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General
Sava Grujić
Сава Грујић
42nd Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Serbia
In office
1 January 1888 – 27 April 1888
MonarchAlexander I
Preceded byJovan Ristić
Succeeded byNikola Hristić
45th Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Serbia
In office
7 March 1889 – 23 February 1891
MonarchAlexander I
Preceded byKosta Protić
Succeeded byNikola Pašić
49th Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Serbia
In office
5 December 1893 – 24 January 1894
MonarchAlexander I
Preceded byLazar Dokić
Succeeded byĐorđe Simić
61st Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Serbia
In office
4 October 1903 – 10 December 1904
MonarchPeter I
Preceded byJovan Avakumović
Succeeded byNikola Pašić
64th Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Serbia
In office
7 March 1906 – 29 April 1906
MonarchPeter I
Preceded byLjubomir Stojanović
Succeeded byNikola Pašić
Personal details
Born25 November 1840
Died3 November 1913(1913-11-03) (aged 72)
Political partyPeople's Radical Party

Sava Grujić (Serbian Cyrillic: Сава Грујић, transcribed in English as Grujitch; 25 November 1840 – 3 November 1913) was a Serbian Radical Party politician, general, diplomat and writer.

As a diplomat he was the first to represent Serbia in Bulgaria and Serbia's representative to the Russian Empire, Serbian Deputy in Constantinople and Representative to the Serbian Minister in Athens. As a military officer, he participated in both Serbian-Ottoman Wars (1876–77; 1877–78) and served as Minister of War and Minister of Defence. From comparatively humble origins, he served as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Serbia five times between 1889 and 1906 in the Governments of both Karađorđević and Obrenović. He was considered one of the builders of Yugoslavia and played an instrumental role in its creation. He was an able negotiator and diplomat and with some of his contemporaries put together ideas for the formation of a south Slav State working together with prominent liberals of his day.[1]

Early life

Sava Grujić was born on 25 November 1840 at Kolari, a village in the district of Smederevo, just ten years after Serbia became a semi-independent state after three and a half centuries of Turkish occupation. His grandfather, Vule Ilić, was a well-known vojvoda (duke or military commander) under Karadjordje who distinguished himself at the battle of Suvobor in 1809 during the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire. Once he finished his elementary education at the village school, his family could no longer afford to pay for any further education. A local Orthodox priest and a local public official recognized Grujić's potential and arranged for him to go to Belgrade for secondary education. [citation needed]

From the Military Academy to the Minister of War

Lieutenant Sava Grujić

Military Education

After finishing school Grujić entered the Serbian Military Academy in Belgrade where he stayed from 1856 to 1861. After graduating, he was promoted to second lieutenant of artillery and as top graduate was sent to Prussia, at the Prussian Military Academy (German: Preußische Kriegsakademie) in Berlin to continue his military education and for the practical study of gunnery.
When the Polish uprising started in 1863, inspired by new and modern liberal ideas, Grujić left Berlin to join the Polish fighters who were fighting for independent statehood.
His education lasted for 15 months and he graduated in December 1864. Wanting to get a higher theoretical artillery formation, Grujić entered the Russian service in the 23rd Artillery Brigade.
In 1865, he enrolled at the Mikhailovsky Artillery Academy, spending the last two years at St. Petersburg's arsenal.
During that last year in St. Petersburg, he participated in the founding of an organisation called the Serbian Commune (opstina). Dimitrije Durić was president, Sava Grujić vice-president, and Svetozar Markovic secretary. The goal of the Commune, was stated to be "the establishment of fraternal relations among all Serbs in Russia", with a view to cooperation for the "general progress" of the Serbian people and nation.[2]
After graduating in 1870 he returned to Serbia where he was appointed first chief of the arsenal in Kragujevac as expert in artillery and armaments and then chief of artillery control. Kragujevac became Serbia's main center for arms production and the modernization of armaments.[3]

