Yugoslav National Party

The Yugoslav National Party (Serbo-Croatian: Jugoslavenska nacionalna stranka, Југославенска национална странка, JNS; Slovene: Jugoslovanska nacionalna stranka) was a political party in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1932 and 1941. It was established under the name Yugoslav Radical Peasants' Democracy as the official party of the state under King Alexander.

Yugoslav National Party

Jugoslavenska nacionalna stranka
Југославенска национална странка
LeadersPetar Živković
Nikola Uzunović
Bogoljub Jevtić
FounderPetar Živković
Founded1929
Dissolved1941
HeadquartersBelgrade, Yugoslavia
IdeologyRoyalism
National conservatism
Agrarianism
Centralism
Political positionRight-wing

History

On 6 January 1929, the king dissolved the Parliament and abolished the constitution, and banning all political parties. This became known as the 6 January Dictatorship. In 1931, a new constitution was put into place, which provided for limited democracy. However, most of the political power remained in the hands of the King and the government, appointed by him.

1930s

In May 1932, the Yugoslav Radical Peasants' Democracy was established to support Alexander's government, under the leadership of Petar Živković. It was formed mostly by dissident members of the Democratic Party and the People's Radical Party (NRS), as well as the Slovenian section of the Independent Democratic Party (SDS) and the right wing of the Slovene Peasant Party (SKS). Individual members from other parties, and from nationalist organizations like ORJUNA also joined. In June 1933, it was renamed to Yugoslav National Party, and adopted a program stressing the unity of the Yugoslav Nation, centralized government and secularism.

Governing party

From 1932 to 1935, the party was the governing party of Yugoslavia. Petar Živković, Milan Srškić and Nikola Uzunović were the country's prime ministers while the party was in power. After King Alexander was assassinated in 1934, the party remained in power. However, the economic and political instability of the country, and fierce opposition from Croatia challenged the party's power. Elections were called in 1935; although they were not free, the JNS suffered a serious setback.[1]

Reformed party

A former member of the Yugoslav National Party Milan Stojadinović formed a successor party, called Yugoslav Radical Union (JRZ), based on a more conservative political alliance, which included the Yugoslav Muslim Organization (JMO) and Slovene People's Party (SLS). The Yugoslav National Party went into opposition, where it remained until 1941.

References
  1. Dieter Nohlen, Dolf Sternberger, Bernhard Vogel, Klaus Landfried (1969) Die Wahl der Parlamente und andere Staatsorgane, Walter de Gruyter, p784
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.