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Nikola Pašić | |
|---|---|
Никола Пашић | |
 Pašić,c. 1914 | |
| Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes | |
| In office 6 November 1924 – 8 April 1926 | |
| Monarch | Alexander I |
| Preceded by | Ljubomir Davidović |
| Succeeded by | Nikola Uzunović |
| In office 1 January 1921 – 28 July 1924 | |
| Monarchs |
|
| Preceded by | Milenko Vesnić |
| Succeeded by | Ljubomir Davidović |
| Acting 1 December 1918 – 22 December 1918 | |
| Monarch | Peter I |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Stojan Protić |
| Prime Minister of Kingdom of Serbia | |
| In office 12 September 1912 – 1 December 1918 | |
| Monarch | Peter I |
| Preceded by | Marko Trifković |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| In office 24 October 1909 – 4 July 1911 | |
| Monarch | Peter I |
| Preceded by | Stojan Novaković |
| Succeeded by | Milovan Milovanović |
| In office 29 April 1906 – 20 July 1908 | |
| Monarch | Peter I |
| Preceded by | Sava Grujić |
| Succeeded by | Petar Velimirović |
| In office 10 December 1904 – 28 May 1905 | |
| Monarch | Peter I |
| Preceded by | Sava Grujić |
| Succeeded by | Ljubomir Stojanović |
| In office 23 February 1891 – 22 August 1892 | |
| Monarch | Alexander I |
| Preceded by | Sava Grujić |
| Succeeded by | Jovan Avakumović |
| Mayor of Belgrade | |
| In office 29 December 1889 – 14 January 1891 | |
| Preceded by | Živko Karabiberović |
| Succeeded by | Milovan Malinković |
| In office 10 January – 13 November 1897 | |
| Preceded by | Nikola Stevanović |
| Succeeded by | Nikola Stevanović |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kingdom of Serbia | |
| In office 21 March 1892 – 22 August 1892 | |
| Monarch | Alexander I |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Mihailo Kr. Đorđević |
| Succeeded by | Jovan Avakumović |
| In office 8 February 1904 – 28 May 1905 | |
| Monarch | Peter I |
| Prime Minister | Sava Grujić Himself |
| Preceded by | Andra Nikolić |
| Succeeded by | Jovan Žujović |
| In office 29 April 1906 – 20 July 1908 | |
| Monarch | Peter I |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Vasilije Antonić |
| Succeeded by | Milovan Milovanović |
| In office 12 September 1912 – 23 March 1918 | |
| Monarch | Peter I |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Jovan Jovanović Pižon |
| Succeeded by | Mihailo Gavrilović |
| Minister of Finance of Kingdom of Serbia | |
| In office 23 November 1891 – 22 August 1892 | |
| Monarch | Peter I |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Mihailo V. Vujić |
| Succeeded by | Dmitrije Stojanović |
| Minister of the Army of Kingdom of Serbia | |
Acting | |
| In office 22 November – 14 December 1914 | |
| Monarch | Peter I |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Dušan Stefanović |
| Succeeded by | Radovije Bojović |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1845-12-18)18 December 1845 |
| Died | 10 December 1926(1926-12-10) (aged 80) |
| Resting place | New Cemetery |
| Political party | People's Radical Party |
| Spouse | Đurđina Duković |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | |
| Signature |  |
Nikola Pašić (Serbian Cyrillic:Никола Пашић,pronounced[nǐkolapǎʃitɕ]; 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 asprime minister of Serbia and three times asprime minister of Yugoslavia, leading22 governments in total. He played an instrumental role in the founding ofYugoslavia 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 inZaječar, in easternSerbia, Pašić studied engineering inSwitzerland and embracedradical politics as a student at thePolytechnical School inZürich. On his return to Serbia, he was elected to theNational Assembly in 1878 as a member of thePeople's Radical Party, which was formally organised three years later. After the failedTimok Rebellion against the government of KingMilan I, he was sentenced to death but narrowly avoided capture and execution. He spent the next six years exiled inBulgaria. Following Milan's abdication in 1889, Pašić returned to Serbia and was electedpresident of the National Assembly. A year later he also becamemayor of Belgrade. In 1891, Pašić became prime minister for the first time, but was forced to resign the following year.
Following theMay Coup and the murder of KingAlexander 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 theBalkan Wars against theOttomans andBulgaria, almost doubling the size of Serbian territories. Theassassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand brought Serbia to war withAustria-Hungary, sparking theFirst World War in which the country was overrun by theCentral Powers. Pašić led the government in exile in the Greek island ofCorfu, where theCorfu Declaration was signed and paved the way for a future state ofSouth Slavs.
