The Corfu Declaration is the agreement that made the creation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia possible. It was signed near the end of World War I on the island of Corfu on 20 July 1917, by the so-called Yugoslav Committee of politicians in exile, that represented Slovenes, Croats and Serbs living in Austria-Hungary and the representatives of the Kingdom of Serbia, with political sponsorship of Great Britain and France, under their avowed principles of national self-determination. Motto: One nation, one king, one country Anthem: Medley of Bože pravde, Lijepa naÅ¡a domovino, and Naprej zastava slave Capital Belgrade Language(s) Serbo-Croato-Slovenian (see: Serbo-Croat and Slovenian) [1] Government Value specified for government_type does not comply King  - 1918-1921 Peter I  - 1921-1934 Alexander... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Pontikonisi island in the background with the Vlaheraina Monastery in the foreground. ... is the 201st day of the year (202nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... Yugoslav Committee (Jugoslavenski odbor) was a political interest group formed by south Slavs from Austria-Hungary during World War I aimed at joining the existing south Slavic nations in an independent state. ... Languages Croatian Religions Predominantly Roman Catholic Related ethnic groups Slavs South Slavs Croats (Croatian: Hrvati) are a South Slavic people mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. ... Languages Serbian Religions Predominantly Serbian Orthodox Christian Related ethnic groups Other Slavic peoples, especially South Slavs See Cognate peoples below Serbs (Serbian: Срби or Srbi) are a South Slavic people who live mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in Croatia. ... Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... One of the first Serbian states, RaÅ¡ka, was founded in the first half of the 7th century on Byzantine territory by the Unknown Archont, the founder of the House of Vlastimirović; it evolved into the Serbian Empire under the House of Nemanjić. In the modern era Serbia has been...

The Declaration as "the first step toward building the new State of Yugoslavia" envisaged a parliamentary monarchy under the Karađorđević dynasty, with indivisible territory and unitary power, with the three national denominations and the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets equal before the law, religious freedom and universal suffrage. It provided for a Constituent Assembly to establish a Constitution that would be the origin of all powers. The House of KaraÄ‘orÄ‘ević (Serbian: Карађорђевићи; English: House of Karageorgevich) was a Serbian ruling dynasty descended from KaraÄ‘orÄ‘e (George Petrović). The family had a long feud with the Obrenović dynasty. ... A constituent assembly is a body elected with the purpose of drafting, and in some cases, adopting a constitution. ...

"This State will be a guarantee of their national independence and of their general national progress and civilization, and a powerful rampart against the pressure of the Germans", the Declaration concluded. Self-determination is a principle in international law that a people ought to be able to determine their own governmental forms and structure free from outside influence. ...

The two chiefly responsible for devising the wording of the Corfu Declaration were the Serbian Prime Minister Nikola Pašić and the Croatian exile Ante Trumbić, who worked to overcome official Serbian resistance. Pašić and the Serbian Court Party had remained intent upon the simple expansion of a Greater Serbia by means of unilateral territorial gains to be derived from a beaten Austro-Hungarian Empire. The outbreak of the February Revolution in Russia had withdrawn Serbia's Major Power champion from the diplomatic table. Pašić compromised, signed the Declaration and began to work behind the scenes in an attempt to discredit the Yugoslav Committee, lest the Allied Powers regard the Committee as the rightful government-in-exile at the coming Armistice. Nikola PaÅ¡ić // Nikola P. PaÅ¡ić (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола П. Пашић, at the time also spelled Pashitch or Pachitch), (December 18, 1845, Zaječar, Serbia - December 10, 1926, Belgrade, Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, today Serbia) was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and diplomat, the most important Serbian political figure... Ante Trumbić (May 17, 1864 - November 17, 1938) was an influential Croatian nationalist leader from the early 20th century. ... Greater Serbia is a name for a Serbian nationalist concept. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Yugoslav Committee (Jugoslavenski odbor) was a political interest group formed by south Slavs from Austria-Hungary during World War I aimed at joining the existing south Slavic nations in an independent state. ...

As a consequence, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was created on December 1, 1918. Trumbić was named Foreign Minister, and Pašić found himself temporarily out of power. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a Balkan state which existed from December 1, 1918 to mid-April 1941. ... is the 335th day of the year (336th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

External link

• The Corfu Declaration on FirstWorldWar.com; background and text