash between the king and the prime minister would be Pašić's refusal to raise to royal [[appanage]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}


Nikola Pašić became foreign minister on 8 February 1904 in Sava Grujić's cabinet and headed a government under his own presidency 10 December 1904 to 28 May 1905, continuing as foreign minister as well. During the following decade, under the leadership of Pašić and the Radical Party, Serbia grew so prosperous that many historians call this period the ''modern golden age of Serbia''. The country evolved into a European democracy and with financial and economic growth, political influence also grew which caused constant problems with Serbia's largest neighbour, Austria-Hungary, which even developed plans to turn Serbia into one of its provinces (already in 1879 German [[chancellor]] [[Otto von Bismarck]] said that Serbia is the stumbling-block in Austria's development). {{citation needed|date=September 2016}}
Nikola Pašić became foreign minister on 8 February 1904 in [[Sava Grujić]]'s cabinet and headed a government under his own presidency 10 December 1904 to 28 May 1905, continuing as foreign minister as well. During the following decade, under the leadership of Pašić and the Radical Party, Serbia grew so prosperous that many historians call this period the ''modern golden age of Serbia''. The country evolved into a European democracy and with financial and economic growth, political influence also grew which caused constant problems with Serbia's largest neighbour, Austria-Hungary, which even developed plans to turn Serbia into one of its provinces (already in 1879 German [[chancellor]] [[Otto von Bismarck]] said that Serbia was the stumbling-block in Austria's development). {{citation needed|date=September 2016}}


===Austro-Hungarian customs war===
===Austro-Hungarian customs war===
As Austro-Hungarian latent provocations of Serbia concerning Serbs living in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], officially still part of the Ottoman Empire but occupied by Austria-Hungary since 1878 and causing problems to Serbian export which mainly went through Austria (as Serbia is landlocked) didn't bring results, Austria-Hungary began open [[Pig War (Serbia)|customs war]] in 1906. Pašić formed another cabinet from 30 April 1906 to 20 July 1908. Pressured by the Austrian government which asked from Serbia to buy everything from Austrian companies, from salt to cannons, he replied to Austrian government that he personally would do that, but that the assembly is against it and in democratic countries that's what counts.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}
As Austro-Hungarian latent provocations of Serbia concerning Serbs living in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], officially still part of the Ottoman Empire but occupied by Austria-Hungary since 1878 and causing problems to Serbian exports which mainly went through Austria-Hungary (as Serbia was landlocked) didn't bring results, Austria-Hungary began a [[Pig War (Serbia)|customs war]] in 1906. Pašić formed another cabinet from 30 April 1906 to 20 July 1908. Pressured by the Austro-Hungarian government which asked from Serbia to buy everything from Austrian companies, from salt to cannons, he replied to Austrian government that he personally would do that, but that the [[National Assembly (Serbia)|National Assembly]] was against this.


Austria closed the borders which did cause a severe blow to the Serbian economy initially, but later it will bounce back even more developed than it was, thanks to the Pašić swift change towards the Western European countries. He forced conspirators of the 1903 coup into retirement which was a condition for reestablishing diplomatic connections with the United Kingdom, he bought cannons from France, etc. In the midst of the customs war, Austria-Hungary officially annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908 which caused mass protests in Serbia and political instability, but Pašić managed to calm the situation down. In this period, Pašić's major ally, Imperial Russia, was not much of a help being defeated by Japan in [[Russo-Japanese War]] and under series of revolutions.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}
Austria-Hungary closed the borders which did cause a severe blow to the Serbian economy initially, but later it will bounce back even more developed than it was, thanks to the Pašić swift change towards the Western European countries. He forced conspirators of the 1903 coup into retirement which was a condition for reestablishing diplomatic connections with the United Kingdom, he bought cannons from France, etc. In the midst of the customs war, Austria-Hungary officially [[Bosnia Crisis|annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina]] in 1908 which caused mass protests in Serbia and political instability, but Pašić managed to calm the situation down. In this period, Pašić's major ally, Imperial Russia, was not much of a help, being defeated by [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] in the [[Russo-Japanese War]] and facing domestic political instability.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}


===Balkan Wars===
===Balkan Wars===
[[File:Nikola Pašić and Eleftherios Venizelos-cropped.jpeg|thumb|right|Pašić with the Greek Prime Minister, [[Eleftherios Venizelos]], in 1913]]
[[File:Nikola Pašić and Eleftherios Venizelos-cropped.jpeg|thumb|right|Pašić with the Greek Prime Minister, [[Eleftherios Venizelos]], in 1913]]
Pašić formed two more cabinets (24 October 1909 to 4 July 1911 and [[Cabinet of Nikola Pašić VIII|from 12 September 1912]]). He was one of the major players in the formation of the [[Balkan League]] which later resulted in the [[First Balkan War]] (1912–13) and the [[Second Balkan War]] (1913) which almost doubled the size of Serbia with the territories of what was at the time considered ''Old Serbia'' ([[Kosovo]], [[Metohija]] and [[Vardar Macedonia]]), retaken from the Ottomans after five centuries.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} He clashed with some military structures about the handling of the newly acquired territories. Pašić believed the area should be included into the Serbian political and administrative system through the democratic elections, while the army sought to keep the areas under the military occupation. After one year of tensions Pašić dismissed the military administrator of Old Serbia and scheduled new elections for 1914 but the outbreak of [[World War I]] prevented it.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}
Pašić formed two more cabinets (24 October 1909 to 4 July 1911 and [[Cabinet of Nikola Pašić VIII|from 12 September 1912]]). He was one of the major players in the formation of the [[Balkan League]] which later resulted in the [[First Balkan War]] (1912–13) and the [[Second Balkan War]] (1913) which almost doubled the size of Serbia with the territories of what was at the time considered ''[[Old Serbia]]'' ([[Kosovo]], [[Metohija]] and [[Vardar Macedonia]]), retaken from the Ottomans after five centuries.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} He clashed with some military structures about the handling of the newly acquired territories. Pašić believed the area should be included into the Serbian political and administrative system through the democratic elections, while the [[Royal Serbian Army]] sought to keep the areas under the military control. After one year of tensions Pašić dismissed the military administrator of Old Serbia and scheduled new elections for 1914 but the outbreak of [[World War I]] prevented it.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}


===Outbreak of the Great War===
===Outbreak of the Great War===
After the [[Assassination in Sarajevo]] on 28 June 1914 when members of the Serbian revolutionary organization [[Young Bosnia]] assassinated the Austro-Hungarian [[heir-apparent]] [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand]], the Austro-Hungarian government immediately accused the Serbian government of being behind the assassination.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} The general consensus today is that government did not organize it, but how much Pašić knew about it is still a controversial issue and it appears that every historian has his or her own opinion on the subject: Pašić knew nothing (Ćorović); Pašić knew ''something'' is about to happen and told Russia that Austria would attack Serbia before the assassination (Dragnić); Pašić knew but as the assassins were connected to the powerful members of the Serbian intelligence, was afraid to do anything about it personally so he warned Vienna (Balfour).{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}
After the [[Assassination in Sarajevo]] on 28 June 1914 when members of the Serbian revolutionary organization [[Young Bosnia]] assassinated the Austro-Hungarian [[heir-apparent]] [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand]], the Austro-Hungarian government immediately accused the Serbian government of being behind the assassination.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} The general consensus today is that government did not organize it, but how much Pašić knew about it is still a controversial issue and it appears that every historian has his or her own opinion on the subject: Pašić knew nothing ([[Vladimir Ćorović|Ćorović]]); Pašić knew ''something'' is about to happen and told Russia that Austria would attack Serbia before the assassination (Dragnić); Pašić knew but as the assassins were connected to the powerful members of the Serbian intelligence, was afraid to do anything about it personally so he warned Vienna ([[Michael Balfour (historian)|Balfour]]).{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}


Austria presented him the [[July Ultimatum]], written together with the envoys of the German ambassadors in such a vein that it would be unlikely for the Serbian government. After extensive consultations in the country itself and formidable pressure from outside to accept it, Pašić told the Austrian ambassador [[Giesl]] (who had already packed his bags) that Serbia accepts all the ultimatum demands except that Austrian police can independently travel throughout Serbia and ''conduct'' its own investigation.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} Austria-Hungary answered by formally declaring war on Serbia on 28 July 1914.
Austria-Hungary presented him the [[July Ultimatum]], written together with the envoys of the German ambassadors in such a vein that it would be unlikely for the Serbian government to accept. After extensive consultations in the country itself and formidable pressure from outside to accept it, Pašić told the Austrian ambassador [[Wladimir Giesl von Gieslingen]] (who had already packed his bags) that Serbia accepted all the ultimatum demands except that Austrian police could independently travel throughout Serbia and ''conduct'' their own investigation.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} Austria-Hungary answered by formally declaring war on Serbia on 28 July 1914.


