Višeslav - the first known archon (prince) of the Serbs. He belonged to a family that ruled the Serbs even before coming to the Balkans. No specific information is known from the reign of Višeslav, his son Radoslav and grandson Prosigoj. According to preserved sources, during the time of the three Serbs lived in peace with the Bulgarians.
Radoslav – son of Višeslav
Prosigoj – son of Radoslav
Vlastimir – son of Prosigoj. The first ruler of the Serbs about whom more information has been preserved and whose reign can be roughly determined chronologically. During his reign, there was a three-year war with the Bulgarians, who were then ruled by Khan Presiam (836-852). It is known that his sons succeeded him during Presiam's lifetime, and it is assumed that the end of his reign fell in 851 at the latest. During Vlastimir's reign, the power of the Serbian princes extended to the other side of the Dinaric massif. He married his daughter to Krajina, son of Veloj, prefect of Travunia. He gave his son-in-law Veloj the title of prince. This is how the local Travyan dynasty was preserved, of course under the supreme authority of the princes of Serbia. Vlastimir had three sons: Mutimir, Strojimir and Gojnik.
Mutimir - Duke Vlastimir was succeeded by three sons who divided the state territory. Mutimir, as the eldest, was the main ruler. During his reign, Bulgarian Khan Boris fought against Serbia. The Serbs defeated the Bulgarian army and captured 12 great soldiers and the eldest son of the Khan, Vladimir. A little later, Mutimir came out victorious from the conflict with the brothers, who, in order to disable them, he handed over to the Bulgarian ruler Boris. He kept Gojnik's son Petar, who soon managed to escape to Croatia. Mutimir died around 891/892. He had three sons Pribislav, Bran and Stefan.
Pribislav – son of Mutimir. He came to power after his father's death in 891/892, but he only ruled for about a year. He was ousted from power by his uncle Petar Gojniković. Pribislav and his brothers found refuge in Croatia.
Petar Gojniković - son of Gojnik. He came to power in 892/893. year. After three years, in 895 or 896, he managed to defeat, capture and blind Mutimir's son Bran who attacked him. Not long after, in 897 or 898, Strojimir's son Klonimir, who used to live in Bulgaria, appeared as a new rival. Peter defeated and killed him. For the next two decades, he ruled mostly peacefully. He extended his authority to the land of the Neretlians. When the Bulgarian emperor Simeon found out that he was negotiating with the Byzantines, he sent an army to Serbia led by Pavlo, the son of Bran. The Bulgarians captured Peter and took him to Bulgaria where he was a prisoner for the rest of his life.
Pavle Branović – son of Bran. He came to power in 917 as a protégé of the Bulgarian emperor Simeon, whose supreme authority he recognized. He ruled until 920. The Byzantines, dissatisfied with the changes in Serbia and the Bulgarian influence, tried to overthrow him with the help of Zachariah, the son of Pribislav, who lived in Constantinople. Paul captured him and handed him over to the Bulgarians. Later, Paul recognized the supreme authority of the Byzantine emperor and thus became an enemy of Bulgaria. He was expelled from the throne in 920 by Zacharias with the help of the Bulgarians.
Zaharije Pribislavljević – son of Pribislav. With the help of the Bulgarians, he came to power in 920. Having established himself in power, he approached Byzantium. He was forced to take refuge in Croatia in 924 before the Bulgarian army. The Bulgarian emperor Simeon sent Časlav, Klonimir's son, to Serbia with his army. The prefects who were summoned to receive the new prince were captured and taken to Bulgaria. A large number of the Serbian population was also taken into captivity in Bulgaria. Part of the population fled to Croatia, and part took refuge in Byzantine territories. In 924, after almost a century of resistance, Serbia was conquered by Bulgaria. Serbian principalities in Primorje were spared from the Bulgarian conquest.
Časlav – son of Klonimir. He used the death of Emperor Simeon (927) to escape from Bulgaria. He ruled Serbia with the help of a small number of supporters and recognized the supreme authority of the Byzantine emperor. He managed to restore and significantly strengthen the country devastated by internal struggles and invasions of neighboring states. According to legend, he died in a conflict with the Hungarians. With Časlav, a series of well-known rulers from the oldest Serbian dynasty and the previous political life within the borders of a larger Serbian state are interrupted. Prince Časlava's state extended in the north to the Sava, in the west to Vrbas, in the east to the Ibar, in the south to the mountains that separated it from the coastal Serbian lands that made up Paganija (Neretljan region), Zahumlje, Travunija and Duklje. It also included Bosnia, which at that time included the valley of the river of the same name.
Vukan – great prefect. In the eighties of the 1094th century, King Bodin of Dukla appointed Vukan and Mark as prefects in Serbia, and Stefan in Bosnia. From his time, the Serbs began to expand into the area of Kosovo and towards the southeast. He temporarily conquered Lipljan, penetrated towards Polog, Skopje and Vranje. In the end, he had to submit to the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus and hand over hostages, among whom were his two nephews, Uroš and Stefan Vukan, as well as twenty of the highest representatives of the Serbian rulers (1101). Vukan's influence in Serbian lands grew especially after the death of King Bodin (1106). Raška has become the most powerful Serbian region and the term Serbia is increasingly associated with it. He is not mentioned after XNUMX when he fought new battles with Byzantium.
