Jovan Marinović | |
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| Prime Minister of Serbia | |
| In office 1873–1874 | |
| Preceded by | Jovan Ristić |
| Succeeded by | Aćim Čumić |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 1856–1858 | |
| Preceded by | Aleksandar Nenadović |
| Succeeded by | Jovan Veljković |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1821 Sarajevo,Bosnia Eyalet,Ottoman Empire |
| Died | (1893-08-20)August 20, 1893 Villers-sur-Mer,French Third Republic |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Occupation | Politician, diplomat |
Jovan Marinović (Serbian Cyrillic:Јован Мариновић; 1821 – August 30, 1893) was a Serbian politician and diplomat. He introduced several enlightened reforms in Serbian political system. As a close collaborator of MinisterIlija Garašanin, Marinović became the leader of the Serbian Conservatives, eventually becoming Prime Minister of thePrincipality of Serbia. Educated in Paris, Marinović believed in European culture and reforms as a way of enlightening the Serbian peasant society.
Being a member of the first generation of Serbian Western-educated intellectuals, Marinović occupied several posts in the state administration. He was highly regarded as a diplomat.[1]
Born to a Serbian family inSarajevo at the time part of theBosnia Eyalet in theOttoman Empire, Marinović moved to neighboringPrincipality of Serbia as a child. Being a semi-independent state entity, the Serbian principality was in the process of ridding itself of the Ottoman influence.
He finished secondary school inKragujevac in 1837 and obtained a job in the Chancery of the Prince (Knjaževa kancelarija) under PrinceMiloš Obrenović I. Marinović studied in Paris from 1841 until 1842, returning to Serbia to work as a secretary in the State Council. In 1843, he returned to the Prince's chancery in the head capacity, this time under PrinceAleksandar Karađorđević as theKarađorđevićs in the meantime took the power in Serbia from theObrenovićs.
Marinović went back to Paris in 1847, formally in order to finish his studies. However, in practice, he became the unofficial Serbian representative in theKingdom of France, commonly known as the July Monarchy, a state ruled by KingLouis Philippe I.
During theFrench Revolution of 1848, part of the1848-1849 revolutionary wave throughout central and western Europe, Marinović stayed in France, as the country transformed into theFrench Second Republic.
In the following years, Marinović was in charge of the Serbian foreign policy. Although formally performing other posts (Secretary of the State Council until 1850), Marinović was, as a special assistant toIlija Garašanin, in control of the whole network of Serbian political propaganda in theOttoman Empire. In 1853,Imperial Russia asked for the dismissal of both Garašanin and his first assistant Marinović for being too close to theSecond French Empire and the Paris-basedPolish agents ofAdam Czartoryski and their representative inBelgrade.
Marinović later became Minister of Finance (1856–1858) and the President of the State Council (1861–1873). Between 1861 and 1867 Marinović was anew the first aide of Prime MinisterIlija Garašanin and PrinceMihailo Obrenović, during their ambitious policy of forming a wider Balkan alliance and fomenting a general Christian uprising against theOttomans. Marinović was sent to confidential missions toSt. Petersburg, Paris,London andConstantinople.
Marinović belonged to the political grouping of Serbian Conservatives (Ilija Garašanin,Danilo Stefanović,Nikola Hristić andFilip Hristić). As the highest-ranking conservative afterIlija Garašanin, Marinović became Prime Minister on November 3, 1873, under a Liberal-Conservative coalition and kept the portfolio of Foreign Minister (November 3, 1873, to December 7, 1874) as well. By administrative fiat, the Marinović cabinet established freedom of speech and the press, which was an important step in establishingparliamentary democracy. Nikola Krstić was working on changes in the press law for the Marinović Administration.[2] At the session of the Serbian Parliament held on November 27, 1873, the Marinović government presented a set of far-reaching reform laws, including the law on the subsidization of industrial enterprises and the law of sixdays of land ploughing ("day" meaning a Serbian land measurement equivalent to 5,760 m2), as a minimal privately owned landed property protected from being sold or repossessed due to debts. This allowed Serbian peasants who were small landowners, at the time often victims of property loss due topredatory lending, to have at least 8.6 acres (35,000 m2) of land (out of the total land which they owned) they could always count on as remaining in their possession. On December 23, 1873, his government instituted the law by which corporal punishment was abolished and the prison system reformed. Other reforms regarding secondary school and the Belgrade'sGrandes écoles were passed as well.
The Marinović government introduced the metric system into Serbia as well as a native silver currency. After losing the majority among Liberal deputies in Parliament in 1874, the Marinović cabinet became the first Serbian government to be toppled in the National Assembly and called for new elections. After being defeated at the parliamentary elections in October 1874, Marinović resigned. He was appointed Serbian Envoy to Paris from 1879 to 1889.
Marinović married Persida Anastasijević, one of the wealthy merchantMiša Anastasijević's five daughters.[3] Their marriage was seen as the continuation of Miša Anastasijević's practice of marrying his daughters off to important decision-makers in thePrincipality of Serbia thereby securing personal wealth and expanding political influence.
Jovan Marinović and Persida had three children — two sons and a daughter.
One of their sons, Velizar, later married Agripina Bronkov, a Russian woman of Polish ancestry, moving with her to France where their sonPetar Marinović was born in 1898. Known in France as Pierre Marinovitch, young Petar became an aviator withFrench Air Force inWorld War I, distinguishing himself as aflying ace.
| Government offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Minister of Finance of Serbia 1856–1858 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Serbia 1873–1874 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Foreign Affairs 1873–1874 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
