Hrvoje Čapo, SVETOZAR PRIBIĆEVIĆ KAO MINISTAR UNUTARNJIH POSLOVA U PRVE TRI VLADE KRALJEVSTVA SRBA, HRVATA I SLOVENACA (20. PROSINCA 1918. – 19. VELJAČE 1920.)

DOI: 10.29362/2022.2664.cap.9-30

Svetozar Pribićević bio je prvi ministar unutarnjih poslova Kraljevstva Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca. Na tome mjestu ostao je u neprekinutom razdoblju tijekom tri mandata, za vrijeme vlade Stojana Protića, a zatim i Ljubomira Davidovića. Tijekom svojega djelovanja pridonio je učvršćenju državnoga centralizma provodeći jugoslavenski unitarizam. Njegova politika imala je naznake dogmatizirane ideološke borbe u kojoj se nasilno obračunavao sa svakim oblikom oporbe. U radu se na temelju historiografske literature, arhivskih izvora i podataka iz Službenih novina Kraljevstva Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca prikazuje djelovanje Svetozara Pribićevića kao ministra unutarnjih poslova do 19. veljače 1920. Naglasak je stavljen na uredbe koje su imale najveći utjecaj na oblikovanje rada Ministarstva unutarnjih poslova, kao i na analizu njegovih odluka o imenovanjima, ostavkama i umirovljenjima u tom razdoblju.

Hrvoje Čapo, SVETOZAR PRIBIĆEVIĆ AS MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR IN THE FIRST THREE GOVERNMENTS OF THE KINGDOM OF SERBS, CROATS AND SLOVENES (FROM DECEMBER 20, 1918 TO FEBRUARY 19, 1920)

Svetozar Pribićević was the first Minister of the Interior of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes for an uninterrupted duration, from December 20, 1918 to February 19, 1920. Around half of this period he was a minister while Stojan Protić was at the head of the government, and around half while the prime minister was his party partner Ljubomir Davidović. Although he came to the head of the Ministry of Interior with the support of the People’s Radical Party (Narodna radikalna stranka, NRS), within a few months there was a disagreement between them based on the differences in the view of the internal administration in the country. Pribićević passionately advocated state centralism and Yugoslav unitarism, which only partly agreed with the radical point of view. His dogmatized application of the unitary state and regime assumed only the supporters of his coalition political party, the future Yugoslav Democratic Party (Jugoslavenska demokratska stranka, JDS). Any opposition to this kind of state organization was labeled as anti-state, in the Croatian case as separatist, and the response of his regime included the violence of the repressive apparatus and the suppression of all oppositional expression. During his mandate in the Ministry of Interior, Pribićević established the structure of its activities, including the activities of the Department for public security, which was immediately recognized as the political police. He paid special attention to the former Austro-Hungarian territories, especially Croatia and Slavonia. He installed his supporters, Ivan Paleček and later Tomislav Tomljenović, to the postitions of Croatian Ban, who then appointed officials at lower levels according to his ideological expectations. In the area of ​​Banat, Bačka and Baranja, he established the State Secret Police whose task was to monitor the non-Serb population, which was also suspected of being an anti-state element. This practice of monitoring society was maintained throughout the entire duration of monarchist Yugoslavia. During this period, Pribićević made 2,353 personnel decisions that related to 1,538 people, most of whom were promoted from the existing administrative systems. The largest number of decisions related to the territory of Serbia and Southern Serbia, i.e. Macedonia, Kosovo and Metohy. These decisions also had a direct impact on his coalition relationship with the NRS, which accused Pribićević of favoring democratic sympathizers, to the detriment of radical members. The exceptional influence of the democratic current on personnel decisions implemented by Pribićević in the Ministry of Interior supports the conclusion that there could be no question of the alleged division of responsibility between him and Marko Trifković, whereby Pribićević was in charge only of the former Austro-Hungarian territories.