Uroš I – grand prefect. Took power after Vukan's death. In an attempt to free himself from dependence on Byzantium, he entered into a closer relationship with Hungary. Hungarian King Stefan II (1116-1131) married his son Bela II (1131-1141) to Uroš's daughter Jelena. The marriage negotiations were completed a year or two before Bela's accession to the throne. Uroš I seems to have had family ties with King Djordje of Dukljana, who on one occasion freed him from the captivity into which his relatives had thrown him. He had three sons, Uroš II, Beloš and Desa. In addition to Jelena, he also had a daughter, Maria, who was married to Prince Konrad of Znojmo, a member of the Czech ruling Pšemislović dynasty.
Uroš II – grand prefect. The son of Uroš I. He was certainly in the position of grand prefect in 1146. He was defeated in the conflict with Byzantium in 1150 and was forced to renew his vassal obligations to the Byzantine emperor. Previously, Serbia was obliged to send a detachment of 300 soldiers to the emperor in the event of a war in Asia, and now that number has been increased to 500. In the case of military operations in Europe, that number has remained the same - 2000 soldiers. Uroš II was temporarily overthrown from power in 1155 during the unrest that gripped the country and the Grand County family itself. With the support of the Byzantine emperor, he managed to return to power, but it is not known how long he ruled.
Primislav – the great prefect. He is mentioned in the sixties of the 1162th century as the great prefect of Raška. According to the writings of the Byzantine historian Jovan Kinam, who is the only one who mentions him, he ruled until XNUMX. Some historians believe that Primislav is actually Uroš II. On the contrary, it is about the fourth son of Uroš I.
Beloš - the great prefect. Son of Uroš I. During the reign of the Hungarian king Bela II (1131-1141), whose wife was his sister Jelena, Beloš went to the Hungarian court where he held prominent positions. He received the title of dux, which was awarded to members of the ruling dynasty. For a time he served as Croatian-Dalmatian ban (1144-1157). He became palatine in 1145, which was the highest court title. He was a skilled statesman and a distinguished military leader. He left Hungary after March 1157. He was elected as the great prefect in 1162. After a short reign, he retired to his estates in Srem, where he founded the Benedictine monastery of St. Stefan. He died before 1198.
Desa - the great prefect. Son of Uroš I. He managed Zeta and Trebinje, and apparently also Zahumlje. He succeeded for a short time in 1155 to come to the grand county throne. As he did not have the support of the Byzantine emperor, in the end he had to settle for the border area of Dendra (Dubočica). In 1162, Emperor Manoilo I Comnenus made him a great prefect, obliging him to be faithful and return Dendra. Desa was associated with Byzantine opponents (Hungary, Venice, Germany), which is why in 1163 he was accused of treason, imprisoned and taken to Constantinople. It seems that he later managed to get out of prison and return to Serbia.
Tihomir - the great prefect. The eldest of the four sons of Zavida. He probably became the great prefect after the overthrow of Desa in 1163. He ruled until his younger brother Stefan Nemanja overthrew him.
Stefan Nemanja – great prefect (1166-1196) . Founder of the Nemanjić dynasty. He was born in Ribnica in Zeta around 1112/1113. as the youngest son of Zavida. As a share prince, he managed the parishes of Ibro, Rasin, Toplica and Reka. He was in power in 1168, and he most likely became the grand prefect in 1166. Nemanja's rule marks the beginning of a new era in the history of medieval Serbia, which is reflected in the independence from Byzantium, the expansion of borders and the settlement of internal affairs. Nemanja relied heavily on the church. He built several churches and monasteries - St. Nicholas and St. Bogorodica in Toplica, Đurđeve Stupov, Studenica, etc. He generously donated churches in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Rome, Constantinople and Thessaloniki. He retired from power in 1196 and became a monk under the name Simeon. He went to Mount Athos, at the invitation of his son Sava, in 1197. There, the two of them, with the permission of the Byzantine emperor, rebuilt the Hilandar monastery, where he died in February 1199. With his wife Anna, he had three sons (Vukan, Stefan and Rastko) and three daughters ( we only know Vuki's name). The Serbian Church proclaimed him a saint.
Stefan Prvovenčani – great prefect (1196-1217), king (1217-1228). In 1190, he married Eudokia, the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Alexios III Angelo, receiving the Byzantine dignity of Sevastokrator. His elder brother Vukan overthrew him from the throne in 1202 with the help of the Hungarian king Emeric, whose supreme authority he recognized. Since then, Serbia entered the Hungarian royal title and remained there until 1918. Stefan, with the help of the Bulgarian emperor, in 1204/5. returned to the throne. After the fall of Constantinople in 1204, he turned to the west. The second time he married Anna, the granddaughter of the Venetian Doge Dandolo. He received the royal crown from Pope Honorius III in 1217, while his younger brother Sava achieved the autocephaly of the Serbian Church in Nicaea in 1219. Stefan died in September 1228. He had previously become a monk and took the name Simon. His most famous endowment is Žiča, which became the seat of the Serbian archbishop. He wrote the Life of Saint Simeon. He had four sons (Radoslav, Vladislav, Predislav and Uroš) and one daughter (Komnina). The Serbian Church proclaimed him a saint.
