Milivoje Petrović Blaznavac

General Milivoje Petrović Blaznavac

General Milivoje Petrović Blaznavac (Blaznava, May 16, 1824 – Belgrade, April 5, 1873) was Serbian soldier and politician. His father, Petar, was a rural merchant and shopkeeper from Blaznava, although a story circulated that his real father was Prince Miloš Obrenović. He finished elementary school and painting craft. He left craft, alternately served in the police and army.

As Blaznavac stood on the side of opponents of Prince Mihailo Obrenović – Ustavobranioci (Defenders of the Constitution), led by Toma Vučić-Perišić, he was rewarded with transfer to Belgrade, where in 1848, as a Captain, he became adjutant of Prince Prince Alexander Karađorđević. After leaved the duty of adjutant, Blaznavac crossed into Serbian Vojvodina, where he fought alongside Stevan Knićanin.

After Blaznavac returned to Serbia, he was granted training in Vienna, Paris and the military school in Metz. At the end of 1854, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, Blaznavac was appointed Chief of the military departments, and was promoted to the rank of Colonel in 1858. After that he was expelled to the native Blaznava and deprived of all titles, but during the second reign of Prince Mihailo Obrenović, Blaznavac was reactivated, and in 1861 he was appointed administrator of cannon factory in Kragujevac, and in 1865 Blaznavac become defence minister.

After the assassination of Prince Mihailo on May 29, 1868, Blaznavac staged a coup d'état and proclaimed Milan Obrenović, a boy of fourteen years, as Prince, before the Assembly elected him. Until the age of majority of Milan (1872), Blaznavac is with Jovan Ristić and Jovan Gavrilović was a member of regency, and after Prince Milan come of age, Blaznavac became Prime Minister, previously promoted to the rank of General. He was the first person to receive that rank in the history of Serbia.

He was married to Katarina Konstantinović, former fiancee of Prince Mihailo Obrenović. He died suddenly of heart attack on April 5, 1873, and was buried in the family tomb of Jevrem Obrenović in Rakovica.

See also

• List of Prime Ministers of Serbia

Persondata
Name	Blaznavac, Milivoje Petrovic
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	May 16, 1824
Place of birth
Date of death	April 5, 1873
Place of death