Political Education

In 1871 back in Serbia Sava joined a secret revolutionary society called The Main Board for Serb Liberation based in Kragujevac, Principality of Serbia and founded by members of the United Serbian Youth and other patriots from all over the Yugoslav lands, [4] the group sought the liberation and unification of Serb-inhabited territory in the Ottoman Empire.
Grujić and a group of young free thinking liberals, including another officer from the State Munitions Works, started [The Kragujevac Social Printing Works], a cooperative printing venture and a society for the establishment of a free press in Kragujevac, the seat of the National Assembly and the heart of the south Serbian radicalism, Sava Grujić, became its president.
The organizers asked notable radical-socialist Svetozar Marković who had studied in St. Petersburg concurrently with Grujić, to join them.
Under the chairmanship of Sava and the editorship of Svetozar Marković they started a Radical newspaper called Javnost ("The Public”), in a very short time Serbia’s second socialist newspaper was out discussing current political issues. Frustrated by the state of Serbian politics, Javnost published an article openly criticizing the regime and stating that the Serbian people « have the right to overthrow a prince with whom they were dissatisfied ».[5] As a result, in December 1873 the Minister of War Kosta Protić ordered the dismissal of Captain Sava Grujić from the service, citing his “treacherous” association with Javnost and the Kragujevac Social Printing Works, Svetozar Markovic was arrested, charged with defaming the prince and put in jail. Sava contested the order for his dismissal and was reintegrated later that same year because of his military expertise as Serbia was ready to mobilise for war with the Ottomans.[6]

The Serbian-Turkish Wars

In July 1875, peasants in Herzegovina rebelled against their Muslim landlords and Ottoman Turkish rulers. The insurrection quickly spread to Bosnia and aroused war in Serbia, still an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire.[7]
Only a week after coming to office the government dropped Oreskovic's war plan and adopted one drafted by Major Sava Grujic. On 28 June 1876, Serbia, followed by Montenegro, declared war on the Ottoman Empire, on the symbolical Vidovdan (June 28), the day of the Battle of Kosovo (1389). Grujić was appointed chief of artillery serving under General Michael Cherniaev, a Russian who took Serbian citizenship. Leading his Serbo Russian army against the Turks, Cherniaev embodied the Panslav ideal of selfless service to Slav Christians groaning under the Ottoman yoke.[8] Grujić as Chief of Artillery took a leading part in the battle and by the end of 1876 was promoted to the rank of Colonel.
On 24 April 1877, Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire and in December was joined by the Serbs and Montenegrins, the conflict is known as the Russo-Turkish War.[9] Grujić was battalion commander on the southern front [10] The Second Serbian–Ottoman War, took place between 13 December 1877 and 5 February 1878. It ended in Serbian victory. By early 1878, the Royal Serbian Army had captured most of the South Morava basin, reaching as far as Preševo and Vitina(today Kosovo). The End of this war resulted in the Congress of Berlin and Serbia,Montenegro and Romania gaining independence from the Ottomans.

Minister of War

On 4 November 1876, Colonel Sava Grujić was appointed Minister of War, for the next two years he organized major reforms in the army in order to improve her fighting capacity and giving her a new organization, Grujić stayed in office until the end of the war with Turkey in 1878.[11] The formal independence of Serbia from the Ottoman Empire was internationally recognized at the Congress of Berlin of 1878, which formally ended the Russo-Turkish War and started Sava's diplomatic career.[12][13]

Diplomatic career (1878–1887)

Grujić quickly proved himself to be a versatile politician and a skilled diplomat, as such he was sent as ambassador and representative of the Serbian Kingdom around capitals helping secure Serbia's place in Europe. A few years later he became Minister for Foreign Affairs. .[14]

Bulgaria

In 1879, as foreign relations between the Principality of Bulgaria and Serbia were established for the first time, Grujić was selected to be the first Serbian diplomatic representative in Bulgaria.[15]

Athens

From 1882 to 1884, he moved to Athens where he was posted as Serbian Minister of the new Kingdom of Serbia. A reformer named Charilaos Trikoupis, having just been elected Prime Minister, was pushing through an aggressive program of reforms to make Greece into a progressive nation, Sava was involved into many negotiations between their respective governments and the Ottoman Porte.[16]

