The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a Balkan state that existed from December 1, 1918 to 1941. It was formed in 1918 under name Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Serbo-Croatian Kraljevina Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca, Slovenian Kraljevina Srbov, Hrvatov in Slovencev, short Kraljevina SHS). On December 1 1918it was proclaimed by the Prince Regent Alexander Karadjordjevic. The new government had to integrate regions politically as well as economically, which had very different historical experience as well as economic development. Kingdom gained most of Dalmatiabut Zadarand few islands were given to Italy. Rijekawas declared a free city but was soon occupied and in 1924 annexed by Italy. On the Austrian border, a plebiscite was held in Carinthia which opted for Austria. From Hungary, SHS gained the Vojvodina, an area with a strong German and Hungarian minority. In 1920, Constitution was passed which established unitary monarchy. Serb politicians regarded Serbia as the standardbearer of Yugoslav unity, as Piedmont had been for Italy and Prussia for Germany. Over the years, Croat resistence against a Serbocentric policy increased. In 1928, Stjepan Radic, head of the Croatian Peasant Party, was shot in parliament by Punisa Racic.

After that, King abolished the Constitution and introduced personal dictatorship. He changed the name of the country to Kingdom of Yugoslavia and in 1931 he passed new Constitution. On October 9 1934, the King Alexander was shot in France.

In 1941 Axis powers invaded the state and divided it. In 1945, the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia came into being, covering the same teritory.

List of Kings:

1. King Petar I (1 Dec 1918 - 16 Aug 1921)(Regent Prince Aleksandar ruled in the name of the King)
2. King Aleksandar I (16 Aug 1921 - 9 Oct 1934)
3. Regency headed by Prince Pavle (9 Oct 1934 - 27 Mar 1941)
4. King Petar II (27 Mar 1941 - 29 Nov 1945) *exile from 13/14 Apr 1941

Internally, the Kingdom was divided into provinces from 1929, each of them called banovina. Their borders were intentionally drawn in such a way that they did not adhere to national borders and they were named after geographical features. The capital of the kingdom was Belgrade.

1. Dravska banovina (Banovina of Drava), with its capital in Ljubljana
2. Savska Banovina (Banovina of Sava), with its capital in Zagreb
3. Vrbaska banovina (Banovina of Vrbas), with its capital in Banja Luka
4. Primorska banovina (Seaside Banovina), with its capital in Split
5. Drinska banovina (Banovina of Drina), with its capital in Sarajevo
6. Zetska banovina (Banovina of Zeta), with its capital in Cetinje
7. Dunavska banovina (Banovina of Danube), with its capital in Novi Sad
8. Moravska banovina (Banovina of Morava), with its capital in Niš
9. Vardarska banovina (Banovina of Vardar), with its capital in Skopje
10. The City of Belgrade, together with Zemun and Pančevo was also an administrative unit

In 1939 Banovina Hrvatska (Banovina of Croatia) was formed from Primorska and Savska banovina with some border alterations. It also had its capital in Zagreb.

See also

• Yugoslavia
• History of Yugoslavia

External link

• Full text of Constitution of 1931 (in English)