09.10.2012.
Marking the 78th anniversary of the death of King Aleksandar Karadjordjevic
By paying state and military honors in the church of Sv. Djordje the 78th anniversary of the death of King Aleksandar Karadjordjevic was marked today.
On behalf of the Prince Regent Aleksandar Karadjordjevic laurel wreaths were laid by the members of the Association of the Kingdom of Serbia, the representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Army, of Topola municipality, Karadjordjevic legacy and the Society for preserving the tradition of liberation wars 1912-1918.The commemorative ceremony was organized by the Serbian government - the Committee for preserving the tradition of Serbian liberation wars.
Aleksandar Karadjordjevic (1888-1934) was born in Cetinje, Montenegro. He was educated at a military school in St. Petersburg and then in Belgrade.
The turning point in his life occurred in 1909, when his elder brother, Prince Djordje waived his right as the heir to the throne.
King Aleksandar was the commander of the First Army in the First and Second Balkan Wars, and as a supreme commander of the Serbian army he led successful military operations in World War II.
After the death of his father, King Peter I, on 17 July 1921, he became the king of the newly founded state-the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians which in 1929 was renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
During an official visit to France, members of the Croatian Ustasha movement and the Macedonian VMRO assassinated King Aleksandar in Marseilles. Together with him at the time French Foreign Minister Louis Bart was also killed. His remains were transferred to the country on 18th October 1934 and laid in the family tomb in Oplenac. King Aleksandar’s funeral was attended by delegations of many countries, and thousands of citizens of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