Stefan Radoslav – king (1228-1233) . The eldest son of Stefan Prvovenčany. He was married to Anna, the daughter of the Emperor Theodore I of Epirus. From childhood he was brought up in the Byzantine spirit. He added the surname Duka to his name, which he used in Greek signatures on charters and inscriptions on coins. He was overthrown from the throne in the fall of 1233. He took refuge first in Dubrovnik and then in Durrës. He returned to Serbia where Sava made him a monk under the name Jovan. He died after 1235.
Stefan Vladislav – king (1234-1243) . The second son of Stefan Prvovenčani. He was married to Beloslava, daughter of Bulgarian Emperor Ivan Asen II, with whom he had two sons (Stefan and Desa) and one daughter. During his reign, a strong influence of Bulgaria was felt. He went to war with Hungary to defend his rule over Hum. After the death of his father-in-law (1241) and the invasion of the Mongols (1242), who abandoned Serbia, he was forced to hand over power to his younger brother Uroš I. He died around 1269. Before becoming king, he built the Mileševa monastery, to which he entered in 1237 from Trnovo transferred the relics of his uncle, the first Serbian archbishop of Sava. The Serbian Church proclaimed him a saint.
Stefan Uroš I – king (1243-1277) . The youngest son of Stefan Prvovenčani. Around 1250, he married the French princess Jelena, with whom he had three sons (Dragutin, Milutin and Stefan) and two daughters (Brnča). At the beginning of his reign, he arranged relations with Dubrovnik. He succeeded in suppressing the attempts of the Dubrovnik archbishopric to subjugate the Roman Catholic organization in Serbia to its authority. During his reign, a strong economic strengthening of Serbia took place, which is primarily reflected in the development of mining. He encouraged the settlement of German Saxon miners. In foreign policy, he mostly appeared in alliance with the Western powers against the restoration of Byzantine power. The elder son Dragutin, son-in-law of the Hungarian king, overthrew him with the help of Hungary in 1276. He became a monk under the name of Simon. He died in 1277. The most significant endowment of King Uroš I is Sopoćani.
Stefan Dragutin – king (1276-1282) . The eldest son of King Uroš I. He came to the throne after overthrowing his father. In 1270, he married Katalina, daughter of the Hungarian king Stefan V, and took the Hungarian crown title of young king. He had two sons (Vladislav and Urošica) and five daughters (Jelisaveta, Katarina?, Margarita?, Ursa?). The eldest daughter Jelisaveta was married to the Bosnian Ban Stefan I Kotromanić. After falling from his horse near the town of Jeleč, he handed over power to his brother Milutin at the council in Deževo in 1282. Since then, he ruled the areas of Arilje, Rudnik, Priboj and the regions north of Western Morava as the "King of Srem". In 1284, he received the Mačvano-Bosnian Banovina, Usora, Soli and Belgrade from the Hungarian king, which then came under Serbian rule for the first time. Towards the end of his life, he became a monk under the name Theoctistus. He died in March 1316. The most significant endowment of King Dragutin is St. Achille in Aril. The Serbian Church proclaimed him a saint.
Stefan Uroš II Milutin – king (1282-1321) . The younger son of Uroš I. came to power according to the agreement in Deževo. He married five times. He had two sons (Stefan and Konstantin) and two daughters (Anna and Tsarica). In 1291, together with Dragutin, he conquered Braničevo with Kučevo. He significantly expanded Serbian territory at the expense of Byzantium - he conquered territories north of the Ohrid-Prilep-Stip line. He raised the power of the state thanks to a strong economy, trade and legislative activity. During Milutin's reign, there was a strong Byzantine influence in the state and society. He built a large number of endowments, among others: Gračanica, the church of Vavedelje Bogorodični in Hilandar, the church of Joakim and Anna in Studenica, St. George in Stari Nagoričan, St. Stefan in Banjska, Bogorodica Ljeviška in Prizren. He died in October 1321. The Serbian Church proclaimed him a saint.
Stefan Uroš III of Dečan – king (1321-1331) . The eldest son of King Milutin. He tried to oust his father from the throne in 1314, but was defeated, blinded and exiled to Constantinople. He returned after seven years. Since his sight was not permanently damaged, he joined after Milutin's death in the struggle for the throne, from which he emerged victorious. During his reign, Zahumlje was permanently lost and became part of the Bosnian state. He defeated the Bulgarians at Velbužde in 1330, and then conquered several important fortifications from Byzantium. His son Dušan overthrew him from power in 1331. He was imprisoned in Zvečan, where he soon died. He was married twice, had three sons (Dušan, Dušman and Simeon) and two daughters (Jelena and Todora). The most significant endowment of King Stefan is Dečani. The Serbian Church proclaimed him a saint.