==World War I and Yugoslavia==
==World War I and Yugoslavia==
===Glory, defeat and the South Slav state===
===Glory, defeat and the South Slav state===
[[File:TrumbicPasic29261v.jpg|thumb|250px|From the left: A. Trumbić, Nikola Pašić, Milenko Vesnić and Ivan Žolger]]
[[File:TrumbicPasic29261v.jpg|thumb|250px|From the left: A. Trumbić, Nikola Pašić, Milenko Vesnić and Ivan Žolger]]
Serbian defeat was considered to be imminent, at least by external onlookers, compared to the strength of the Austria-Hungary. Serbia had obviously prepared well, however, and after a series of battles in 1914–1915 ([[Battle of Cer]], [[Battle of Kolubara]]), the loss and recapture of Belgrade, and a Serbian counter-offensive with occupation of some Austrian territories (in [[Syrmia]] and eastern Bosnia), the Austrian army backed off. On 5 July 1914, things changed as old King Peter I relinquished his duties to the heir apparent Alexander, making him his regent.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}
Serbian defeat was considered to be imminent, at least by external onlookers, compared to the strength of the Austria-Hungary. Serbia had obviously prepared well, however, and after a [[Serbian campaign (1914)|series of battles]] in 1914–1915 ([[Battle of Cer]], [[Battle of Kolubara]]), the [[Bombardment of Belgrade (1914)|loss]] and recapture of Belgrade, and a Serbian counter-offensive with occupation of some Austrian territories (in [[Syrmia]] and eastern Bosnia), the [[Austro-Hungarian Army]] backed off. On 5 July 1914, things changed as old King Peter I relinquished his duties to the heir apparent [[Alexander I of Yugoslavia|Alexander]], making him his regent.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}


On 17 September 1914, Pašić and [[Albania]]n leader [[Essad Pasha Toptani]] signed in [[Niš]] the secret [[Treaty of Serbian-Albanian Alliance]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bataković|first=Dušan T.|author-link=Dušan T. Bataković|title=The Kosovo Chronicles|url=http://www.rastko.rs/kosovo/istorija/kosovo_chronicles/index.html |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rastko.rs%2Fkosovo%2Fistorija%2Fkosovo_chronicles%2Findex.html&date=2011-01-18|archive-date=18 January 2011|access-date=24 September 2016|publisher= Knižara Plato|location=Belgrade, Serbia|isbn=86-447-0006-5|chapter=Serbian government and Essad Pasha Toptani|chapter-url=http://balkania.tripod.com/resources/history/kosovo_chronicles/kc_part2e.html|quote=Essad Pasha signed a secret alliance treaty with Pasic on September 17.}}</ref> The treaty had 15 points which focused on setting up joint Serbian-Albanian political and military institutions and [[military alliance]] of [[Albania]] and [[Kingdom of Serbia]]. The treaty also envisaged building of the rail-road to [[Durres]], financial and military support of the Kingdom of Serbia to Essad Pasha's position of Albanian ruler and drawing of the demarcation by special Serbo-Albanian commission.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bataković|first=Dušan T.|author-link=Dušan T. Bataković|title=The Kosovo Chronicles|url=http://www.rastko.rs/kosovo/istorija/kosovo_chronicles/index.html|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rastko.rs%2Fkosovo%2Fistorija%2Fkosovo_chronicles%2Findex.html&date=2011-01-18|archive-date=18 January 2011|access-date=24 September 2016|publisher= Knižara Plato|location= Belgrade, Serbia|isbn=86-447-0006-5|chapter=Serbian government and Essad Pasha Toptani|chapter-url=http://balkania.tripod.com/resources/history/kosovo_chronicles/kc_part2e.html|quote=The 15 points envisaged the setting up of joint political and military institutions,... focused on a military alliance, the construction of an Adriatic railroad to Durazzo and guarantees that Serbia would support Essad Pasha's election as the Albanian ruler. ...The demarcation between the two countries was to be drawn by a special Serbo-Albanian commission}}</ref> In October 1914, Essad Pasha returned to Albania. With [[Kingdom of Italy|Italian]] and [[Kingdom of Serbia|Serbian]] financial backing, he established armed forces in [[Dibër District|Dibër]] and captured the interior of Albania and Dures. Pašić ordered that his followers be aided with money and [[Weapons|arms]].<ref name="Bataković">[http://balkania.tripod.com/resources/history/kosovo_chronicles/kc_part2e.html Serbian government and Essad Pasha Toptani], balkania.tripod.com; accessed 24 September 2016.</ref>
On 17 September 1914, Pašić and [[Albania]]n leader [[Essad Pasha Toptani]] signed in [[Niš]] the secret [[Treaty of Serbian-Albanian Alliance]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bataković|first=Dušan T.|author-link=Dušan T. Bataković|title=The Kosovo Chronicles|url=http://www.rastko.rs/kosovo/istorija/kosovo_chronicles/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906083534/http://www.rastko.rs/kosovo/istorija/kosovo_chronicles/index.html|archive-date=6 September 2010|url-status=live|access-date=24 September 2016|publisher= Knižara Plato|location=Belgrade, Serbia|isbn=86-447-0006-5|chapter=Serbian government and Essad Pasha Toptani|year=1992 |chapter-url=http://balkania.tripod.com/resources/history/kosovo_chronicles/kc_part2e.html|quote=Essad Pasha signed a secret alliance treaty with Pasic on September 17.}}</ref> The treaty had 15 points which focused on setting up joint Serbian-Albanian political and military institutions, as well as a [[military alliance]] between Albania and Serbia. The treaty also envisaged building of the rail-road to [[Durrës]], financial and military support of the Kingdom of Serbia to Essad Pasha's position as Albanian ruler and drawing of the demarcation line by a special Serbo-Albanian commission.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bataković|first=Dušan T.|author-link=Dušan T. Bataković|title=The Kosovo Chronicles|url=http://www.rastko.rs/kosovo/istorija/kosovo_chronicles/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906083534/http://www.rastko.rs/kosovo/istorija/kosovo_chronicles/index.html|archive-date=6 September 2010|url-status=live|access-date=24 September 2016|publisher= Knižara Plato|location= Belgrade, Serbia|isbn=86-447-0006-5|chapter=Serbian government and Essad Pasha Toptani|year=1992 |chapter-url=http://balkania.tripod.com/resources/history/kosovo_chronicles/kc_part2e.html|quote=The 15 points envisaged the setting up of joint political and military institutions,... focused on a military alliance, the construction of an Adriatic railroad to Durazzo and guarantees that Serbia would support Essad Pasha's election as the Albanian ruler. ...The demarcation between the two countries was to be drawn by a special Serbo-Albanian commission}}</ref> In October 1914, Essad Pasha returned to Albania. With [[Kingdom of Italy|Italian]] and Serbian financial backing, he established armed forces in [[Dibër District|Dibër]] and captured the interior of Albania and Durrës. Pašić ordered that his followers be aided with money and [[Weapons|arms]].<ref name="Bataković">[http://balkania.tripod.com/resources/history/kosovo_chronicles/kc_part2e.html Serbian government and Essad Pasha Toptani], balkania.tripod.com; accessed 24 September 2016.</ref>


Unlike Peter, Alexander was not a democratic spirit, rather a dictatorial one and personally disliked Pašić and talk of democracy. Open strife began very soon, when Serbia was proposed the [[London Pact]] by which it was supposed to expand into most of the ethnic Serbian territories to the west, including a section of the Adriatic coast and some ethnic Albanian territories in northern Albania. In return, Serbia was supposed to relinquish part of Vardar Macedonia to Bulgaria so that the latter would enter the war on the [[Triple Entente|Entente]] side.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} Both Pašić and regent Alexander were against this as they considered it to be the betrayal of the Croatians, Slovenians and Serbian sacrifices in the Balkan Wars, as negotiations for the future South Slav state already began. However, Pašić and king Peter were not personally much for the Yugoslav idea unlike the regent who pushed the issue for creating as large a state as possible. Serbia refused the pact and was attacked by Austria-Hungary, Germany and Bulgaria. The Government and the army retreated to the south in the direction of Greece, but were cut off by Bulgarian forces and had to go through Albania and to the Greek island of [[Corfu]] where the [[Corfu Declaration]] was signed in 1917 preparing the ground for the future South Slav state of [[Yugoslavia]].{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}
Unlike Peter, Alexander was not a democratic spirit, rather a dictatorial one and personally disliked Pašić and talk of democracy. Open strife began very soon, when Serbia was proposed the [[London Pact]] by which it was supposed to expand into most of the ethnic Serbian territories to the west, including a section of the Adriatic coast and some ethnic Albanian territories in northern Albania. In return, Serbia was supposed to relinquish part of Vardar Macedonia to Bulgaria so that the latter would enter the war on the [[Triple Entente|Entente]] side.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} Both Pašić and Prince-regent Alexander were against this as they considered it to be the betrayal of the Croatians, Slovenians and Serbian sacrifices in the Balkan Wars, as negotiations for the future South Slav state already began. However, Pašić and King Peter were not personally much for the Yugoslav idea, unlike the regent who pushed the issue for creating as large a state as possible. Serbia refused the pact and was attacked by Austria-Hungary, [[German Empire|Germany]] and Bulgaria. The Government and the army retreated to the south in the direction of [[Kingdom of Greece|Greece]], but were cut off by Bulgarian forces and had to go through Albania and to the Greek island of [[Corfu]] where the [[Corfu Declaration]] was signed in 1917 preparing the ground for the future South Slav state of [[Yugoslavia]].{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}


===Creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes===
===Creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes===
The [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]] (SHS) was officially proclaimed on 1 December 1918, and, being the Prime Minister of Serbia at that time, Pašić was generally considered the ''de facto'' Prime Minister of the new South Slav state, as well.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} The political agreement was reached that Pašić would continue on as Prime Minister when the first government of the new state was to be formed, but as a result of his longtime dislike of Pašić, regent Alexander nominated Stojan Protić to form the government. Consequently, Pašić stepped down on 20 December 1918.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}
The [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]] (SHS) was officially proclaimed on 1 December 1918, and, being the Prime Minister of Serbia at that time, Pašić was generally considered the ''de facto'' Prime Minister of the new South Slav state, as well.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} The political agreement was reached that Pašić would continue on as Prime Minister when the first government of the new state was to be formed, but as a result of his longtime dislike of Pašić, Prince-regent Alexander nominated [[Stojan Protić]] to form the government. Consequently, Pašić stepped down on 20 December 1918.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}


Despite being removed from the government, as the most experienced of politicians, Nikola Pašić was the main negotiator for the new state at the [[Paris Peace Conference of 1919]]. In an effort to secure the maximalist{{explain|date=October 2015}} agenda of the regent, he did not push on the question of the [[Czech Corridor]], [[Timișoara]], and [[Szeged]], managed to secure borders with [[Albania]] and Bulgaria, but failed to annex [[Fiume]] (which became an independent state) and most of [[Carinthia (state)|Carinthia]] (which remained part of Austria). At the time when [[Benito Mussolini]] was willing to modify the [[Treaty of Rapallo (1920)|Treaty of Rapallo]], which cut off a [[Slovene minority in Italy (1920–1947)|quarter of Slovene ethnic territory]] from the remaining three-quarters of Slovenes living in the Kingdom of SHS, in order to annex the independent state of [[Rijeka]] to Italy, Pašić's attempts to correct the borders at [[Postojna]] and [[Idrija]] were undermined by regent Alexander preferring "good relations" with Italy.<ref>Čermelj, L. (1955). [http://sistory.si/SISTORY:ID:12218 Kako je prišlo do prijateljskega pakta med Italijo in kraljevino SHS] (How the Friendship Treaty between Italy and the Kingdom of SHS Came About in 1924), ''Zgodovinski časopis'', 1-4, p. 195, Ljubljana.</ref>
Despite being removed from the government, as the most experienced of politicians, Nikola Pašić was the main negotiator for the new state at the [[Paris Peace Conference of 1919]]. In an effort to secure the maximalist{{explain|date=October 2015}} agenda of the regent, he did not push on the question of the [[Czech Corridor]], [[Timișoara]], and [[Szeged]], managed to secure borders with Albania and Bulgaria, but failed to annex [[Rijeka|Fiume]] (which became an [[Free State of Fiume|independent state]]) and most of [[Carinthia (state)|Carinthia]] (which remained part of [[First Austrian Republic|Austria]]). At the time when [[Benito Mussolini]] was willing to modify the [[Treaty of Rapallo (1920)|Treaty of Rapallo]], which cut off a [[Slovene minority in Italy (1920–1947)|quarter of Slovene ethnic territory]] from the remaining three-quarters of Slovenes living in the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, in order to annex the Free State of Fiume to Italy, Pašić's attempts to correct the borders at [[Postojna]] and [[Idrija]] were undermined by Prince-regent Alexander preferring "good relations" with Italy.<ref>Čermelj, L. (1955). [http://sistory.si/SISTORY:ID:12218 Kako je prišlo do prijateljskega pakta med Italijo in kraljevino SHS] (How the Friendship Treaty between Italy and the Kingdom of SHS Came About in 1924), ''Zgodovinski časopis'', 1-4, p. 195, Ljubljana.</ref>


Elections held on 28 November 1920 showed that the Radical Party was the second strongest in the country, having just one seat less than the Yugoslav Democratic Party (91 to 92, respectively, out of 419 seats). However, Pašić managed to form a coalition and became prime minister again on 1 January 1921.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}
[[1920 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Constitutional Assembly election|Elections]] held on 28 November 1920 showed that the Radical Party was the second strongest in the country, having just one seat less than the [[Democratic Party (Yugoslavia)|Democratic Party]] (91 to 92, respectively, out of 419 seats). However, Pašić managed to form a coalition and became Prime Minister again on 1 January 1921.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}


Pašić became a very large landowner in the country due to [[Yugoslav colonization of Kosovo|expropriation of Albanian land in Kosovo]] and other areas.<ref name="Qirezi54">{{cite book|last=Qirezi|first=Arben|chapter=Settling the self-determination dispute in Kosovo|editor1-last=Mehmeti|editor1-first=Leandrit I.|editor2-last=Radeljić|editor2-first=Branislav|title=Kosovo and Serbia: Contested Options and Shared Consequences|year=2017|publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press|isbn=9780822981572|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IWMqDwAAQBAJ&q=Nikola&pg=PT73|pages=54}}</ref>
Pašić became a very large landowner in the country due to [[Yugoslav colonization of Kosovo|expropriation of Albanian land in Kosovo]] and other areas.<ref name="Qirezi54">{{cite book|last=Qirezi|first=Arben|chapter=Settling the self-determination dispute in Kosovo|editor1-last=Mehmeti|editor1-first=Leandrit I.|editor2-last=Radeljić|editor2-first=Branislav|title=Kosovo and Serbia: Contested Options and Shared Consequences|year=2017|publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press|isbn=9780822981572|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IWMqDwAAQBAJ&q=Nikola&pg=PT73|pages=54}}</ref>


===Vidovdan Constitution===
===Vidovdan Constitution===
{{main|Vidovdan Constitution}}
As soon as talks about the constitution of the new state began, two diametrically opposite sides, Serbian and Croatian, were established. Both Pašić and regent Alexander wanted a unitary state but for different reasons. Pašić considered that the Serbs could be outvoted in such a state and that an unconsolidated and heterogeneous entity would fall apart if it was a federal one, while the regent simply didn't like to share power with others, which was shown 8 years later when he conducted a coup d'état.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}
As soon as talks about the constitution of the new state began, two diametrically opposite sides, Serbian and Croatian, were established. Both Pašić and Prince-regent Alexander wanted a unitary state but for different reasons. Pašić considered that the Serbs could be outvoted in such a state and that an unconsolidated and heterogeneous entity would fall apart if it was a federal one, while the prince-regent simply didn't like to share power with others, which was shown 8 years later when he conducted a coup d'état.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}


[[Stjepan Radić]], a leading Croatian politician for a joint Serbian-Croatian state would be a temporary solution on the way to Croatian independence,{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} asked for a federal republic. As Pašić had majority in the assembly, a new constitution was proclaimed on [[Vidovdan]] (St. Vitus day), 28 June 1921, organizing the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes as a parliamentary (albeit highly unitary) monarchy, abolishing even the remaining shreds of autonomy which had Slovenia, Croatia, Dalmatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Vojvodina (provincial governments). In the early 1920s, the Yugoslav government of Prime Minister Pašić used police pressure over voters and ethnic minorities, confiscation of opposition pamphlets<ref name="Balkan Politics">[https://web.archive.org/web/20080220082638/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,846181,00.html Balkan Politics], ''[[TIME Magazine]]'', 31 March 1923.</ref> and other measures of [[rigged election|election rigging]] to keep the opposition, mainly the autonomy-minded Croats, in minority in the Yugoslav parliament.<ref name="Elections">[https://web.archive.org/web/20080112220024/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,719894,00.html Elections], ''[[TIME Magazine]]'', 23 February 1925.</ref><ref name="The Opposition">[https://web.archive.org/web/20080220081455/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,720153,00.html The Opposition], ''[[TIME Magazine]]'', 6 April 1925.</ref>
[[Stjepan Radić]], a leading Croatian politician for a joint Serbian-Croatian state would be a temporary solution on the way to Croatian independence,{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} asked for a federal republic. As Pašić had majority in the assembly, a new constitution was proclaimed on [[Vidovdan]] (St. Vitus day), 28 June 1921, organizing the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes as a parliamentary (albeit highly unitary) monarchy, abolishing even the remaining shreds of autonomy which had Slovenia, Croatia, Dalmatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Vojvodina (provincial governments). In the early 1920s, the Yugoslav government of Prime Minister Pašić used police pressure over voters and ethnic minorities, confiscation of opposition pamphlets<ref name="Balkan Politics">[https://web.archive.org/web/20080220082638/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,846181,00.html Balkan Politics], ''[[TIME Magazine]]'', 31 March 1923.</ref> and other measures of [[rigged election|election rigging]] to keep the opposition, mainly the autonomy-minded Croats, in minority in the Yugoslav parliament.<ref name="Elections">[https://web.archive.org/web/20080112220024/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,719894,00.html Elections], ''[[TIME Magazine]]'', 23 February 1925.</ref><ref name="The Opposition">[https://web.archive.org/web/20080220081455/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,720153,00.html The Opposition], ''[[TIME Magazine]]'', 6 April 1925.</ref>