Saint Petersburg

From 1885 to 1887 he became Serbia's representative to the Russian Empire and moved his family to Saint Petersburg. He was promoted to the rank of general. As a trusted political friend of Russia, he was sent as a special envoy to Constantinople, during the conflict between Russia, Turkey and Austria, to negotiate with the Turks on behalf of the Russian Empire.[17]

Constantinople

Grujić became Serbian envoy in Constantinople from 1891 to 1893. He continued the policy led by Stojan Novakovic. During his mandate, there was a conflict between Turkish authorities and the Patriarchate regarding the Patriarchal privileges. The authorities have tried to impose firm control upon schools, by issuing an official announcement in January 1892, in which they demanded to review statutes of all non-Muslim schools. Envoy Grujic has recomn1ended Serbian consuls to advise Serbian people to submit applications directly to the Turkish authorities, in accordance vvith the Article 129 of the law on Public Education in Turkey.[18] In 1887 Sava Grujić is promoted General.

Political career (1887–1906)

Minister of the Military,

In June 1887 for the first time in history, the People's Radical Party enters the cabinet, as one of their leader Grujić became Minister of the Military, in a coalition government under the Presidency of the Liberal Jovan Ristić.[19]

A new Constitution

On 19 December 1887, the Radicals formed the first purely Radical cabinet under the presidency of General Sava Grujić. His first act was the promulgation of a new Constitution in December 1888, establishing parliamentary democracy, freedom of citizens and local self-government. [20] A year later he became Foreign Minister as well as Prime Minister. From 16 March 1890 to 11 February 1891 he was again Minister of War and then went to St. Petersburg as Serbian Minister, he was then sent as Serbian minister to Constantinople from 1891 to 1893.[21] Upon his return he became President of the new Government, Minister and Military Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[22] `

Minister of the Armed Forces to Prime Minister

For the second time Sava Grujić becomes Minister of the Armed Forces then until January 1894, Prime Minister, Minister of War, and Foreign Minister.

Serbian envoy to Russia

From 1897 to 1899 he was envoy to St. Petersburg

The 1903 May coup

Alexander Obrenovic's rule came to an end on the night of June 10–11, 1903, with a coup organised by a group of young officers who were humiliated by their ruler and who felt that the country could not advance under his leadership. The Serbian Radical party was not directly involved in the coup d'etat, but it was one of the groups that benefited the most from the overthrow of the Obrenovich dynasty. As the most popular political party within Serbia by far, it has been estimated that by 1903 as much as 80% of Serbia's population either supported or belonged to the Serbian Radicals, the transformation of Serbia into a parliamentary democracy meant that the Radicals would dominate the parliament, and that they would continually form the government and run Serbia.[23]

President of the State Council and Prime Minister

On 15 June 1903, Peter I of Serbia become the new Serbian head of state, the third son of Alexander Karadjordjevic, he had been educated in France and Switzerland. A nationalistic Serb, he had fought in the Bosnian War, Peter was crowned in 1904
Grujić was appointed President of the State Council and Prime Minister. Homogeneous Cabinets were difficult to form and thus coalition Cabinets became a necessity. Looking for as wide a support as possible in the National Assembly, Grujić decided to form a coalition Cabinet embracing both wings of Radical Party: the Old Radicals of Pašić and the Independent Radicals led by the younger, mostly French-oriented intellectuals.
He remained in that office until 27 November 1904. He became Prime Minister and War Minister again from 1 March to 17 April 1906, and finally President of the Council of State (1906–1910).[24]

Retirement and death

In 1901, Grujić headed the Serbian delegation to the second International Court of Justice in The Hague where he spent several months. In 1906 he retired from active political life but remained President of the State Council. In 1910 he retired from all activities. October 1913 saw the end of the Balkan War against the Turks when Serbia together with Greece and Bulgaria liberated the Balkan Peninsula from the Turks. The following month, Grujić died peacefully at home on his 73rd birthday. [citation needed]

