Anton Korošec (, ; 12 May 1872 – 14 December 1940) was a Yugoslav politician, a prominent member of the conservative People's Party, a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

priest and a noted orator.

Early life

Korošec was born in Biserjane (then

Duchy of Styria The Duchy of Styria (german: Herzogtum Steiermark; sl, Vojvodina Štajerska; hu, Stájer Hercegség) was a duchy located in modern-day southern Austria and northern Slovenia. It was a part of the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 180 ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, now part of Slovenia) and went to school in

Ptuj Ptuj (; german: Pettau, ; la, Poetovium/Poetovio) is a town in northeastern Slovenia that is the seat of the Municipality of Ptuj. Ptuj, the oldest recorded city in Slovenia, has been inhabited since the late Stone Age and developed from a Roman ...

and in

Maribor Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, the seat of the Drava sta ...

. He studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

as a priest in 1895. He completed his education with a doctorate in theology from the

University of Graz The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria. History The univers ...

in 1905. He was friends with Janez Evangelist Krek and adopted his political views.

Political career

In 1907, Korošec was elected to the Reichsrat as a member of the

Slovenian People's Party The Slovenian People's Party ( sl, Slovenska ljudska stranka, , Slovene abbreviation SLS ) is a conservative, agrarian, Christian-democratic political party in Slovenia. Formed in 1988 under the name of Slovenian Peasant Union as the first democ ...

, where, as president of the

Yugoslav Club Yugoslav or Yugoslavian may refer to: * Yugoslavia, or any of the three historic states carrying that name: ** Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a European monarchy which existed 1918–1945 (officially called "Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes" 1918–1 ...

, he read out the May Declaration, which called for all

South Slavs South Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austri ...

to be unified in one state unit within the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Following the break-up of

, the

National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( sh, Država Slovenaca, Hrvata i Srba / ; sl, Država Slovencev, Hrvatov in Srbov) was a political entity that was constituted in October 1918, at the end of World War I, by Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( ...

, of which Korošec was the president, declared the creation of the

State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( sh, Država Slovenaca, Hrvata i Srba / ; sl, Država Slovencev, Hrvatov in Srbov) was a political entity that was constituted in October 1918, at the end of World War I, by Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( ...

on 29 October 1918. Earlier, Korošec and

Nikola Pašić Nikola Pašić ( sr-Cyrl, Никола Пашић, ; 18 December 1845 – 10 December 1926) was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and diplomat who was a leading political figure for almost 40 years. He was the leader of the People's Radical ...

had agreed on the terms of the Geneva Declaration, in which the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Prin ...

recognized the equal rights of the different components of such a state should it join with it in a confederation. From the very beginning however, Serbs favoured central control and the subsequent

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

was a unitary

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic ( constitutional monar ...

. Korošec was vice-president in the first government of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918. As the leader of the

he later collaborated in two right-leaning governments. Despite its defeat in 1920, the Slovenian People's Party was again victorious in Slovenia in 1924 and Korošec was chosen to be vice-president of the government. In 1924 and 1927, he was also minister for the interior. Korošec opposed the adoption of the

Vidovdan Constitution The Vidovdan Constitution was the first constitution of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was approved by the Constitutional Assembly on 28 June 1921 despite the opposition boycotting the vote. The Constitution is named after the feast ...

and campaigned for greater autonomy for Slovenes within the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes until the Slovenian People's Party joined with Serbian radicals to form a centralist government and the idea was sidelined. Following Stjepan Radić’s assassination in 1928, in order to ensure more peace between ethnic groups the king called Korošec to lead the first government of Yugoslavia without a Serbian Prime Minister, but the monarch soon dismissed him when the :January 6th Dictatorship was proclaimed. Korošec was also a minister in

Petar Živković Petar Živković ( sr-cyr, Петар Живковић; 1 January 1879 – 3 February 1947) was a Serbian military officer and political figure in Yugoslavia. He was Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 7 January 1929 until 4 Apr ...

’s government in 1929. He tried to resolve the crisis in the country by democratic means, but the government fell in 1930 under pressure from Slovenia. In opposition, Korošec drew up the Slovenian Declaration (''Slovenska deklaracija'') which called for a new multinational union of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. This proposal also seemed attractive to Slovenians living in the

Slovenian Littoral The Slovene Littoral ( sl, Primorska, ; it, Litorale; german: Küstenland) is one of the five traditional regions of Slovenia. Its name recalls the former Austrian Littoral (''Avstrijsko Primorje''), the Habsburg possessions on the upper Adri ...

and

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carin ...

, which bordered on the existing state. Korošec was exiled to the island of

Hvar Hvar (; Chakavian: ''Hvor'' or ''For'', el, Φάρος, Pharos, la, Pharia, it, Lesina) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, located off the Dalmatian coast, lying between the islands of Brač, Vis and Korčula. Approximately long, wi ...

in 1933. The Slovenian People's Party subsequently boycotted the 1935 parliamentary elections. Korošec nonetheless was named minister for the interior in

Milan Stojadinović Milan Stojadinović ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Стојадиновић; 4 August 1888 – 26 October 1961) was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and economist who served as the Prime Minister of Yugoslavia from 1935 to 1939. He also served as Fore ...

's government in the same year. He helped to facilitate an agreement between

Dragiša Cvetković Dragiša Cvetković ( sr-cyr, Драгиша Цветковић; 15 January 1893 – 18 February 1969) was a Yugoslav politician active in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He served as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1939 to 1941. ...

and

Vladko Maček Vladimir Maček (20 June 1879 – 15 May 1964) was a politician in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. As a leader of the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) following the 1928 assassination of Stjepan Radić, Maček had been a leading Croatian political fi ...

and was minister for education in their government. While in Stojadinović's Government, Korošec advocated a policy of close relationships with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. As education Minister in the Yugoslav government of Macek-Cvetkovic, in October 1940 Korošec introduced two

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Ant ...

laws. One limited the participation of Jews in the wholesale food industry, while the other put a limit on the number of Jewish students in secondary schools and universities. When other ministers objected to the laws, Korošec insisted that failure to introduce them would endanger relationships with Germany, and the laws were indeed accepted. Towards the end of his life, he openly spoke out against

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

as well as

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...

. While serving Interior Minister in the Yugoslav government, Korošec, declared "all Jews, Communists, and Freemasons as traitors, conspirators, and enemies of the State". He also organised the

anti-Communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

organisation the Sentinel in the Tempest ( Straža v viharju).

Death

Korošec died aged 68 in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...

(then

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 191 ...

, now

Republic of Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

References

* Feliks J. Bister, ''Anton Korošec, državnozborski poslanec na Dunaju : življenje in delo : 1872–1918'', Ljubljana, 1992. * ''Časopis za zgodovino in narodopisje'' 77, št. 2-3 (2006) (numbers entirely dedicated to Anton Korošec). * ''Prispevki za novejšo zgodovino'' 31, št. 1 (1991) (contains lectures from a symposium about Anton Korošec).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Korosec, Anton 1872 births 1940 deaths People from the Municipality of Sveti Jurij ob Ščavnici People from the Duchy of Styria Slovenian Jesuits Slovene People's Party (historical) politicians Prime Ministers of Yugoslavia Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1901–1907) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1907–1911) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1911–1918) Representatives in the Yugoslav National Assembly (1921–1941) Slovenian anti-communists Antisemitism in Slovenia