[[File:Belgrad Nikola Pašić Grab.JPG|thumb|Pašić's grave at the [[Belgrade New Cemetery]]. The grave of [[Janko Vukotić]] can be seen to the right.]]
[[File:Belgrad Nikola Pašić Grab.JPG|thumb|Pašić's grave at the [[Belgrade New Cemetery]]. The grave of [[Janko Vukotić]] can be seen to the right.]]
Pašić remained Prime Minister until 8 April 1926, with a short break 27 July 1924 to 6 November 1924, when the government was headed by Ljuba Davidović. After relinquishing temporarily the post to his party colleague [[Nikola Uzunović]], now a king, Alexander refused to reappoint Pašić using as a pretext the scandals of Pašić's son Rade. The following day, on 10 December 1926, Nikola Pašić suffered a heart attack and died in Belgrade, about a week before his 81st birthday. He was interred in Belgrade's [[Belgrade New Cemetery|New Cemetery]]. [[Milenko Vesnić]] is interred to the right of Pašić's grave and [[Janko Vukotić]] is interred to the left of the grave.<ref>[http://www.beogradskagroblja.rs/page/znamenite-li%C4%8Dnosti/100170/cnt/nikola-pa%C5%A1i%C4%87.sr-latn-cs.htm Beogradska groblja profile]</ref>
Pašić remained prime minister until 8 April 1926, with a short break 27 July 1924 to 6 November 1924, when the government was headed by Ljuba Davidović. After relinquishing temporarily the post to his party colleague [[Nikola Uzunović]], Pasic attempted in 1926 to regain his job. Now a king, Alexander refused to reappoint Pašić using as a pretext the scandals of Pašić's son Rade. The following day, on 10 December 1926, Nikola Pašić suffered a heart attack and died in Belgrade, at age 80. He was interred in Belgrade's [[Belgrade New Cemetery|New Cemetery]]. [[Milenko Vesnić]] is interred to the right of Pašić's grave and [[Janko Vukotić]] is interred to the left of the grave.<ref>[http://www.beogradskagroblja.rs/page/znamenite-li%C4%8Dnosti/100170/cnt/nikola-pa%C5%A1i%C4%87.sr-latn-cs.htm Beogradska groblja profile]</ref>

==Political views==
{{POV section|date=September 2020}}
{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2020}}

===Anticommunist===
Pašić was widely criticized by the Communists as he prevented them from participating in the political life after the 1920 elections and the series of terrorist attacks by the Communists on government officials, and banned the Communist party officially proclaiming it a criminal organization on 21 August 1921. In the early 1920s, he was accused of using police pressure over voters and ethnic minorities, confiscation of opposition pamphlets and other measures of election rigging to keep the opposition, mainly the separatist Stjepan Radić, in minority in Yugoslav parliament.<ref name="Elections"/>{{Dead link|date=June 2020}}

After 1945, he was condemned by the new Communist authorities and was labeled a leader of the "great Serbian hegemony", with his accomplishments in building modern Serbia being completely pushed aside.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

===Proposed Serbian dominance===
He has been assailed because of the unitary composition of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and his opinion that Serbs, being the plurality, should always have the leading role.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

Opposing the joint South Slavic state from the beginning, he was accused of pushing the [[Greater Serbia]]n agenda, national concept of concentrated power in the hands of Belgrade.<ref name="The Opposition"/>{{Dead link|date=June 2020}} The Croatian Communist theoretician [[Otokar Keršovani]] coined a phrase about Pašić: "His name will remain in history more because it is connected to historical events, rather than the historical events being connected to his name".{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}


==Private life==
==Private life==
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==Legacy==
==Legacy==
[[File:Nikola Pasic na trgu1.jpg|thumb|250px|Monument to Nikola Pašić, [[Nikola Pašić Square]], [[Belgrade]]]]
[[File:Nikola Pasic na trgu1.jpg|thumb|250px|Monument to Nikola Pašić, [[Nikola Pašić Square]], [[Belgrade]]]]
A central square in Belgrade is named after him, [[Square of Nikola Pašić]] (Serbian: ''Трг Николе Пашића''/''Trg Nikole Pašića''). During Communist regime, the square was named after [[Karl Marx]] and [[Friedrich Engels]]. The 4.2 meter tall bronze statue of Pašić is erected on the square, overlooking the building of the assembly. He is included in [[The 100 most prominent Serbs]]. Pašić was awarded the Russian [[Order of the White Eagle (Russian Empire)|Order of the White Eagle]] with brilliants, the [[Order of Carol I]] of [[Romania]] and [[Order of Karađorđe's Star]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Acović|first=Dragomir|title=Slava i čast: Odlikovanja među Srbima, Srbi među odlikovanjima|year=2012|location=Belgrade|publisher=Službeni Glasnik|pages=148, 153}}</ref>
A central square in Belgrade is named after him, [[Square of Nikola Pašić]] (Serbian: ''Трг Николе Пашића''/''Trg Nikole Pašića''). During the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Communist regime]], the square was named after [[Karl Marx]] and [[Friedrich Engels]]. The 4.2 meter tall bronze statue of Pašić stands in the square, overlooking the building of the assembly. He is included in [[The 100 most prominent Serbs]]. Pašić was awarded the Russian [[Order of the White Eagle (Russian Empire)|Order of the White Eagle]] with brilliants, the [[Order of Carol I]] of [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]] and [[Order of Karađorđe's Star]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Acović|first=Dragomir|title=Slava i čast: Odlikovanja među Srbima, Srbi među odlikovanjima|year=2012|location=Belgrade|publisher=Službeni Glasnik|pages=148, 153}}</ref>


==Media portrayals==
==Media portrayals==
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*{{cite book|author=Milovan Vitezović|title=Nikola Pašić u anegdotama|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5TYzAAAACAAJ|year=2002|publisher=Službeni glasnik|isbn=978-86-7549-271-9}}
*{{cite book|author=Milovan Vitezović|title=Nikola Pašić u anegdotama|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5TYzAAAACAAJ|year=2002|publisher=Službeni glasnik|isbn=978-86-7549-271-9}}
*{{cite book|author=Dušan T. Bataković|title=Nikola Pašić, les radicaux et la "main noire": les défis à la démocratie parlementaire serbe 1903–1917|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KQZHMwEACAAJ|year=2006|publisher=Institute for Balkan Studies}}
*{{cite book|author=Dušan T. Bataković|title=Nikola Pašić, les radicaux et la "main noire": les défis à la démocratie parlementaire serbe 1903–1917|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KQZHMwEACAAJ|year=2006|publisher=Institute for Balkan Studies}}
*{{cite book|author=Vasa Kazimirović|title=Nikola Pašić i njegovo doba: 1845–1926|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QqbNNAEACAAJ|year=1990|publisher=Nova Evropa}}
*{{cite book|author=Vasa Kazimirović|title=Nikola Pašić i njegovo doba: 1845–1926|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QqbNNAEACAAJ|year=1990|publisher=Nova Evropa|isbn=9788676530885 }}
*{{cite book|last=Dimitrijević|first=Miodrag |title=Nikola Pašić u hodu istorije|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_tYAAAACAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Kreativna radionica|isbn=978-86-83773-20-6}}
*{{cite book|last=Dimitrijević|first=Miodrag |title=Nikola Pašić u hodu istorije|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_tYAAAACAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Kreativna radionica|isbn=978-86-83773-20-6}}
*{{cite document|last=Stanojević|first=Stanoje|year=1928|title=Narodna enciklopedija srpsko-hrvatsko-slovenačka|volume=3|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Narodna_enciklopedija_srpsko-hrvatsko-slovenacka_3_lat.pdf&page=366|pages=352–355|quote=Pašić Nikola}}
*{{cite web|last=Stanojević|first=Stanoje|year=1928|title=Narodna enciklopedija srpsko-hrvatsko-slovenačka|volume=3|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Narodna_enciklopedija_srpsko-hrvatsko-slovenacka_3_lat.pdf&page=366|pages=352–355|quote=Pašić Nikola}}