Stefan Uroš IV Dušan - king (1331-1345), emperor (1345-1355) . Son of Stefan Dečanski and his first wife Teodora, daughter of the Bulgarian emperor Smilac. He was married to Jelena, the sister of the Bulgarian Emperor Ivan Alexander Asen, with whom he had a son, Uroš. During Dušan's reign, the Serbian medieval state experienced the largest territorial extent, economic and cultural rise. At the beginning of 1333, Pelješac with Ston and the coast from Ston to the Dubrovnik border were ceded to Dubrovnik. He proclaimed himself emperor on Christmas Day 1345, and was solemnly crowned on Easter Day 1346 in Skopje. Previously, the Serbian archbishopric was elevated to the rank of patriarchate. Dušan, following the example of Byzantium, awarded his closest associates the highest imperial dignities of despot, sevastokrator and kesar, introduced Byzantine ceremonial and the organization of state administration. He carried out the codification of law in 1349 and 1354 (Dušan's Code). Dušan's empire stretched from the Sava and Danube rivers in the north to Achaia in the south, and from the Mesta valley in the east to the Drina and Dubrovnik in the west. He died at the end of 1355. Like his predecessors, he helped, defended and protected the church. Dušan's main endowment is the monastery of St. Archangel near Prizren. He richly donated the monasteries of Svetogorje, as well as St. Archangel in Jerusalem, St. Nicholas in Bari.
Stefan Uroš V – emperor (1355-1371). Son of Emperor Dušan. During his father's coronation as emperor, he was designated as the ruler and heir and received the royal crown. He inherited a large, but insufficiently homogenized state, which gradually began to disintegrate into the territories of regional lords. In September 1365, he proclaimed Vukašin Mrnjavčević as overlord and awarded him the royal title, and his brother Uglješa the title of despot. Tsar Uroš died at the end of 1371. He was married to Anna, the daughter of the Wallachian Prince Alexander. With the death of Emperor Uroš, the Nemanjić lineage was extinguished. The Serbian Church proclaimed him a saint.
Lazar - Prince of Moravian Serbia. His father served under Emperor Dušan as a logothet, while Lazar was a puter under both emperors. He was married to Milica, the daughter of Grand Duke Vratko, who was allegedly a descendant of Nemanja's son Vukan. With her he had two sons (Stefan and Vuk) and five daughters (Mara, Ilivera, Dragana, Teodora and Jelena). Over time, he grew into the most powerful regional lord. He played a significant role during the reconciliation of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and Peć in 1375, which brought him the support of the church. His territory extended in the West Morava basin. He deepened his political relations by working with the surrounding rulers and nobles. He married his daughters to Alexander, the son of the Bulgarian emperor Šišman, the ban of Mačva, Nikola Gorjanski Mlađe, Vuk Branković and Đurđ Stratimirović Balšić. He died on June 28, 1389 in the Battle of Kosovo. The most significant endowment of Prince Lazar is the Ravanica monastery. The Serbian Church proclaimed him a saint.
Stefan Lazarević – prince (1389-1402), despot (1402-1427) . Until 1393 (until he came of age) his mother Milica ruled on his behalf. As a Turkish vassal, he participated in the battles of Rovinj (1395), Nikopol (1396) and Angora (1402). In 1402, the Byzantine emperor John VII Paleologus granted him the title of despot. He took advantage of the conflicts over the throne in Turkey to turn to Hungary, becoming its vassal (1403). In return, he received Belgrade, which became the new capital of Serbia (until 1427). With the contract with Sultan Mehmed I (1413-1421), he secured peace that lasted until before his death. Thanks to this, the economic and social development of the Despotovina takes place. He was a member of the Knights of the Dragon Order founded by the Hungarian king in 1408. At the council in 1426, he appointed Đurđ Branković as his successor. He died in July 1427 from a heart attack. He was married to Jelena, daughter of Francesco Gattiluzio, lord of Mytilene. His most significant endowment is the Resava (Manasija) monastery. He was engaged in literature. His most significant works are the Inscription on the Kosovar Column and The Letter of Love. The Serbian Church proclaimed him a saint.
Đurađ Branković – despot (1427-1456) . Son of Vuk Branković and Mara, daughter of Prince Lazar. At first, he ruled the area that included Kosovo and Metohija, part of Polimlje and the Pešter Plateau. He married twice: the first time to an unknown sister of the Trapezuntian emperor John IV Komnenos, and the second time to Jerina (Irina), the daughter of Theodore Cantakuzinus. He had four sons (Todor, Grgur, Stefan and Lazar) and three daughters (Jelena, Mara and Katarina). He took over the despotic throne after the death of the despot Stefan. At the beginning of his reign, he built the city of Smederevo, the new capital of the Serbian state (1430). In 1439, the Turks occupied Despotovina. Because of the resistance offered by the sultan, he blinded his sons Grgur and Stefan. He restored the state in 1444 with Hungarian help. After that he ruled as a loyal Turkish sultan. From 1454, the Turks gradually conquered Despotovina. The following year, they occupied its southern part, which cut off the connection with Zeta. Despot Đurađ died at the end of 1456.
Lazar Branković – despot (1456-1458) . The youngest son of despot Đurđ Branković. He was married to Jelena, daughter of the Moravian despot Toma Paleologus, with whom he had three daughters (Jelena, Irina and Miulica). During his short reign, Despotovina was on the verge of collapse, exhausted by the long-term struggle with the Turks, famine and epidemics. In order to ensure his survival, in 1457 he made peace with the Turkish sultan, which guaranteed him the entire Despotovina except Novi Brdo. After his death on January 20, 1458, the viceroyalty ruled in the name of his daughter.
