Alexander I (Yugoslavia)
The king who renamed the country Yugoslavia, ruled as a dictator, and was later assassinated in Marseille.
Life
Prince Regent
Alexander was the son of King Peter I of Serbia; in World War I he commanded the Serbian army as prince regent and went through the great retreat across the mountains of Albania.
Renamed Yugoslavia
In 1918 the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was founded, and in 1921 he succeeded as king. Conflict between Serb and Croat parties was fierce, and in 1928 Croat leaders were shot in parliament. In 1929 he dissolved parliament, established a dictatorship and renamed the country Yugoslavia, trying to replace the separate ethnic identities with a unified "Yugoslav nation."
Assassinated in Marseille
In 1934, while visiting France, he was shot dead in Marseille by an assassin sent by Macedonian and Croatian extremist groups; it was one of the first assassinations captured on newsreel camera.
Legacy
Alexander I tried to hold the multiethnic state together through dictatorship, but instead deepened the conflict between Serbs and Croats.
Did you know? His assassination was captured in full by a newsreel cameraman, making it one of the first political assassinations ever recorded on film.
Key dates
- 1914Commands the Serbian army as prince regent
- 1921Succeeded as king
- 1929Establishes a dictatorship and renames the country Yugoslavia
- 1934Assassinated in Marseille