==External links==
==External links==
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{{succession box|title=Prime Minister of Yugoslavia|before=[[Milenko Vesnić]]|after=[[Ljubomir Davidović]]|years=1921–1924}}
{{succession box|title=Prime Minister of Yugoslavia|before=[[Milenko Vesnić]]|after=[[Ljubomir Davidović]]|years=1921–1924}}
{{succession box|title=Prime Minister of Yugoslavia|before=[[Ljubomir Davidović]]|after=[[Nikola Uzunović]]|years=1924–1926}}
{{succession box|title=Prime Minister of Yugoslavia|before=[[Ljubomir Davidović]]|after=[[Nikola Uzunović]]|years=1924–1926}}
{{succession box|title=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Serbia)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]|before=[[Mihailo Kr. Đorđević]]|after=[[Jovan Avakumović]]|years=1892}}
{{succession box|title=Minister of Foreign Affairs|before=[[Andrs Nikolić]]|after=[[Jovan Žujović]]|years=1904-1905}}
{{succession box|title=Minister of Foreign Affairs|before=[[Vasilije Antonić]]|after=[[Milovan Milovanović]]|years=1906-1908}}
{{succession box|title=Minister of Foreign Affairs|before=[[Jovan Jovanović Pižon]]|after=[[Mihailo Gavrilović]]|years=1912-1918}}
{{succession box|title=[[President of the National Assembly of Serbia|President of the National Assembly]]|before=[[Kosta Taušanović]]|after=[[Dimitrije Katić]]|years=1889-1891}}
{{succession box|title=President of the National Assembly|before=Živan Živanović|after=[[Svetomir Nikolajević]]|years=1893-1894}}
{{succession box|title=President of the National Assembly|before=[[Milutin Garašanin]]|after=Sima Nestorović|years=1897}}
{{succession box|title=[[Mayor of Belgrade]]|before=Živko Karabiberović|after=[[Milovan Marinković]]|years=1889-1891}}
{{succession box|title=Mayor of Belgrade|before=Nikola Stepanović|after=Nikola Stepanović|years=1897}}
{{succession box|title=[[Ministry of Defence (Serbia)|Minister of Army]] <br> ''Acting''|before=Dušan Stefanović|after=Radovije Bojović|years=1914}}




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[[Category:People from the Principality of Serbia]]
[[Category:People from the Principality of Serbia]]
[[Category:People's Radical Party politicians]]
[[Category:People's Radical Party politicians]]
[[Category:Prime Ministers of Serbia]]
[[Category:Prime ministers of Serbia]]
[[Category:Finance ministers of Serbia]]
[[Category:Finance ministers of Serbia]]
[[Category:Prime Ministers of Yugoslavia]]
[[Category:Prime ministers of Yugoslavia]]
[[Category:Members of the National Assembly of Serbia]]
[[Category:Members of the National Assembly (Serbia)]]
[[Category:Mayors of Belgrade]]
[[Category:Mayors of Belgrade]]
[[Category:Yugoslav anti-communists]]
[[Category:Yugoslav anti-communists]]

Revision as of 22:47, 22 August 2024

Nikola Pašić
Никола Пашић
Pašić, c. 1914
Prime Minister of Yugoslavia
In office
6 November 1924 – 8 April 1926
MonarchAlexander I
Preceded byLjubomir Davidović
Succeeded byNikola Uzunović
In office
1 January 1921 – 28 July 1924
Monarchs
Preceded byMilenko Vesnić
Succeeded byLjubomir Davidović
Acting
1 December 1918 – 22 December 1918
MonarchPeter I
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byStojan Protić
Prime Minister of Serbia
In office
12 September 1912 – 1 December 1918
MonarchPeter I
Preceded byMarko Trifković
Succeeded byPosition abolished
In office
24 October 1909 – 4 July 1911
MonarchPeter I
Preceded byStojan Novaković
Succeeded byMilovan Milovanović
In office
29 April 1906 – 20 July 1908
MonarchPeter I
Preceded bySava Grujić
Succeeded byPetar Velimirović
In office
10 December 1904 – 28 May 1905
MonarchPeter I
Preceded bySava Grujić
Succeeded byLjubomir Stojanović
In office
23 February 1891 – 22 August 1892
MonarchAlexander I
Preceded bySava Grujić
Succeeded byJovan Avakumović
Minister of the Army
Acting
22 November 1914 – 14 December 1914
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byDušan Stefanović
Succeeded byRadovije Bojović
Mayor of Belgrade
In office
30 December 1889 – 14 January 1891
Preceded byŽivko Karabiberović
Succeeded byMilovan Malinković
In office
10 January 1897 – 13 November 1897
Preceded byNikola Stevanović
Succeeded byNikola Stevanović
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
21 March 1892 – 21 August 1892
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byMihailo Kr. Đorđević
Succeeded byJovan Avakumović
In office
8 February 1904 – 29 May 1905
Prime MinisterSava Grujić
Himself
Preceded byAndra Nikolić
Succeeded byJovan Žujović
In office
30 April 1906 – 20 July 1908
Prime MinisterSava Grujić
Himself
Preceded byVasilije Antonić
Succeeded byMilovan Milovanović
In office
12 August 1912 – 23 March 1918
Prime MinisterMarko Trifković
Himself
Preceded byJovan Jovanović Pižon
Succeeded byMihailo Gavrilović
Personal details
Born(1845-12-18)18 December 1845
Zaječar, Serbia
Died10 December 1926(1926-12-10) (aged 80)
Belgrade, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Resting placeNew Cemetery
Political partyPeople's Radical Party
SpouseĐurđina Duković
Children3
Alma mater
Signature

Nikola Pašić (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Пашић, pronounced [nǐkola pǎʃitɕ]; 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 minister of Serbia and three times as prime minister of Yugoslavia, leading 22 governments in total. He played an instrumental role in the founding of Yugoslavia and is considered one of the most influential figures in Serbian twentieth-century history. With 12 years in office, Pašić was the longest-serving prime minister of Serbia.[1]

Born in Zaječar, in eastern Serbia, Pašić studied engineering in Switzerland and embraced radical politics as a student at the Polytechnical School in Zürich. On his return to Serbia, he was elected to the National Assembly in 1878 as a member of the People's Radical Party, which was formally organised three years later. After the failed Timok Rebellion against the government of King Milan I, he was sentenced to death but narrowly avoided capture and execution. He spent the next six years exiled in Bulgaria. Following Milan's abdication in 1889, Pašić returned to Serbia and was elected president of the National Assembly. A year later he also became mayor of Belgrade. In 1891, Pašić became prime minister for the first time, but was forced to resign the following year.

Following the May Coup and the murder of King Alexander I, Pašić emerged as a leading figure in Serbian politics while the Radical Party established its dominance. He served as prime minister from 1904 to 1905, 1906 to 1908, 1909 to 1911 and finally from 1912 to 1918, as Serbia entered a golden age of economic growth and growing influence on the continental stage. He led Serbia to victory in the Balkan Wars against the Ottomans and Bulgaria, almost doubling the size of Serbian territories. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand brought Serbia to war with Austria-Hungary, sparking the First World War in which the country was overrun by the Central Powers. Pašić led the government in exile in the Greek island of Corfu, where the Corfu Declaration was signed and paved the way for a future state of South Slavs.

In 1918, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was officially proclaimed, and Pašić was recognised as the de facto prime minister of the new state. Despite his resignation just a month later, he took part in the Paris Peace Conference as the Serbian representative. He served as prime minister on two more occasions, from 1921 to July 1924 and from November 1924 to 1926. During his final tenure, he oversaw the creation of the kingdom's first constitution. He died of a heart attack in late 1926, at age 80. A proponent of populism, nationalism, and political pragmatism, Pašić began his career as a socialist but became a conservative in the 1910s.[2][3][4]

Early life

Pašić was born in Zaječar, Principality of Serbia. According to Slovenian ethnologist Niko Županič, Pašić's ancestors migrated from the Tetovo region in the 16th century and founded the village of Zvezdan near Zaječar.[5] Pašić himself said that his ancestors settled from the area of the Lešok Monastery in Tetovo.[5] Jovan Dučić concluded that Pašić hailed from Veliki Izvor near Zaječar, and that Pašić's ancestry in Tetovo had been long lost.[6] Bulgarian ethnologist Stilian Chilingirov stated that Pašić's roots were from the village of Veliki Izvor, founded during the 18th century by refugees from the Ottoman Bulgarian village of Golyam Izvor in Teteven area in today's Bulgaria.[7] Ljubomir Miletić also claimed that Pašić's grandfather settled in Veliki Izvor from Teteven area, which was refuted by Serbian authors,[5] claiming his parents were both born in Zaječar.[8] However, the village of Veliki Izvor, was really founded by refugees from the village of Golyam Izvor, Teteven area.[9] Carlo Sforza mentioned that Pašić "was lucky in another respect, he belonged to the Shopi community".[10] There also are claims attributing Aromanian descent to Pašić.[11][12][13]

Pašić completed elementary school in Zaječar, and finished his gymnasium work in Negotin and Kragujevac.[14][15] In the fall of 1865, he enrolled in the Belgrade Higher School and in 1867 received a state scholarship to study railroad engineering at the Polytechnical School in Zürich.[15] Historian Gale Stokes wrote that Pašić was a "serious student" who "went beyond the required subjects of his specialization".[16] According to Stokes, Pašić's early socialist ideals were shaped by German experiences rather than Marxist or Russian populism, as his studies were focused on German history and contemporary events which were taught by Germanophile professors.[16] He graduated as an engineer but, apart from his brief participation in the construction of the ViennaBudapest railroad, he never worked in this field.[17]