Stefan Branković – despot (March 1458 – April 1459). Son of despot Đurđa. He was blind and according to medieval rules he could not be on the throne. That is why his father was succeeded by his younger brother Lazar. After his brother's death, he was a member of the Viceroyalty that governed the country. He received the title of despot and Serbian principality from the Hungarian king. He was banished after the Bosnian king Stefan married Lazarev's daughter Jelena. He was married to Angelina, the daughter of Arianitus Komnenos, with whom he had two sons (George and John) and one daughter (Maria). The Serbian Church proclaimed him a saint.
Stefan Tomašević – despot (March 21, 1459 – June 20, 1459), king of Bosnia (1461-1463). Son of King Stefan Tomas. He was proclaimed despot on March 21, 1459, and on April 1 he married Jelena, daughter of Lazar Branković. On June 20, he surrendered Smederevo to the Turks, thus the Serbian medieval state ceased to exist.
AT THE HEAD (of SERBIA OR YUGOSLAVIA) 1804-2014. YEARS
Karađorđe Petrović, leader (1804-1813) . He was born in the Šumadija village of Viševac in 1762. Before he was elected as the leader of the First Serbian Uprising at the assembly in Orašac in February 1804, he participated in the Austrian-Turkish war (1788-1791), the so-called Kočina Krajina, and after that he was a cattle trader and one of the most respected people in Šumadija. He successfully led the insurgent army in almost all battles during the First Serbian Uprising (Drlupa, Ivankovac, Mišar, Deligrad, Suvodol, Varvarin and Loznica). He fought against the opposition until 1811, when he suppressed its influence. He is the progenitor of the Karađorđević dynasty when in 1808 his right of inheritance was recognized. Diplomacy was the weaker side of his reign. He left Serbia in 1813 and moved to Austria, then to Russia in 1814. With the intention of starting a new uprising in alliance with the Heteria, he moved to Serbia, where he was killed in 1817 in Radovanjski Lug.
Miloš Obrenović, Prince of Serbia (1815-1839). He was born in Srednja Dobrinja in Užice Nahija in 1783. Together with his half-brother Milan Obrenović, he fought in the First Serbian Uprising and asserted himself as duke. Together with the Turks, he participated in the suppression of the Hadži-Prodanov Rebellion in 1814. He was elected as the leader of the Second Serbian Uprising at the meeting in Takovo in 1815. He led the insurgent army in the battles of Ljubić, Palež, Požarevac and Dublje. In the fall of 1815, he reached an agreement with the Turkish Vizier Marashli Ali Pasha, which put an end to the Second Serbian Uprising. In the first years of his reign, he brutally suppressed the opposition. With the help of Russian diplomacy, he made the Porte recognize the autonomy of Serbia in 1830, and despite Russian support, he was confirmed as a ruler with hereditary dignity. He is the progenitor of the Obrenović dynasty. He managed to get the Porte to recognize the borders of Serbia from the First Serbian Uprising in 1833. Under pressure from the opposition, which incorporated its ideas into the Constitution of 1838, he left Serbia in 1839.
Milan Obrenović, Prince of Serbia (1839) . The eldest son of Prince Miloš, born in Kragujevac in 1819. He ascended the throne after his father's abdication, although he was already seriously ill. He spent most of his "reign" of 25 days in bed, so not a single signed document was left behind. Due to his serious health condition, the State Council established a viceroyalty in which Avram Petronijević, Jevrem Obrenović and Toma Vučić Perišić were (June 1839 – March 1840). He was succeeded by his younger brother Mihailo, who at that time was with his father, Prince Miloš, so the viceroyalty remained in power until Mihailo's return to the country in March 1840.
Mihailo Obrenović, Prince of Serbia (1839-1842). The younger son of Prince Miloš, he was born in Kragujevac in 1823. He took over power from the Viceroyalty upon his return to the country in March 1840. His first reign was spent in a fight with the opposition-constitutionalists who expelled him from power in the Vučić revolt of 1842. He used his stay in emigration for additional education and travels in Europe, which enabled him to apply the acquired experience during the time of the second government.
Aleksandar Karađorđević, prince of Serbia (1842-1858). He was born in Topola in 1806, and left Serbia in 1813. He spent his youth in Russia. He returned to the country in 1840 and became the adjutant of Prince Mihailo. He was brought to power in the coup of 1842 by defenders of the constitution. He was elected prince twice. The first time was at the assembly held in Vračar in September 1842, and the second time, due to pressure from Russia, which considered his election a revolutionary act, at the assembly in Topcider in June 1843. He ruled Serbia as an elected prince. His reign is significant for a series of laws that established the legal order in Serbia, but also strengthened the bureaucratic apparatus. He led a cautious foreign policy, which was managed on his behalf by Avram Petronijević and Ilija Garašanin. He preserved Serbia's neutrality in the Crimean War (1853-1856). Towards the end of his reign, Austria became his main foreign policy ally. In the fall of 1857, a group of advisors was preparing to assassinate him (Tenkin's plot). The plot was discovered, but it marked the beginning of the end of his reign.