General Sava Grujic in 1912

Writings

Grujić wrote a number of military manuals and books, including Vojna organizacija Srbije (The military organization of Serbia; 1874) and Osnovi vojnog uredzienja kneievine Bugarske (Foundations of the military structure of the principality of Bulgaria; 1880). (AO) One of his best known publications which was very popular at the time was the History of the Serbo-Turkish Wars of 1816–1818 in four volumes.[25]

Personal life

Grujić married Milica Magazinović in 1867; they had one daughter, Angelina. His first wife died at a young age. He remarried, to Milica Radovenović; they had four children; two sons: Captain Boro Grujić and Captain Alek Grujić, and two daughters: Marija married to Cavalry Division General Vojin Tcholak-Antitch, Chief Inspector of Cavalry, Commander of the Order of the Légion d'Honneur and Olga, Royal Lady in Waiting to Princess Olga of Yugoslavia, married to Professor Milivoje S. Lozanić, son of Sima Lozanić.

Affiliations

  • Honorary member, Serbian Academy of Science
  • Honorary member, Russian Archaeological Institute

Legacy

Generala Save Grujića is a street of the western section of downtown Belgrade.

See also

References

  1. ^ Histoire du peuple serbe by Dusan-T Batakovic, p. 189; ISBN 89-89205-20-4
  2. ^ Woodford McClellan "Svetozar Markovic and the Origins of Balkan Socialism"
  3. ^ Michael R. Palairet, “The Balkan Economies C.1800-1914: Evolution Without Development”
  4. ^ Cenić & Perović 1988, p. 340.
  5. ^ Gale Stokes, “Politics as Development: The Emergence of Political Parties in Nineteenth Century Serbia”; Duke University Press, 1990 - History
  6. ^ Nick Miller,"The Nonconformists: Culture, Politics, and Nationalism in a Serbian Intellectual Circle, 1944-1991"
  7. ^ Info re Serbo-Turkish-War
  8. ^ David MacKenzie “Panslavism in Practice: Cherniaev in Serbia (1876)” Published by: The University of Chicago Press, Page Count: 19”
  9. ^ Peter Sluglett, “War and Diplomacy: The Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 and the Treaty of Berlin”
  10. ^ Woodford McClellan “Svetozar Markovic and the Origins of Balkan Socialism”
  11. ^ Balcanica Issue 38, Srpska Akademija Nauka i Umetnosti, Balkanolos̆ki Institut, 2008
  12. ^ Charles and Barbara Jelavich, The establishment of the Balkan national states; ISBN 0-295-96413-8
  13. ^ The Serbs and Russian Pan-Slavism, 1875–1878, David MacKenzie; ISBN 0-8014-0283-2
  14. ^ Wojciech Roszkowski, Jan Kofman "Biographical Dictionary of Central and Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century"
  15. ^ Wojciech Roszkowski, Jan Kofman "Biographical Dictionary of Central and Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century"
  16. ^ Wojciech Roszkowski, Jan Kofman "Biographical Dictionary of Central and Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century"
  17. ^ Béla K. Király, Essays on war and society in East Central Europe, 1740–1920
  18. ^ Биљана Вучетић "Наша ствар у Османском царству: Our Issue in the Ottoman Empire"
  19. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica: a new survey of universal knowledge, Volume 20,Harry S. Ashmore
  20. ^ John V. Da Graça, Heads of state and government, p. 261; ISBN 978-0-333-78615-4
  21. ^ Alex Dragnich, The development of parliamentary government in Serbia; ISBN 0-914710-37-0
  22. ^ Wayne S. Vucinich, Serbia between East and West: the events of 1903–1908, Edward Arthur White, Stanford University
  23. ^ Milivoje Popovic, p. 90
  24. ^ Serbia between East and West: the events of 1903–1908, Wayne S. Vucinich, pp. 85, 98, 102
  25. ^ The Slavonic Review, Volume 2, University of London. School of Slavonic Studies

Sources

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