Radical Party

Origins

While a student in Zürich, Pašić lived near other Serbian students and became politically involved, initially as an organizer.[18] Some of these students would later become the core of the Socialist and Radical movement in Serbia. One of them was Svetozar Marković, who would become a major socialist ideologue in Serbia.[19] Along with Marković, Pera Velimirović, Jovan Žujović, and others, Pašić became an early member of the "Radical Party".[20]

After returning to Serbia, Pašić went to Bosnia to support the anti-Ottoman uprising of Nevesinjska puška.[21] The Socialists started publishing Samouprava which later became the official bulletin of the Radical Party.[22] After Marković's death in 1875, Pašić became the leader of the movement and in 1878 was elected to the National Assembly of Serbia, even before the party was formed. In 1880, he made an unprecedented move in the Serbian political scene by forming an opposition deputies' club in the assembly. Finally, a party program was completed in January 1881 and the Radical Party, the first systematically organized Serbian party, was officially established, with Pašić elected its first president.[23]

Timok Rebellion

The party and Pašić quickly gained popularity; the Radicals received 54 percent of the vote in the September 1883 elections, while the Progressive Party, favored by King Milan Obrenović IV only got 30 percent.[24] Despite the Radicals' clear victory, the pro-Austrian king, who disliked the pro-Russian Pašić and the Radical party, nominated old non-partisan hardliner Nikola Hristić to form a government.[25][26] The assembly refused to cooperate and the session was suspended.[27]

The atmosphere was made worse when Hristić attempted to take away peasants' guns, in order to establish a regular army.[27] As a result, clashes began in eastern Serbia, in the Timok valley. King Milan blamed the unrest on the Radicals and sent troops to crush the rebellion. Pašić was sentenced to death in absentia and he narrowly avoided arrest by fleeing to Hungary.[27] Twenty-one others were sentenced to death and executed,[27] and 734 more were imprisoned.

Exile in Bulgaria

For the next six years, Pašić lived with relatives in Bulgaria, supported by the Bulgarian government. He lived in Sofia, where he worked as a building contractor, and also worked for a short time in the Ministry of Interior. According to Bulgarian sources, he spoke quite fluent Bulgarian, but mixed it with a large number of Serbian words and phrases, and it is claimed that he asked Petko Karavelov's friends who hailed from Stara Planina about the characteristics of that region in Bulgaria, explaining that his ancestors had migrated from there to Serbia some generations before.[28]

Bulgarian testimonies completely differ in one important respect, whether Pašić worked actively in politics during his exile in Sofia.[29] The official Bulgarian support became one of several reasons for Milan's decision to start the Serbo-Bulgarian War in 1885.[citation needed] After suffering a decisive defeat, Milan granted an amnesty for those sentenced for the Timok rebellion, but not for Pašić, who remained in Bulgarian exile. In 1889, Milan abdicated in favor of his 12-year-old son Alexander.[30] A few days later the newly formed Radical cabinet of Sava Grujić pardoned Pašić.[31]

High politics 1890–1903

President of assembly and mayor

On 13 October 1889, Pašić was elected president of the National Assembly, a duty he would perform (de jure though, not de facto) until 9 January 1892. He was also elected mayor of Belgrade from 11 January 1890 to 26 January 1891. His presiding over the assembly saw the largest number of laws being voted in the history of Serbian parliamentarism, while as the mayor of Belgrade he was responsible for cobbling the muddy city streets. He was reelected twice as president of the National Assembly from 13 June 1893 to April 1895 (though from September 1893 only in name; his deputy Dimitrije Katić acted for him) and 12 July 1897 to 29 June 1898 and once more mayor of Belgrade 22 January 1897 to 25 November 1897.[32]

After wisely not accepting to head the government immediately after his return from exile, Nikola Pašić became prime minister for the first time on 23 February 1891. However, ex-king Milan returned to Serbia in May 1890 and again began campaigning against Pašić and the Radicals. On 16 June 1892, Kosta Protić, one of three regents during the minority of Alexander I, died. Under the constitution, the National Assembly was to elect a new regent, but as the assembly was on several months' vacation, Pašić had to call for an emergency session. Jovan Ristić, the most powerful regent, fearing Pašić might be elected co-regent and thus undermine his position, refused to allow the extra session, and Pašić resigned as prime minister on 22 August 1892. During his tenure, he was also foreign minister from 2 April 1892 and acting finance minister from 3 November 1891.[32]

Alexander's coup d'état

In 1893, though still only 16 years old, King Alexander declared himself of age and dismissed the regents who had governed since 1889. He named moderate Radical Lazar Dokić to form a government. Though he received approval from some members of the Radical party to participate in the government, Pašić refused. To exclude him from the political scene in Serbia, Alexander sent Pašić as his extraordinary envoy to Russia in 1893–1894. In 1894, Alexander brought his father back to Serbia. In 1896, the king managed to force Pašić to back off from pushing for constitutional reforms. However, since 1897 both kings, Milan and Alexander, had ruled almost jointly. As both disliked Pašić, in 1898 they had him imprisoned for nine months because Samouprava published a statement about his previous opposition to King Milan. Pašić claimed he was misquoted, with no effect.[33]

Ivandan's assassination attempt

Former fireman, Đura Knežević, who was sentenced to death, tried to assassinate ex-king Milan in June 1899 (Serbian: Ивандањски атентат). The same evening, Milan declared that the Radical Party tried to kill him and all heads of the Radical Party were arrested, including Pašić who had just been released from prison from his previous sentence.[34] The accusations that the Radicals or Pašić were linked to the assassination attempt were unfounded. Still, Milan insisted that Nikola Pašić and Kosta Taušanović be sentenced to death.[35] Austria-Hungary feared that the execution of the pro-Russian Pašić would force Russia to intervene, abandoning an 1897 agreement to leave Serbia in status quo. A special envoy was sent from Vienna to Milan to warn him that Austria-Hungary would boycott the Obrenović dynasty if Pašić was executed. Noted Serbian historian Slobodan Jovanović later claimed that the entire assassination was staged so that Milan could get rid of the Radical Party.

Imprisoned and unaware of Austria-Hungary's interference,[36] Pašić confessed that the Radical Party had been disloyal to the dynasty, which probably saved many people from prison.[37] As part of the deal reached with the interior minister Đorđe Genčić, the government officially left its own role out of the statement, so that it appeared that Pašić behaved cowardly and succumbed to the pressure. Pašić was sentenced to five years but released immediately. This caused future conflict within the Radical Party as younger members considered Pašić a coward and traitor, and split from the party. For the remainder of Alexander's rule, Pašić retired from politics. Although the young monarch disliked Pašić, he was often summoned for consultations but would refrain from giving advice and insist that he was no longer involved with politics.

Golden age of democracy 1903–1914

Royal assassination

Nikola Pašić was not among the conspirators who plotted to assassinate King Alexander. The assassination occurred on the night of 10–11 June [O.S. 28–29 May] 1903, and both the King and Queen Draga Mašin were killed, as well as Prime Minister Dimitrije Cincar-Marković and Defence Minister Milovan S. Pavlović. The Radical Party did not form the first cabinet after the coup d'état, but after winning the elections on 4 October 1903, they remained in almost uninterrupted power for the next 15 years.

In the beginning, the Radicals opposed the appointment of a new king, Peter I Karađorđević, calling his appointment illegal. But Pašić later changed his mind after seeing how people willingly accepted the new monarch as well as King Peter I, educated in Western Europe, was a democratic, mild ruler, unlike the last two despotic and erratic Obrenović sovereigns. In the next two decades, the major clash between the king and the prime minister would be Pašić's refusal to raise to royal appanage.[citation needed]

Nikola Pašić became foreign minister on 8 February 1904 in Sava Grujić's cabinet and headed a government under his own presidency 10 December 1904 to 28 May 1905, continuing as foreign minister as well. During the following decade, under the leadership of Pašić and the Radical Party, Serbia grew so prosperous that many historians call this period the modern golden age of Serbia. The country evolved into a European democracy and with financial and economic growth, political influence also grew which caused constant problems with Serbia's largest neighbour, Austria-Hungary, which even developed plans to turn Serbia into one of its provinces (already in 1879 German chancellor Otto von Bismarck said that Serbia was the stumbling-block in Austria's development). [citation needed]

Austro-Hungarian customs war

As Austro-Hungarian latent provocations of Serbia concerning Serbs living in Bosnia and Herzegovina, officially still part of the Ottoman Empire but occupied by Austria-Hungary since 1878 and causing problems to Serbian exports which mainly went through Austria-Hungary (as Serbia was landlocked) didn't bring results, Austria-Hungary began a customs war in 1906. Pašić formed another cabinet from 30 April 1906 to 20 July 1908. Pressured by the Austro-Hungarian government which asked from Serbia to buy everything from Austrian companies, from salt to cannons, he replied to Austrian government that he personally would do that, but that the National Assembly was against this.