In 1918, theKingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was officially proclaimed, and Pašić was recognised as thede facto prime minister of the new state. Despite his resignation just a month later, he took part in theParis 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 thekingdom's first constitution. He died of a heart attack in late 1926, at age 80. A proponent ofpopulism,nationalism, andpolitical pragmatism, Pašić began his career as asocialist but became aconservative in the 1910s.[2][3][4]
Pašić was born inZaječar,Principality of Serbia. According to Slovenian ethnologistNiko Županič, Pašić's ancestors migrated from theTetovo region in the 16th century and founded the village ofZvezdan 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 fromVeliki Izvor near Zaječar, and that Pašić's ancestry in Tetovo had been long lost.[6] Bulgarian ethnologistStilian Chilingirov stated that Pašić's roots were from the village ofVeliki Izvor, founded during the 18th century by refugees from theOttoman Bulgarian village ofGolyam Izvor inTeteven area in today'sBulgaria.[7]Ljubomir Miletić also claimed that Pašić's grandfather settled inVeliki Izvor fromTeteven 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 theShopi community".[10] There also are claims attributingAromanian descent to Pašić.[11][12][13]
Pašić completed elementary school in Zaječar, and finished hisgymnasium work inNegotin andKragujevac.[14][15] In the fall of 1865, he enrolled in theBelgrade Higher School and in 1867 received a state scholarship to study railroad engineering at thePolytechnical School inZürich.[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 thanMarxist or Russian populism, as his studies were focused on German history and contemporary events which were taught byGermanophile professors.[16] He graduated as an engineer but, apart from his brief participation in the construction of theVienna–Budapest railroad, he never worked in this field.[17]
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 wasSvetozar 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 toBosnia to support the anti-Ottoman uprising ofNevesinjska puška.[21] The Socialists started publishingSamouprava 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 theNational 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]
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 KingMilan 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 hardlinerNikola 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 theTimok 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.
For the next six years, Pašić lived with relatives in Bulgaria, supported by the Bulgarian government. He lived inSofia, where he worked as a building contractor, and also worked for a short time in theMinistry of Interior. According to Bulgarian sources, he spoke quite fluentBulgarian, but mixed it with a large number ofSerbian words and phrases, and it is claimed that he askedPetko Karavelov's friends who hailed fromStara 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 theSerbo-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 ofhis 12-year-old son Alexander.[30] A few days later the newly formed Radical cabinet ofSava Grujić pardoned Pašić.[31]
On 13 October 1889, Pašić was elected president of the National Assembly, a duty he would perform (de jure though, notde 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 Serbianparliamentarism, while as the mayor of Belgrade he was responsible forcobbling 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 deputyDimitrije 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 ofAlexander 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]
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 RadicalLazar 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 becauseSamouprava published a statement about his previous opposition to King Milan. Pašić claimed he was misquoted, with no effect.[33]
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 andKosta 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 thatAustria-Hungary would boycott the Obrenović dynasty if Pašić was executed. Noted Serbian historianSlobodan 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 ministerĐorđe 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.
Nikola Pašić was not among the conspirators who plotted to assassinate King Alexander. Theassassination occurred on the night of 10–11 June [O.S. 28–29 May] 1903, and both the King and QueenDraga Mašin were killed, as well as Prime MinisterDimitrije Cincar-Marković and Defence MinisterMilovan 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 royalappanage.[citation needed]
Nikola Pašić became foreign minister on 8 February 1904 inSava 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 themodern 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 GermanchancellorOtto von Bismarck said that Serbia was the stumbling-block in Austria's development).[citation needed]
As Austro-Hungarian latent provocations of Serbia concerning Serbs living inBosnia 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 acustoms 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 theNational 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 officiallyannexed 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 byJapan in theRusso-Japanese War and facing domestic political instability.[citation needed]
Pašić formed two more cabinets (24 October 1909 to 4 July 1911 andfrom 12 September 1912). He was one of the major players in the formation of theBalkan League which later resulted in theFirst Balkan War (1912–13) and theSecond Balkan War (1913) which almost doubled the size of Serbia with the territories of what was at the time consideredOld Serbia (Kosovo,Metohija andVardar 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 theRoyal 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 ofWorld War I prevented it.[citation needed]
After theAssassination in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914 when members of the Serbian revolutionary organizationYoung Bosnia assassinated the Austro-Hungarianheir-apparentArchduke 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 knewsomething 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]
According toLjubomir Jovanović, who was the minister of education at the time, Nikola Pašić was at least partially aware of the preparations for the assassination of Austro-Hungarian heir Francis Ferdinand, which were carried out by members of the Young Bosnia. In his essay, a contribution to the memorial book "The Blood of Slavdom" (Serbo-Croatian Latin:Krv Slovenstva) published on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War in 1924, Jovanović states that "at the end of May or the beginning of June" in 1914 Pašić told some members of his government that some people "were preparing to go to Sarajevo and murder Francis Ferdinand, who was to be solemnly received there on St. Vitus's Day."[38]
Austria-Hungary presented him theJuly 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 ambassadorWladimir 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 andconduct their own investigation.[citation needed] Austria-Hungary answered by formally declaring war on Serbia on 28 July 1914.