Miloš Obrenović, Prince of Serbia (1858-1860). He came to power for the second time by the decision of the St. Andrew's Assembly, which was held in Belgrade in December 1858. He was welcomed triumphantly in Serbia. He dealt with political opponents and tried to change the Constitution of 1838, restore the hereditary princely dignity to his family and expel the remaining Turks from Serbia. He continued with the apolutist way of ruling, which is why he rejected the liberals. He died in Belgrade in 1860.
Mihailo Obrenović, Prince of Serbia (1860-1868) . He ascended the throne for the second time after his father's death in September 1860. His second reign was marked by reforms in the internal administration (the law on central administration, the army, primary schools...), and on the external level, he formed the Balkan League with the intention of leading war against the Turks. The most significant result of his reign was the expulsion of the Turkish garrisons from Serbia in 1867. The rule of an enlightened absolutist, as presented by the second Prince Mihailov, met with resistance from liberals and the youth (Serbian Youth). He was assassinated in June 1868. Since he had no children in his marriage to the Hungarian noblewoman Julia Hunjadi, Milan Obrenović was declared the Prince of Serbia.
Milan Obrenović, Prince of Serbia (1872-1882), King (1882-1889) . He was born in Manasia in today's Romania in 1852. With him, the reign of the Obrenović side line began, as he was the grandson of Jevrem Obrenović, the prince of Miloš's brother. Since he ascended the throne of Serbia at the age of 14, a regency was formed (Milivoje Petrović Blaznavac, Jovan Ristić and Jovan Gavrilović) which ruled until 1872. The regency adopted a new constitution in 1869. During the Great Eastern Crisis (1875-1878), he brought Serbia into the war. In the first war of 1876/77. Serbia was defeated, but in the second 1877/78. gained territorial expansion in the south and southeast. At the Congress of Berlin in 1878, Serbia was recognized as independent. From 1879, he led an Austrophile policy, so in 1881 he signed the Secret Convention, and in 1882, with the support of Austria-Hungary, he proclaimed himself king. Radicals represented a strong opposition, and he dealt with them uncompromisingly during the Timočka Rebellion in 1883. In the fall of 1885, he declared war on Bulgaria, but Serbia was defeated in that war. He was forced to adopt the Constitution in 1888, which introduced parliamentarism in Serbia. He abdicated in 1889, after which he occasionally took part in political life. He died in Vienna in 1901.
Aleksandar Obrenović, King of Serbia (1893-1903) . He was born in Belgrade in 1876. Like his father, he ascended the throne as a minor, which is why the viceroyalty (1889-1893) was re-established, originally consisting of Jovan Ristić, Kosta Protić and Jovan Belimarković. Although not without political talent, his reign was marked by internal political upheavals. He took power in a coup d'état in 1893, when he removed the viceroyalty before coming of age and took over the royal power. In 1894, he abolished the Constitution of 1888 and reinstated the Viceroyalty Constitution of 1869. He tried to neutralize inter-party conflicts in Serbia by forming the so-called neutral governments. His marriage to the widow Draga Mašin (née Lunjevica) was accepted with displeasure in public opinion. The new, approved constitution of 1901 introduced a bicameral parliamentary system in Serbia. He was killed on June 11, 1903 in a conspiracy hatched by officers led by Dragutina Dimitrijević Apis (May Uprising). With him, the rule of the Obrenović dynasty ended.
Petar I Karađorđević, King of Serbia (1903-1918), King of the Kingdom of SHS (1918-1921). He was born in Belgrade in 1844. He was educated in France and Switzerland. He participated in the Franco-Prussian War (1870/71) and the Bosnian Uprising in 1875/76. under the name Petar Mrkonjić. He was elected to the royal throne of Serbia by the National Assembly after the May Revolution in 1903. His reign in 1903-1914. it is considered the golden age of democracy in Serbia, which was strengthened by the restoration of the Constitution from 1888. It successfully resisted the pressures of Austria-Hungary during the Customs War (1906-1911) and the Annexation Crisis (1908/9). He commanded the Serbian army in the Balkan Wars (1912/13), which is why he received the epithet the Liberator. Due to poor health in June 1914, he transferred the royal powers to his son, Regent Alexander. He participated in the retreat of the Serbian army through Albania. He died in Belgrade in 1921.
Aleksandar I Karađorđević, King of the Kingdom of SHS/Yugoslavia (1921-1934) . He was born in Cetinje in 1888. He was declared heir to the throne of Serbia in 1909. In the First Balkan War, he commanded the 24st Serbian Army, on June 1914, 1, he became regent of the Kingdom of Serbia, and from December 1918, 6, of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. He bore the epithet Unifier. The creation of the Yugoslav state broke with the previous state-building development of Serbia. After his father's death, he assumed the royal power. He tried to suppress the separatist aspirations of the Croatian political elite with a balanced policy, and when he failed, he staged a coup d'état on January 1929, 1929. With a unitary and centralist policy and the ideology of integral Yugoslavianism, he strove to achieve strong national unity as a necessary precondition for the national integration of Yugoslavs. In October 1931, the Kingdom of SHS changed its name to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The strong centralist course weakened after the adoption of the October Constitution in 9, which reintroduced the bicameral parliamentary system. In international relations between the two world wars, thanks to him, Yugoslavia was a permanent member of the so-called of the Order of Versailles, and a member of the Little Entente and the Balkan Pact. He was assassinated in Marseille on October 1934, XNUMX.
