Thursday, October 9, 2008

A Politician with a Sense of Humor

Nikola Pašić (PA-sheech) 1845 - 1926, was a politician and diplomat. He was the most important Serbian political figure in the country for almost 40 years, twice mayor of Belgrade (1890-91 and 1897), several times prime minister of Serbia (1891-92, 1904-05, 1906-08, 1909-11, 1912-18) and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (the future Yugoslavia) 1918, 1921-24, 1924-26). He was also an important politician in the Balkans who, together with his counterparts in Greece and Romania, managed to strengthen their small, still emerging national states against strong foreign influences, most notably from Austria, Hungary, Turkey, and Russia. This is all quite admirable in itself, but Pašić was also known for his sense of humor. I wonder if he'd think it was funny that there's often a pigeon on his head.

FOUR WOMEN

 Four women near an outdoor market downtown.