Serbian defeat was considered to be imminent, at least by external onlookers, compared to the strength of Austria-Hungary. Serbia had obviously prepared well, however, and after aseries of battles in 1914–1915 (Battle of Cer,Battle of Kolubara), theloss and recapture of Belgrade, and a Serbian counter-offensive with occupation of some Austrian territories (inSyrmia and eastern Bosnia), theAustro-Hungarian Army backed off. On 5 July 1914, things changed as old King Peter I relinquished his duties to the heir apparentAlexander, making him his regent.[citation needed]
On 17 September 1914, Pašić andAlbanian leaderEssad Pasha Toptani signed inNiš the secretTreaty of Serbian-Albanian Alliance.[39] The treaty had 15 points which focused on setting up joint Serbian-Albanian political and military institutions, as well as amilitary alliance between Albania and Serbia. The treaty also envisaged building of the rail-road toDurrës, 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.[40] In October 1914, Essad Pasha returned to Albania. WithItalian and Serbian financial backing, he established armed forces inDibër and captured the interior of Albania and Durrës. Pašić ordered that his followers be aided with money andarms.[41]
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 theLondon 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 theEntente 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 ofGreece, but were cut off by Bulgarian forces and had to go through Albania and to the Greek island ofCorfu where theCorfu Declaration was signed in 1917 preparing the ground for the future South Slav state ofYugoslavia.[citation needed]
TheKingdom 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 thede 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 nominatedStojan 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 theParis 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 theCzech Corridor,Timișoara, andSzeged, managed to secure borders with Albania and Bulgaria, but failed to annexFiume (which became anindependent state) and most ofCarinthia (which remained part ofAustria). At the time whenBenito Mussolini was willing to modify theTreaty of Rapallo, which cut off aquarter 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 atPostojna andIdrija were undermined by Prince-regent Alexander preferring "good relations" with Italy.[42]
Elections held on 28 November 1920 showed that the Radical Party was the second strongest in the country, having just one seat less than theDemocratic 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 toexpropriation of Albanian land in Kosovo and other areas.[43]
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 onVidovdan (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[44] and other measures ofelection rigging to keep the opposition, mainly the autonomy-minded Croats, in minority in the Yugoslav parliament.[45][46]
During his career as prime minister in the interwar period, Pašić continued to play the role of an important diplomatic negotiator in bilateral talks with neighboring countries. Among his most important foreign policy successes in this period was the settlement of disputes with Bulgaria. A Balkan correspondent ofThe Times wrote in 1925 that the crown of Pašić's long political career was "the successful promotion of a Serbo-Bulgar understanding". He also stated that Pašić' personal characteristics and experience in Bulgaria, where he spent his exile, contributed to that success: "No South Slav is more fitted to accomplish this arduous feat than the old statesman from the Serb marches, who speaks Serb with a Bulgar accent and in his middle age was a political exile in Bulgaria".[47]
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 colleagueNikola 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'sNew Cemetery.Milenko Vesnić is interred to the right of Pašić's grave andJanko Vukotić is interred to the left of the grave.[48]
Nikola Pašić married Đurđina Duković, daughter of a wealthy Serbian grains trader fromTrieste. They were married in the Russian church inFlorence 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) andNicholas "Nikola" [sr] (1918–2015), anOxford University law graduate who resided inToronto, Canada, where he founded a Serbian National Academy.[49]
A central square in Belgrade is named after him,Square of Nikola Pašić (Serbian:Трг Николе Пашића/Trg Nikole Pašića). During theCommunist regime, the square was named afterKarl Marx andFriedrich Engels. The 4.2-meter-tall (14 ft) bronze statue of Pašić stands in the square, overlooking the building of the assembly. He is included inThe 100 most prominent Serbs. Pašić was awarded the RussianOrder of the White Eagle with brilliants, theOrder of Carol I ofRomania andOrder of Karađorđe's Star.[50]
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
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
Essad Pasha signed a secret alliance treaty with Pasic on September 17.
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
Pašić Nikola
| 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 thePeople's Radical Party 1881–1926 | Succeeded by |
 Revolutionary Serbia(1804–1813) | |
|---|---|
 Principality of Serbia(1815–1882) |
|
 Kingdom of Serbia(1882–1918) | |
 PR Serbia/SR Serbia(constituent republic ofFPR Yugoslavia/SFR Yugoslavia) (1945–1992) | |
 Republic of Serbia(constituent republic ofFR Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montenegro) (1992–2006) | |
 Republic of Serbia(since 2006) | |
* acting | |
