| King Paul of Karađorđević | |
|---|---|
| |
| The-then Prince Paul, 1935 | |
| Monarch of Serbia | |
| Reign | 7 July, 1938 - 14 September 1976 |
| Predecessor | Alexander II |
| Successor | Alexander III |
| Born | 27 April 1893  St. Petersburg,  Russian Empire
|
| Died | 14 September 1976 (aged 83)  Belgrade,  Serbia
|
| Spouse | Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark (b.1923) |
| Issue | King Alexander III (1924-2016) Prince Nicholas (b.1928) |
| Full name | |
| Pavlo Karađorđević | |
| House | Karađorđević |
| Father | Prince Arsan of Serbia |
| Mother | Aurora Pavlovna Demidova |
| Religion | Eastern Orthodox |
| Occupation | Military Service: 1911-1918; 1931-1938) |
Paul I Karađorđević of Serbia (Serbo-Croatian: Pavle Karađorđević, Павле Карађорђевић, English transliteration: Paul Karageorgevich; 27 April 1893 – 14 September 1976) was the Monarch of Serbia from 1938 until his death in 1976.
He gained the throne in the aftermath of the Third Balkan War, which had gone disastrously for Serbia in the southern front. His first cousin King Alexander II had encouraged the nationalist movement to rearm and re-annex Vardar Macedonia, which discredited him once the war ended in a Serbian Defeat. Alexander II abdicated on the 7th of July, 1938, in favour of Prince Paul. The first years of Paul I’s reign was focused on restoring the monarchy’s reputation, quelling republican sympathies and restoring democracy. A French Diplomat said of Paul:
| “ | He [Paul] has incontestable qualities of character, balance, and taste...Oxonian dilettantism and charm which he exercised on his visitors where were useless in the present circumstances and in a country where arguments of might are the only ones which count". | ” |
However, his charm and balance led to him ultimately restoring honour to Serbia and its monarchy. Under his rule, the first democratic elections since the 1920s were held in 1940, with the Democratic Alliance under Milan Grol obtaining a majority.
Married to a Greek princess and intensely Anglophile and Helleneophile, Paul distrusted Germany and its Berlin Pact. The heavy losses taken by Serbia in World War I and the Balkan Wars made Paul very averse to engaging in another war and led him to favoring neutralist policies, although he was monarch when Serbia joined NATO in 1953.
Legacy[]
Paul I’s rule as monarch restored Serbia’s reputation, its morale, and its faith in the monarchy. His long tenure of over 30 years created well-needed stability in Serbia, and is credited with the political and economic moderation of Serbia. He received the moniker of “the Unifier” posthumously.
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