Alexander I of Yugoslavia

For other people with similar names, see Alexander of Yugoslavia (disambiguation).
Alexander
Александар
King of Yugoslavia
prev. King of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes
Reign 16 August 1921 – 9 October 1934
Predecessor Peter I
Successor Peter II
Spouse Maria of Romania
Issue
Peter II of Yugoslavia
Prince Tomislav
Prince Andrew
House House of Karađorđević
Father Peter I of Serbia
Mother Princess Zorka of Montenegro
Born 16 December 1888(1888-12-16)
Cetinje, Principality of Montenegro
Died 9 October 1934(1934-10-09) (aged 45)
Marseille, France
Burial Saint George's Church in Oplenac

Alexander I (Serbo-Croatian: Aleksandar I Karađorđević, Cyrillic script: Александар I Карађорђевић), also known as Alexander the Unifier[1] (Serbo-Croatian: Aleksandar Ujedinitelj, Cyrillic script: Александар Ујединитељ, 16 December 1888 [O.S. 4 December] – 9 October 1934) was the first king of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1929–34) as well as the last king of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1921–29).

Contents

Childhood

Alexander Karađorđević was born in Principality of Montenegro in December 1888. His father was King Peter I of Serbia and his mother the former Princess Zorka of Montenegro, a daughter of King Nicholas of Montenegro. In Belgrade on 8 June 1922 he married HRH Princess Maria of Romania, who was a daughter of King Ferdinand of Romania. They had three sons: Crown Prince Peter, and Princes Tomislav and Andrej.

He spent his childhood in Montenegro, and was educated in Geneva. In 1910 he nearly died from stomach typhus and was left with stomach problems for the rest of his life. He continued his schooling at the imperial Page Corps in Saint Petersburg, Russia, but had to quit due to his brother's renounciation, and then in Belgrade. Prince Alexander was not the first in line for the throne but his elder brother, Crown Prince George (Đorđe) was considered unstable by most political forces in Serbia and after two notable scandals (one of which occurred in 1909 when he kicked his servant, who consequently died) Prince George was forced to renounce his claim to the throne.

Balkan Wars and World War I

Main articles: Balkan Wars and Serbian Campaign (World War I)

In the First Balkan War in 1912, as commander of the First Army, Crown Prince Alexander fought victorious battles in Kumanovo and Bitola, and later in 1913, during the Second Balkan War, the Battle of Bregalnica. In the aftermath of the Second Balkan War Prince Alexander took sides in the complicated power struggle over how Macedonia should be administered. In this Alexander bested Col. Dragutin Dimitrijević or "Apis" and in the wake of this Alexander's father, King Peter, agreed to hand over royal powers to his son. On 24 June 1914 Alexander became Regent of Serbia.

At the outbreak of World War I he was the nominal supreme commander of the Serbian army - true command was in hands of Chief of Staff of Supreme Headquarters - position held by Stepa Stepanović (during the mobilisation), Radomir Putnik (1914–1915), Petar Bojović (1916–1917) and Živojin Mišić (1918). The Serbian army distinguished itself in the battles at Cer and at the Drina (the Battle of Kolubara) in 1914, scoring victories against the invading Austro-Hungarian forces and evicting them from the country.

In 1915 the Serbian army with the aged King Peter and Crown Prince Alexander suffered many losses being attacked from all directions by the alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria. It withdrew through the gorges of Montenegro and northern Albania to the Greek island of Corfu, where it was reorganized. After the army was regrouped and reinforced, it achieved a decisive victory on the Macedonian Front, at Kajmakcalan. The Serbian army carried out a major part in the final Allied breakthrough in the autumn of 1918.

Monarchical styles of
King Alexander I
Reference style His Majesty
Spoken style Your Majesty
Alternative style Sir

King of Yugoslavia

On 1 December 1918, in a prearranged set piece, Alexander, as Regent, received a delegation of the People's Council of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, an address was read out by one of the delegation, and Alexander made an address in acceptance. This was considered to be the birth of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

In 1921, on the death of his father, Alexander inherited the throne of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which from its inception was colloquially known both in the Kingdom and the rest of Europe alike as Yugoslavia.

On 6 January 1929, in response to the political crisis triggered by the murder of Stjepan Radić, King Alexander abolished the Constitution, prorogued the Parliament and introduced a personal dictatorship (the so-called "January 6th Dictatorship", Šestojanuarska diktatura). He also changed the name of the country to Kingdom of Yugoslavia and changed the internal divisions from the 33 oblasts to nine new banovinas on 3 October.

