Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Serbia, 1918–1945. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes and was colloquially known as Yugoslavia due to its origins. The state was ruled by the Serbian dynasty of Karađorđević, which previously ruled the Kingdom of Serbia under Peter I, who became the first king of Yugoslavia, reigning until his death in 1921. In April 1941, the country was occupied and partitioned by the Axis powers.
Seat of power: Belgrade
Rulers
Milenko Radomar Vesnić
Prime Minister of Yugoslavia, 1920–1921
Milenko Vesnić was a Serbian politician, diplomat, cabinet member and prime minister. In 1920 Vesnić became Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and during his office, he signed the Rapallo Treaty with Italy. During his second government, from 1920 to 1921, Vesnić retained the portfolio of Foreign Minister as well.
Portrait of Milenko Radomar Vesnić: Not stated, Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain, file
Alexander I of Yugoslavia
King of Yugoslavia, 1921–1934
In 1918, Alexander oversaw the unification of Serbia and the former Austro-Hungarian provinces of Croatia-Slavonia, Slovenia, Vojvodina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Dalmatia into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, in accordance with the Corfu Declaration. He was King of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes from 16 August 1921 to 3 October 1929 and King of Yugoslavia from 3 October 1929 until his assassination. In 1934, the king was assassinated in Marseille by Vlado Chernozemski, a member of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), during his visit to France.
Portrait of Alexander I of Yugoslavia: http://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA:Djordjes, Public domain, file
Peter II of Yugoslavia
King of Yugoslavia, 1934–1945
Peter II was the last King of Yugoslavia, reigning from October 1934 until he was deposed in November 1945. He acceded to the Yugoslav throne in 1934 at the age of 11 after his father was assassinated during a state visit to Marseille, and a regency was set up under his cousin Prince Paul. Axis forces invaded Yugoslavia and quickly overran the country, forcing the king and his ministers into exile in the United Kingdom.
Portrait of Peter II of Yugoslavia: Непознат, CC BY 3.0 rs, file
Culture
- Three-quarters of the Yugoslav workforce was engaged in agriculture. A few commercial farmers existed, but most were subsistence peasants.
- In 1929 the king established the 6 January Dictatorship and soon renamed the kingdom Yugoslavia.
Picture
Stari Dvor, now the city hall of Belgrade, was the royal residence of the Serbian royal family from 1884 to 1922.
Image: Aleks1212, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.