Declaration of Corfu
The Corfu Declaration of July 20, 1917 was an agreement to establish a united kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes under the rule of the Karađorđević dynasty . It was signed by the Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Pašić and Ante Trumbić , chairman of the Yugoslav Committee , an association of South Slav politicians from the Habsburg monarchy in Corfu founded in exile against the backdrop of the First World War . The Entente powers Great Britain and France supported the declaration, while Russia was unable to influence the negotiations because of the February Revolution .
The state to be formed was to comprise 12 million inhabitants in the parts of the Habsburg Empire, which were mostly inhabited by southern Slavs, and the Kingdom of Serbia , which was still occupied by the Central Powers . Agreements about the border course with Italy had already been made in the London Treaty of 1915. In addition to the election of a constitutional assembly in general, equal and free elections, equality before the law, ethnic and linguistic equality and freedom of religion were provided. The form of government should be determined when the constitution is adopted.
The proclamation of the kingdom took place on December 1, 1918 in Belgrade by the Prince Regent Alexander . On the same day, the National Assembly of Montenegro announced the accession of their country. Yugoslav representatives took part in the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, during which the state's territory was negotiated. Among other things, Macedonia was attached to the state. The first constitution, known as the Vidovdan Constitution , was promulgated on June 28, 1921.
