Yugoslav regency


The Yugoslav regency was a three-member governorship of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia headed by Prince Regent Paul in place of King Peter II until his coming of age. It was in effect between November 1934 and the coup d'état of 27 March 1941.

Background

On 9 October 1934 IMRO member Vlado Chernozemski assassinated King Alexander I in Marseille in France, and Alexander's cousin Prince Paul took the regency. In his will, Alexander had stipulated that if he died, a council of regents chaired by Paul should govern until Alexander's son Peter II came of age.

Members

Prince Paul, far more than Alexander, was Yugoslav rather than Serb in outlook. However, unlike Alexander, he inclined much more toward democracy. In its broadest outline, his domestic policy worked to eliminate the heritage of Alexander's centralism, censorship, and military control and to pacify the country by solving the Serb-Croat problem.