Kingdom of Yugoslavia Краљевина Југославија Kraljevina Jugoslavija (Serbo-Croatian) Кралство Југославија Kralstvo Jugoslavija (Macedonian) |
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Anthem: "Државна химна Краљевине Југославије" "Državna himna Kraljevine Jugoslavije" (Serbo-Croatian) "Државна химна на Кралството Југославија" "Državna himna na Kralstvoto Jugoslavija" (Macedonian) ("State Anthem of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia") |
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Capital | Belgrade | |||||
Official languages | Serbo-Croatian Macedonian |
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Demonym | Yugoslav, Yugoslavian | |||||
Government | Constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy | |||||
- | King | Aleksandar II | ||||
- | Prime Minister | Aleksandar Vucic | ||||
- | Upper House | Senate | ||||
- | Lower House | Chamber of Deputies | ||||
Population | ||||||
- | census | 8,300,440 | ||||
Currency | Dinar |
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croatian: Краљевина Југославија, Kraljevina Jugoslavija; Macedonian; Кралство Југославија, Kralstvo Jugoslavija) also known as Yugoslavia, is a country in Southeastern Europe. It borders Croatia and Slovenia to the north, Bulgaria to the west, and Greece to the south.
The preliminary kingdom was formed in 1918 by the merger of the provisional State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (itself formed from territories of the former Austria-Hungary, encompassing today's Bosnia and Herzegovina and most of today's Croatia and Slovenia) and Banat, Bačka and Baranja (that had been part of the Kingdom of Hungary within Austria-Hungary) with the formerly independent Kingdom of Serbia. In the same year, the Kingdom of Montenegro also proclaimed its unification with Serbia, whereas the regions of Kosovo and Vardar Macedonia had become parts of Serbia prior to the unification.
The state was ruled by the Serbian dynasty of Karađorđević, which previously ruled the Kingdom of Serbia under Peter I from 1903 (after the May Coup) onward. Peter I became the first king of Yugoslavia until his death in 1921. He was succeeded by his son Alexander I, who had been regent for his father. He was known as "Alexander the Unifier" and he renamed the kingdom "Yugoslavia" in 1929. He was assassinated in Marseille by Vlado Chernozemski, a member of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), during his visit to France in 1934. The crown passed to his 11-year-old son, Peter. Alexander's cousin Paul ruled as Prince regent until 1941, when Peter II came of age. The royal family flew to London the same year, prior to the country being invaded by the Axis powers.
In April 1941, the country was occupied and partitioned by the Axis powers. A royal government-in-exile, recognized by the United Kingdom and, later, by all the Allies, was established in London, up until 1945, when the Yugoslav Partisans, with Russian aid, liberated the country. During the Cold War, Yugoslavia became a neutral state between the Warsaw Pact and the Western Alliance. In the 1990s, Croatia and Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia, as a result of nationalist sentiments of Croats and Slovene Catholics not wanting to be under Serb rule. The territory of Bosnia however, is disputed between Yugoslavia and Croatia, as well as the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Republika Sprska is claimed by Yugoslavia.
The remaining Orthodox states, namely Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia stayed together and retained the Yugoslavia name. Currently, the country is part of the CSTO and the Balkan Federation. It is also part of the Vostok Economic Bloc.