Austria-Hungary closed the borders which did cause a severe blow to the Serbian economy initially, but later it will bounce back even more developed than it was, thanks to the Pašić swift change towards the Western European countries. He forced conspirators of the 1903 coup into retirement which was a condition for reestablishing diplomatic connections with the United Kingdom, he bought cannons from France, etc. In the midst of the customs war, Austria-Hungary officially annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908 which caused mass protests in Serbia and political instability, but Pašić managed to calm the situation down. In this period, Pašić's major ally, Imperial Russia, was not much of a help, being defeated by Japan in the Russo-Japanese War and facing domestic political instability.[citation needed]

Balkan Wars

Pašić with the Greek Prime Minister, Eleftherios Venizelos, in 1913

Pašić formed two more cabinets (24 October 1909 to 4 July 1911 and from 12 September 1912). He was one of the major players in the formation of the Balkan League which later resulted in the First Balkan War (1912–13) and the Second Balkan War (1913) which almost doubled the size of Serbia with the territories of what was at the time considered Old Serbia (Kosovo, Metohija and Vardar Macedonia), retaken from the Ottomans after five centuries.[citation needed] He clashed with some military structures about the handling of the newly acquired territories. Pašić believed the area should be included into the Serbian political and administrative system through the democratic elections, while the Royal Serbian Army sought to keep the areas under the military control. After one year of tensions Pašić dismissed the military administrator of Old Serbia and scheduled new elections for 1914 but the outbreak of World War I prevented it.[citation needed]

Outbreak of the Great War

After the Assassination in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914 when members of the Serbian revolutionary organization Young Bosnia assassinated the Austro-Hungarian heir-apparent Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Austro-Hungarian government immediately accused the Serbian government of being behind the assassination.[citation needed] The general consensus today is that government did not organize it, but how much Pašić knew about it is still a controversial issue and it appears that every historian has his or her own opinion on the subject: Pašić knew nothing (Ćorović); Pašić knew something is about to happen and told Russia that Austria would attack Serbia before the assassination (Dragnić); Pašić knew but as the assassins were connected to the powerful members of the Serbian intelligence, was afraid to do anything about it personally so he warned Vienna (Balfour).[citation needed]

Austria-Hungary presented him the July Ultimatum, written together with the envoys of the German ambassadors in such a vein that it would be unlikely for the Serbian government to accept. After extensive consultations in the country itself and formidable pressure from outside to accept it, Pašić told the Austrian ambassador Wladimir Giesl von Gieslingen (who had already packed his bags) that Serbia accepted all the ultimatum demands except that Austrian police could independently travel throughout Serbia and conduct their own investigation.[citation needed] Austria-Hungary answered by formally declaring war on Serbia on 28 July 1914.

World War I and Yugoslavia

Glory, defeat and the South Slav state

From the left: A. Trumbić, Nikola Pašić, Milenko Vesnić and Ivan Žolger

Serbian defeat was considered to be imminent, at least by external onlookers, compared to the strength of the Austria-Hungary. Serbia had obviously prepared well, however, and after a series of battles in 1914–1915 (Battle of Cer, Battle of Kolubara), the loss and recapture of Belgrade, and a Serbian counter-offensive with occupation of some Austrian territories (in Syrmia and eastern Bosnia), the Austro-Hungarian Army backed off. On 5 July 1914, things changed as old King Peter I relinquished his duties to the heir apparent Alexander, making him his regent.[citation needed]

On 17 September 1914, Pašić and Albanian leader Essad Pasha Toptani signed in Niš the secret Treaty of Serbian-Albanian Alliance.[38] The treaty had 15 points which focused on setting up joint Serbian-Albanian political and military institutions, as well as a military alliance between Albania and Serbia. The treaty also envisaged building of the rail-road to Durrës, financial and military support of the Kingdom of Serbia to Essad Pasha's position as Albanian ruler and drawing of the demarcation line by a special Serbo-Albanian commission.[39] In October 1914, Essad Pasha returned to Albania. With Italian and Serbian financial backing, he established armed forces in Dibër and captured the interior of Albania and Durrës. Pašić ordered that his followers be aided with money and arms.[40]

Unlike Peter, Alexander was not a democratic spirit, rather a dictatorial one and personally disliked Pašić and talk of democracy. Open strife began very soon, when Serbia was proposed the London Pact by which it was supposed to expand into most of the ethnic Serbian territories to the west, including a section of the Adriatic coast and some ethnic Albanian territories in northern Albania. In return, Serbia was supposed to relinquish part of Vardar Macedonia to Bulgaria so that the latter would enter the war on the Entente side.[citation needed] Both Pašić and Prince-regent Alexander were against this as they considered it to be the betrayal of the Croatians, Slovenians and Serbian sacrifices in the Balkan Wars, as negotiations for the future South Slav state already began. However, Pašić and King Peter were not personally much for the Yugoslav idea, unlike the regent who pushed the issue for creating as large a state as possible. Serbia refused the pact and was attacked by Austria-Hungary, Germany and Bulgaria. The Government and the army retreated to the south in the direction of Greece, but were cut off by Bulgarian forces and had to go through Albania and to the Greek island of Corfu where the Corfu Declaration was signed in 1917 preparing the ground for the future South Slav state of Yugoslavia.[citation needed]

Creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes

The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (SHS) was officially proclaimed on 1 December 1918, and, being the Prime Minister of Serbia at that time, Pašić was generally considered the de facto Prime Minister of the new South Slav state, as well.[citation needed] The political agreement was reached that Pašić would continue on as Prime Minister when the first government of the new state was to be formed, but as a result of his longtime dislike of Pašić, Prince-regent Alexander nominated Stojan Protić to form the government. Consequently, Pašić stepped down on 20 December 1918.[citation needed]

Despite being removed from the government, as the most experienced of politicians, Nikola Pašić was the main negotiator for the new state at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. In an effort to secure the maximalist[further explanation needed] agenda of the regent, he did not push on the question of the Czech Corridor, Timișoara, and Szeged, managed to secure borders with Albania and Bulgaria, but failed to annex Fiume (which became an independent state) and most of Carinthia (which remained part of Austria). At the time when Benito Mussolini was willing to modify the Treaty of Rapallo, which cut off a quarter of Slovene ethnic territory from the remaining three-quarters of Slovenes living in the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, in order to annex the Free State of Fiume to Italy, Pašić's attempts to correct the borders at Postojna and Idrija were undermined by Prince-regent Alexander preferring "good relations" with Italy.[41]

Elections held on 28 November 1920 showed that the Radical Party was the second strongest in the country, having just one seat less than the Democratic Party (91 to 92, respectively, out of 419 seats). However, Pašić managed to form a coalition and became Prime Minister again on 1 January 1921.[citation needed]

Pašić became a very large landowner in the country due to expropriation of Albanian land in Kosovo and other areas.[42]

Vidovdan Constitution

As soon as talks about the constitution of the new state began, two diametrically opposite sides, Serbian and Croatian, were established. Both Pašić and Prince-regent Alexander wanted a unitary state but for different reasons. Pašić considered that the Serbs could be outvoted in such a state and that an unconsolidated and heterogeneous entity would fall apart if it was a federal one, while the prince-regent simply didn't like to share power with others, which was shown 8 years later when he conducted a coup d'état.[citation needed]

Stjepan Radić, a leading Croatian politician for a joint Serbian-Croatian state would be a temporary solution on the way to Croatian independence,[citation needed] asked for a federal republic. As Pašić had majority in the assembly, a new constitution was proclaimed on Vidovdan (St. Vitus day), 28 June 1921, organizing the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes as a parliamentary (albeit highly unitary) monarchy, abolishing even the remaining shreds of autonomy which had Slovenia, Croatia, Dalmatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Vojvodina (provincial governments). In the early 1920s, the Yugoslav government of Prime Minister Pašić used police pressure over voters and ethnic minorities, confiscation of opposition pamphlets[43] and other measures of election rigging to keep the opposition, mainly the autonomy-minded Croats, in minority in the Yugoslav parliament.[44][45]

Pašić's grave at the Belgrade New Cemetery. The grave of Janko Vukotić can be seen to the right.