Petar ÍÍ Karađorđević, King of Yugoslavia (1934-1945) . He was born in Belgrade in 1923. He ascended the throne in 1934, and since he was a minor, a regency was formed, consisting of Prince Pavle Karađorđević, Radenko Stanković and Ivo Perović. The viceroyalty governed the country from 1934 to 1941. He was declared an adult in a coup d'état on March 27, 1941. He left the country during the aggression of Germany and its allies in April 1941 and took refuge in Greece, then in Egypt and finally in England. He supported the anti-fascist movement of Dragoljub Draža Mihailović in the country, but under pressure from Great Britain in 1944, he gave support to Josip Broz Tito and the partisan movement. The Communist Assembly (AVNOJ) at its session in Jajce in 1943 forbade him to return to the country. In March 1945, he transferred royal powers to a three-member viceroyalty. On November 29, 1945, the Constituent Assembly abolished the monarchy. He died in the USA in 1970.
Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia (1944-1980) . He was born in Kumrovac in Croatian Zagorje in 1892. Guided by the experiences of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, he built his political career as a member and then as a leader of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. After the German attack on Yugoslavia in 1941, he came to Belgrade. He became actively involved in the fight against the occupiers after the attack of the Axis powers on the USSR on June 22, 1941. He commanded the partisan resistance movement and came out of the war with the rank of marshal. He ruled the Yugoslav Federation first as prime minister (1945-1953) and then as president (1953-1980). Although during his reign, indisputable progress was achieved in the field of education, health care and living standards, his reign represented a revolutionary break with the previous social development of Serbia, while in political terms Serbia became the weakest member of the Yugoslav Federation with the Constitution of 1974.
The Constitution of the SR of Serbia of February 25, 1974 introduced a collective Presidency of Serbia, from whose ranks the presidents of the Presidency were elected until 1989.
Dragoslav Marković (May 6, 1974 – May 5, 1978) . He was born in Popović near Sopot in 1920. He came from a left-leaning teacher's family, so he also became a communist activist as a student. Before World War II, he became a member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, and during the war he was active in the area of Kosmaj. In post-war Yugoslavia, he held various state and party positions: he was the Minister of Construction (1947) and Mining (1948) in the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Secretary of the City Committee of Belgrade, manager of Radio Belgrade, President of the Ideological Commission (1956), member of the Executive Committee from 1960 Central Committee of Serbia, ambassador of the SFR Yugoslavia in Bulgaria (1963-1967), president of the Republican Council of the Assembly of Serbia (1967-1969), president of the Assembly of the SR of Serbia (1969-1974) and the first president of the Presidency of the SR of Serbia. He was the head of the Federal Assembly in 1978-1982, and the president of the Presidium of the Central Committee of SK Yugoslavia (1983/84). He retired in 1986. He died in Belgrade in 2005.
Dobrivoje Vidić (May 5, 1978 – May 5, 1982) . He was born in Čačak in 1918. As a student, he joined the leftist movement, which is why he was expelled from the Teacher's School in Čačak, so he continued his education in Banja Luka, Aleksinac and Osijek. He became a member of the KPJ in 1938. He was an active participant in the Second World War, engaged in party work in partisan units throughout Yugoslavia (Dalmatia, Banija, Užice). After the war, he held various positions: he was the secretary of the Provincial Committee in Vojvodina (1946-1951), a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Serbia, ambassador to Burma (1952/53), the USSR (1953-1956; 1965-1969) and Great Britain (1970-1973). ). He was a member of the Central Committee of the SC of Serbia and Yugoslavia, a member of the Presidency of the SFR Yugoslavia and the President of the Presidency of the SR of Serbia. He died in Belgrade in 1992.
Nikola Ljubičić (May 5, 1982 – May 5, 1984) . He was born in Karan near Užice in 1916. He commanded partisan units in World War II. He was declared a national hero in 1953. He held the rank of army general. He was the Federal Secretary of National Defense from 1967 to 1982, and from 1982 to 1989, a member of the Presidency and President of the Presidency of the SR of Serbia (1982-1984).
Dušan Čkrebić (May 5, 1984 – May 5, 1985) . He was born in Niš in 1927. He graduated from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade. He participated in the national liberation struggle since 1944. As a member of the Communist Youth (SKOJ) and the Communist Party, he gradually built a political career: he was a member of the City Committee in Kragujevac (1945-47), a member of the KPJ University Committee, director of the "Boris Kidrich" factory Lukavac, President of the Executive Council of the Assembly of the SR of Serbia (1974-1978), President of the Assembly of the SR of Serbia 1978-1982, President of the Central Committee of Serbia (1982-1984) and President of the Presidency of the SR of Serbia. He is responsible for the beginning of the works on the construction of the Church of St. Sava in Belgrade, for which he was awarded the highest award of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Ivan Stambolić (May 5, 1985 – December 14, 1987) . He was born in 1936 in Brezova near Ivanjica. He graduated from the Faculty of Law in Belgrade. He was the director of the company Tehnogas in Belgrade (1965-1975), president of the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce (1975-1976), secretary of the Executive Committee of the Presidency of the Central Committee of Serbia (1976-1978), president of the Executive Council of the SR of Serbia (1978-1982), president of the City Committee SK of Belgrade (1982-1984), president of the CC of SK of Serbia (1984-1986) and president of the Presidency of the SR of Serbia (1986-1987). After the Eighth Session of the Central Committee of the SK of Serbia in 1987, he lost his political influence. He was kidnapped and then killed on Fruška Gora in August 2000.