In the same month, he tried to banish by decree the use of Serbian Cyrillic to promote the exclusive use of Latin alphabet in Yugoslavia.[2]

In 1931, Alexander decreed a new Constitution which transferred executive power to the King. Elections were to be by universal male suffrage. The provision for a secret ballot was dropped and pressure on public employees to vote for the governing party was to be a feature of all elections held under Alexander's constitution. Furthermore, the King would appoint half the upper house directly, and legislation could become law with the approval of one of the houses alone if it were also approved by the King.

Assassination

As a result of the previous deaths of three family members on a Tuesday, Alexander refused to undertake any public functions on that day of the week. On Tuesday 9 October 1934, however, he had no choice, as he was arriving in Marseilles to start a state visit to the Third French Republic, to strengthen the two countries' alliance in the Little Entente. While Alexander was being driven in a car through the streets along with French Foreign Minister Louis Barthou, a gunman, Vlado Chernozemski, stepped from the street and shot the King and the chauffeur. Barthou was accidentally shot by a French policeman and died later.

It was one of the first assassinations captured on film; the shooting occurred straight in front of the cameraman, who was only feet away at the time. The cameraman captured not merely the assassination but the immediate aftermath; the body of the chauffeur (who had been killed instantly) became jammed against the brakes of the car, allowing the cameraman to continue filming from within inches of the King for a number of minutes afterwards.

The assassin, Vlado Chernozemski, was a Bulgarian, member of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) and an experienced marksman. Immediately after assassinating King Alexander, he was cut down by the sword of a mounted French policeman, and then beaten by the crowd. By the time he was removed from the scene, he was already dead. The IMRO was a political organization that fought for secession of Vardar Macedonia from Yugoslavia. The leader of the organization in that time was Ivan Mihailov. [1] According to the UKTV History program Infamous Assassinations-King Alexander, IMRO worked in alliance with the Croatian Ustaše group led by Ante Pavelić, under the secret sponsorship of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

The film record of Alexander I's assassination remains one of the most notable pieces of newsreel in existence,[3][4] alongside the film of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia's coronation, the funerals of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Emperor Franz Josef of Austria, and the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

King Alexander I was buried in the Memorial Church of St. George, which had been built by his father. The Holy See gave special permission to bishops Aloysius Stepinac, Antun Akšamović, Dionisije Njaradi and Gregorij Rožman to attend the funeral in an Orthodox church.[5] As his son Peter II was still a minor, Alexander's first cousin Prince Pavle Karadjordjevic took the regency of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Ancestors

In popular culture

The song "Don Juan" by British synth duo the Pet Shop Boys (the B-side to their 1988 single "Domino Dancing") contains the phrase "King Zog's back from holiday, Marie Lupescu's grey and King Alexander is dead in Marseilles".

Honours and awards

Collar of the Order of the Holy Prince Lazarus
Grand Master of the Order of Takovo
Grand Master of the Order of the White Eagle (Serbia)
Grand Master of the Order of St. Sava
Grand Master and Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Karageorge
Grand Master of the Order of the Crown of Yugoslavia
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Karageorge (military class)
Supreme Knight of the Order of the Most Holy Annunciation
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari
Order of St. Cyril and St. Methodius (Bulgaria)

References and notes

Notes

  1. ^ Passmore, (2003) p. 104
  2. ^ Dangerous Decree, Time (magazine), 21 October 1929
  3. ^ Documentary film The Assassination of the Yugoslavian king Alexander in 1934 (English)
  4. ^ Documentary film The Assassination and the Funeral of the Yugoslavian king Alexander in 1934 (Bulgarian)
  5. ^ The Dictatorship of King Alexander and the Roman Catholic Church 1929-1934
  1. ^ "The first central committee of IMRO. Memoirs of d-r Hristo Tatarchev", Materials for the Macedonian liberation movement, book IX (series of the Macedonian scientific institute of IMRO, led by Bulgarian academician prof. Lyubomir Miletich), Sofia, 1928, p. 102 , поредица "Материяли за историята на македонското освободително движение" на Македонския научен институт на ВМРО, воден от българския академик проф. Любомир Милетич, книга IX, София, 1928.
  2. Farley, Brigit, "King Aleksandar and the Royal Dictatorship in Yugoslavia," in Bernd J. Fischer (ed), Balkan Strongmen: Dictators and Authoritarian Rulers of Southeastern Europe (West Lafayette, IN, 2007) (Central European Studies), 51-86.

Bibliography

External links

Alexander I of Yugoslavia
Born: 16 December 1888 Died: 9 October 1934
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Peter I
as King of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes		 King of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes
16 August 1921 – 6 January 1929		 Succeeded by
Proclaimed King of Yugoslavia
New title King of Yugoslavia
6 January 1929 – 9 October 1934		 Succeeded by
Peter II