Pašić remained prime minister until 8 April 1926, with a short break 27 July 1924 to 6 November 1924, when the government was headed by Ljuba Davidović. After relinquishing temporarily the post to his party colleague Nikola Uzunović, Pasic attempted in 1926 to regain his job. Now a king, Alexander refused to reappoint Pašić using as a pretext the scandals of Pašić's son Rade. The following day, on 10 December 1926, Nikola Pašić suffered a heart attack and died in Belgrade, at age 80. He was interred in Belgrade's New Cemetery. Milenko Vesnić is interred to the right of Pašić's grave and Janko Vukotić is interred to the left of the grave.[46]

Private life

Nikola Pašić and his daughter Pava

Nikola Pašić married Đurđina Duković, daughter of a wealthy Serbian grains trader from Trieste. They were married in the Russian church in Florence to avoid the gathering of the numerous Serbian colony in Trieste and had three children: son Radomir-Rade and daughters Dara and Pava. Radomir-Rade had two sons: Vladislav, an architect (died 1978) and Nicholas "Nikola" [sr] (1918–2015), an Oxford University law graduate who resided in Toronto, Canada, where he founded a Serbian National Academy.[47]

Legacy

Monument to Nikola Pašić, Nikola Pašić Square, Belgrade

A central square in Belgrade is named after him, Square of Nikola Pašić (Serbian: Трг Николе Пашића/Trg Nikole Pašića). During the Communist regime, the square was named after Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The 4.2 meter tall bronze statue of Pašić stands in the square, overlooking the building of the assembly. He is included in The 100 most prominent Serbs. Pašić was awarded the Russian Order of the White Eagle with brilliants, the Order of Carol I of Romania and Order of Karađorđe's Star.[48]

Media portrayals

References

  1. ^ "Nikola Pašić najduže premijer" [Nikola Pašić is the longest-serving prime minister]. Blic (in Serbian). 27 August 2005. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  2. ^ Maričić, Slobodan (12 April 2022). "Koja je tajna duge vladavine Nikole Pašića" [What is the secret to the long rule of Nikola Pašić]. BBC News (in Serbian). Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  3. ^ Vulićević, Marina (27 March 2023). "Pašićeve promašaje trpimo i danas" [We still suffer from Pašić's failures today]. Politika (in Serbian). Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  4. ^ Müller, Jan-Werner; Pešić, Vesna; Stojanović, Dubravka (14 November 2017). "Šta ja nama populizam" [What is populism to us]. Peščanik (in Serbian). Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Zbornik Matice srpske za književnost i jezik. Matica srpska. 1974. p. 359. Милетић је претпостављао да је Никола Пашић пореклом из Тетевена, одакле му је дошао отац или дед. Ја сам га упозорио да словеначки етнолог Нико Жупанич констатује да је Н. Пашић пореклом из трговачке породице која се под крај XVI века доселила од Тетова и основала село Звездан код Зајечара (Станојевићева Енциклопедија III, 309) а и сам Пашић у више ма- хова казивао је да су му се стари доселили из околине тетовскога манастира Леш[о]ка. Ово је између осталога казао мом оцу Петру, с којим је зајед- но суђен због ивањданскога атентата, а говорио је тако у Бури Илкићу, школ- ском другу свога сина и домаћем пријатељу породице, који је још жив, као и другима кад би се распитивали
  6. ^ Jovan Dučić (1969). Sabrana djela. Vol. 6. p. 197. Пашић је пореклом из Извора у близини За- јечара. Тамо се налази неко људско насеље где су сви људи мање него осредњи, плавих јасних очију, који мало говоре, а воле брзе коње. Пашић је сам за своју породицу говорио да је из Тето- ва у Маћедонији, макар што се онамо затро сва- ки спомен на његове претке; а Бугари су то об- ртали говорећи да је Пашић из Тетувена у Бу- гарској
  7. ^ Чилингиров, Стилиян. Какво е дал българинът на другите народи. 1938, 1939, 1941, 1991, 2006. с. 90-91.
  8. ^ Dimitrijević 2004, p. 61.
  9. ^ Представители от тетевенското село Голям извор гостуваха на с. Велики извор, община Зайчар, Сърбия. 27 Сеп 2018 г. Официален сайт на Община Тетевен.
  10. ^ Sforca 1990, p. 16, " Пашић је имао још једну срећу: припадао је шопској...".
  11. ^ Gica, Alexandru (2009–2011). "The recent history of the Aromanians in Southeast Europe" (PDF). The Newsletter of the Society Farsharotu. 24–25 (1–2): 1–22.
  12. ^ Maričić, Slobodan (12 April 2022). "Политика, историја и избори у Србији: Која је тајна дуге владавине Николе Пашића". BBC News Serbian (in Serbian).
  13. ^ Radenković, Mile. Цинцари, балкански Хазари. p. 19. (in Serbian)
  14. ^ Dragnich 1974, p. 11.
  15. ^ a b Stokes 1990, p. 56.
  16. ^ a b Stokes 1990, p. 58.
  17. ^ Stokes 1990, p. 62.
  18. ^ Stokes 1990, p. 57.
  19. ^ Stokes 1990, p. 330.
  20. ^ Stokes 1990, p. 43.
  21. ^ Ćorović, Vladimir (1997). Istorija srpskog naroda, Book 1.
  22. ^ East European Accessions List. United States Library of Congress. 1956. p. 62.
  23. ^ Djokic 2010, p. 128.
  24. ^ "DA LI JE NIKOLA PAŠIĆ ZASLUŽIO OVAKAV KRAJ? Srbi su ga OBOŽAVALI, a porodica mu je UNIŠTILA KARIJERU". Telegraf.rs. 10 December 2015.
  25. ^ Dragnich 1974, p. 26.
  26. ^ MacKenzie, David (1996). Violent Solutions: Revolutions, Nationalism, and Secret Societies in Europe to 1918. University Press of America. p. 233. ISBN 978-0-76180-399-7.
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  28. ^ Sforca 1990, p. 36, "Пашић је говорио доста течно бугарски, али је у говор мешао велики број српских речи и израза. Оне младе пријатеље Каравелове који су били пореклом из области Старе Планине Пашић је често питао о карактеристика- ма тога краја Бугарске. Објашњавао им је да су се његови преци иселили одатле у Србију пре неколико генерација. Бугарска сведочанства потпуно се разилазе у једном важном питању: да ли се Пашић бавио активном политиком за време свога изгнанства у Софији.".
  29. ^ Sforca 1990, p. 36.
  30. ^ Christopher Clark, The Sleepwalkers, p.17
  31. ^ St. Protić, Milan (2015). Between Democracy and Populism: Political Ideas of the Peopleʹs Radical Party in Serbia:(The Formative Period: 1860ʹs to 1903). Balkanološki institut SANU. p. 53. ISBN 978-8-67179-094-9.
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  33. ^ Djokic 2010, p. 24.
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  39. ^ Bataković, Dušan T. (1992). "Serbian government and Essad Pasha Toptani". The Kosovo Chronicles. Belgrade, Serbia: Knižara Plato. ISBN 86-447-0006-5. Archived from the original on 6 September 2010. Retrieved 24 September 2016. The 15 points envisaged the setting up of joint political and military institutions,... focused on a military alliance, the construction of an Adriatic railroad to Durazzo and guarantees that Serbia would support Essad Pasha's election as the Albanian ruler. ...The demarcation between the two countries was to be drawn by a special Serbo-Albanian commission
  40. ^ Serbian government and Essad Pasha Toptani, balkania.tripod.com; accessed 24 September 2016.
  41. ^ Čermelj, L. (1955). Kako je prišlo do prijateljskega pakta med Italijo in kraljevino SHS (How the Friendship Treaty between Italy and the Kingdom of SHS Came About in 1924), Zgodovinski časopis, 1-4, p. 195, Ljubljana.
  42. ^ Qirezi, Arben (2017). "Settling the self-determination dispute in Kosovo". In Mehmeti, Leandrit I.; Radeljić, Branislav (eds.). Kosovo and Serbia: Contested Options and Shared Consequences. University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 54. ISBN 9780822981572.
  43. ^ Balkan Politics, TIME Magazine, 31 March 1923.
  44. ^ Elections, TIME Magazine, 23 February 1925.
  45. ^ The Opposition, TIME Magazine, 6 April 1925.
  46. ^ Beogradska groblja profile
  47. ^ Politika (11 January 2015). "Umro Nikola Pašić, unuk-imenjak srpskog državnika" (in Serbian). Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  48. ^ Acović, Dragomir (2012). Slava i čast: Odlikovanja među Srbima, Srbi među odlikovanjima. Belgrade: Službeni Glasnik. pp. 148, 153.
  49. ^ The End of Obrenović Dynasty on IMDB
  50. ^ "The Last Audience". rts.rs. 19 July 2008.

Further reading

Other languages

Government offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Serbia
1891–1892
Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Finance of Serbia
1891–1892
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Serbia
1904–1905
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Serbia
1906–1908
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Serbia
1909–1911
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Serbia
1912–1918
Succeeded by
himself in Yugoslavia
Preceded by
Himself in Serbia
Prime Minister of Yugoslavia
1918
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Yugoslavia
1921–1924
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Yugoslavia
1924–1926
Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs
1892
Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs
1904-1905
Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs
1906-1908
Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs
1912-1918
Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the National Assembly
1889-1891
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Živan Živanović
President of the National Assembly
1893-1894
Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the National Assembly
1897
Succeeded by
Sima Nestorović
Preceded by
Živko Karabiberović
Mayor of Belgrade
1889-1891
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Nikola Stepanović
Mayor of Belgrade
1897
Succeeded by
Nikola Stepanović
Preceded by
Dušan Stefanović
Minister of Army
Acting

1914
Succeeded by
Radovije Bojović
Party political offices
Preceded by
Post established
President of the People's Radical Party
1881–1926
Succeeded by