Petar Gračanin (December 14, 1987 – March 20, 1989) . He was born in Jagodina in 1923. On the eve of World War II, he became an active member of the communist youth. He joined the Belica partisan detachment, later the Second Proletarian Brigade. After the war, he graduated from the Higher Military Academy of the JNA and held high military positions: he was head of the Personnel Administration department, chief of staff of the Seventh Army, head of the Command and Staff Academy, commander of the First Army. He was the Chief of the General Staff of the JNA from 1982 to 1985. He completed his active military service in 1985. He then served as President of the Presidency of the SR of Serbia (1987-1989) and Federal Secretary for Internal Affairs of the SFR Yugoslavia (1989-1991). He died in Belgrade in 2004.
Acting President of the Presidency of the SR of Serbia from March 20 to May 8, 1989 was Ljubisa Igić.
Slobodan Milošević (May 8, 1989 - January 11, 1991; January 11, 1991 - July 23, 1997) . He was born in Požarevac in 1941. He graduated from the Faculty of Law in Belgrade and, as a member of the League of Communists, built a successful career as a politician and businessman. He became the President of the City Committee of the Communist League in 1984, and two years later the President of the Presidency of the Serbian Communist Party. After the Eighth Session of the SK of Serbia in 1987, he became the most influential politician in Serbia. After the amendments to the Constitution of the SR of Serbia were adopted in March 1989, Milošević was elected as the President of the Presidency of the SR of Serbia. The Constitution of Serbia from September 1990 expanded presidential powers. In the elections of 1990 and 1992, Milosevic was elected President of the Republic. During his reign, the state destruction of Yugoslavia, economic collapse and inter-ethnic conflicts broke out in Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is one of the signatories of the Dayton Peace Treaty in 1995, which ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since according to the Constitution of Serbia, he could not be elected president of the Republic of Serbia more than twice, that is In 1997, he became the president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Until the presidential elections, he was the acting president of the Republic Dragan Tomić (July 23 - December 29, 1997). During the NATO aggression in 1999, he was the supreme commander of the armed forces. Demonstrations on 5 October 2000 after the first round of presidential and parliamentary elections marked the collapse of his regime. On Vidovdan 2001, he was handed over to the Hasak Tribunal. He died in The Hague in March 2006.
Milan Milutinović (December 29, 1997 – December 29, 2002) . He was born in Belgrade in 1942. He graduated from the Faculty of Law in Belgrade. As a member of the Union of Communists of Yugoslavia, he served as the president of the municipal committee of the Union of Communists of Vračar and was a member of the City Committee. He was then the republican secretary for education and science, manager of the National Library of Serbia (1983-1989). He was ambassador to Greece from 1989 to 1995. He was elected president of Serbia in December 1997. He was accused by the Hague Tribunal of alleged crimes in Kosovo and Metohija, and after the end of his mandate, he voluntarily surrendered to that international court in January 2003. In February In 2009, the Hague Tribunal acquitted him on all counts of the indictment.
After the end of the presidential mandate of Milan Milutinović and the election of the new president of the Republic of Serbia, the acting officials were:
Nataša Mićić (December 30, 2002 – February 4, 2004),
Dragan Maršićanin (February 4 - March 3, 2004),
Vojislav Mihailović (March 3 – 4, 2004) i
Predrag Marković (March 4 - July 11, 2004).
Boris Tadić (July 11, 2004 – April 5, 2012) . He was born in Sarajevo in 1953. He graduated in psychology from the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. He has been a member of the Democratic Party since 1990. He was its vice-president (2000-2004) and president (2004-2013). He was elected president of Serbia twice in the presidential elections: in 2004 and 2008. He left the Democratic Party in early 2014.
From the announcement of the presidential elections on April 5, 2012 until the election of the new president on May 31, 2012, the acting president of the Republic was Slavica Đukić-Dejanović.
Tomislav Nikolić (May 31, 2012 - ) . He was born in Kragujevac in 1952. He graduated from the Faculty of Economics and Engineering Management in Novi Sad.
In the presidential elections of 2012, in the second round of elections, Tomislav Nikolić defeated the previous president of Serbia, Boris Tadić, with 49,54% (1.552.063 votes) against 47,31% (1.481.952 votes) and thus became the president of Serbia.
He resigned from the post of president of the Serbian Progressive Party, which fulfilled his pre-election promise and thus became the president of all citizens of Serbia. He took office on May 31, 2012 by taking the oath before the members of the National Assembly.
(Source: AT THE HEAD OF SERBIA, predeznik.rs *The list was compiled by the Belgrade Historical Institute. )
