Aćim Čumić (; 1836 – 27 July 1901) was a Serbian

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

and politician who served as

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

of the

Principality of Serbia The Principality of Serbia () was an autonomous, later sovereign state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation was negotiated first through an unwritten agre ...

Biography

Aćim Čumić studied and completed his law degree at the universities in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He worked as a high school professor, then in court. He was appointed Professor of Criminal Law at the

Grandes écoles Grandes may refer to: *Agustín Muñoz Grandes, Spanish general and politician * Banksia ser. Grandes, a series of plant species native to Australia * Grandes y San Martín, a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain ...

(''Velika škola'') in 1865. He participated in the work of the Constitutional Committee of 1868 and was noted for his eloquence and for suggesting that the government was to be placed under the control of the State Council, and not the Assembly. He was a politician of

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

orientation, sharing similar beliefs with older politicians such as

Ilija Garašanin Ilija Garašanin ( sr-cyr, Илија Гарашанин; 28 January 1812 – 22 June 1874) was a Serbian statesman who served as the prime minister of Serbia between 1852 and 1853 and again from 1861 to 1867. Ilija Garašanin was conservati ...

and

Jovan Marinović Jovan Marinović ( sr-Cyrl, Јован Мариновић; 1821 – August 30, 1893) was a Serbian politician and diplomat. He introduced several enlightened reforms in Serbian political system. As a close collaborator of Minister Ilija Garašani ...

. He was the leader of a group of young conservatives. In 1871, he became president of the

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

municipality but was soon overthrown by the Liberal deputy, headed by

Jovan Ristić Jovan Ristić ( sr-Cyrl, Јован Ристић; 16 January 1831 – 4 September 1899) was a Serbian politician, diplomat and historian. Biography Ristić was born in Kragujevac in a poor family where he attended elementary school. In 1842 he ...

. He then opened his law practice in

, and from 1873 to 1874, he was

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

in Prime Minister

Marinović Marinović ( sr-Cyrl, Мариновић) is a Serbo-Croatian surname, a patronymic derived from the given name '' Marin'', and matronymic derived from the given name ''Marina''. Notable people with the name include: *Dario Marinović (born 1990), ...

's cabinet. On 25 November 1874, Čumić replaced Marinović, who resigned, and became

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

himself. As the government did not enjoy the confidence of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

, Čumić was replaced after another three months, on 22 January 1875. He was then appointed Judge of the

Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...

. He was arrested by the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

government in 1878 for alleged involvement in the

Topola Topola ( sr-Cyrl, Топола, ) is a town and municipality located in the Šumadija District of central Serbia. It was the place where Karađorđe, a Serbian revolutionary, was chosen as the leader of the First Serbian Uprising against the Otto ...

Mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, ...

and was sentenced to death together with Jevrem Marković and Ilija Milosavljević Kolarac. He was later pardoned and received a commuted sentence of 10 years in prison instead. Marković was the only one executed. Čumić and Kolarac were released from prison after the fall of the Ristić government in 1880. Later, Čumić ceased his engaging in politics. During the 1880s he was a government representative ('commissioner') of the Serbian Railways Construction and Exploitation organization. He was very involved in raising the

Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment (), also known as the Kolarac People's University Building, is at 5 Students' Square in the heart of Belgrade. The building is a monument of a great cultural and historical importance and as such was declared as the imm ...

. He was a member of the Serbian Learned Society and an honorary member of the

Serbian Royal Academy The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , SANU) is a national academy and the most prominent academic institution in Serbia, founded in 1841 as Society of Serbian Letters (, DSS). The Academy's membership has included Nobel laureates Ivo ...

since 1892. He served as a senator during the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

in 1901.

Works

* ''Cassation Power'' 'Касацијона власт''(1867) * ''Endowments in Defense of Serbs'' 'Задужбине у одбрани Српства''(1890)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Čumić, Aćim Serbian expatriates in France Serbian politicians convicted of crimes Prime ministers of Serbia 19th-century Serbian judges 1836 births 1901 deaths Heidelberg University alumni University of Paris alumni Serbian expatriates in Germany Interior ministers of Serbia People from Aranđelovac