| Boško Čolak-Antić | |
| Native Name: | Бошко Чолак-Антић |
| Native Name Lang: | sr |
| Birth Date: | 21 August 1871 |
| Birth Place: | Kragujevac, principality of Serbia |
| Death Place: | Belgrade, Yugoslavia |
| Nationality: | Serbian |
| Alma Mater: | University of Geneva (PhD, 1894) |
| Occupation: | Diplomat |
| Father: | Ilija Čolak-Antić |
| Relatives: | Vojin Čolak-Antić (brother) |
| Relations: | Čolak-Anta Simeonović |
| Office1: | Marshal of the Royal Court of Yugoslavia |
| Termstart1: | 1935 |
| Termend1: | 1941 |
| Monarch1: | Peter II of Yugoslavia |
| Predecessor1: | Slavko Grujić |
| Successor1: | Position abolished |
| Office2: | Yugoslav Ambassador to Romania |
| Termstart2: | 9 December 1920 |
| Termend2: | March 1935 |
| Monarch2: | Alexander I of Yugoslavia |
| Predecessor2: | Djordje Nastasijević |
| Successor2: | Jovan Dučić |
| Office3: | Yugoslav Ambassador to Sweden |
| Termstart3: | 18 February 1918 |
| Termend3: | 8 December 1920 |
| Monarch3: | Peter I of Serbia |
| Predecessor3: | Milan Rakić |
| Successor3: | Milorad Stražnjicki |
| Office4: | Marshal of the Royal Court of Serbia |
| Termstart4: | 1915 |
| Termend4: | 1917 |
| Monarch5: | Peter I of Serbia |
| Successor4: | Petar Živković |
| Office5: | Serbian Ambassador to Bulgaria |
| Termstart5: | 1913 |
| Termend5: | 1915 |
| Predecessor5: | Miroslav Spalajković |
| Successor5: | Milan Tucaković |
| Office6: | Serbian Ambassador to Egypt |
| Termstart6: | 1908 |
| Termend6: | 1912 |
| Monarch6: | Peter I of Serbia |
| Predecessor6: | Position established |
| Successor6: | Miloš M. Bogićević |
| Office7: | Marshal of the Royal Court of Serbia |
| Term Start7: | 1904 |
| Term End7: | 1908 |
| Monarch7: | Peter I of Serbia |
Boško I. Čolak-Antić (Serbian Cyrillic: Бошко Чолак-Антић; 21 August 1871 – 24 March 1949), also known as Boshko Tcholak-Antitch, was a Serbian and Yugoslav diplomat and court official who served as an ambassador and Marshal of the Court for both the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
Čolak-Antić was born into a distinguished military family, the son of an officer and the great-grandson of Čolak-Anta Simeonović, a leader in the Serbian Uprising of 1804-1813. He attended the University of Geneva, where he earned a PhD in Law. His diplomatic career began in the Serbian Representation in the Principality of Bulgaria. Following a change in the royal dynasty, he was appointed Marshal of the Court for King Peter I of Serbia.
A skilled diplomat, Čolak-Antić played a significant role during the critical era of the First World War, particularly in the negotiations to bring Bulgaria to the side of the Allies. Following the invasion of Serbia, he joined the Serbian government in exile in Corfu. A close collaborator of the Karađorđević dynasty, he became, after the war, one of the most prominent Yugoslav diplomats, serving as minister in Stockholm and Bucharest. He was instrumental in arranging the defence convention between Yugoslavia and Romania, strengthening bilateral relations and advising on policies towards Romania. From 1935 to 1941, he served as Marshal of the Court for King Peter II of Yugoslavia during the Regency. His brother, General Vojin Čolak-Antić, was a notable cavalry officer and military attaché.
Boško Čolak-Antić was born in Kragujevac, Principality of Serbia, into the Čolak-Antić family, a prominent Serbian family with a long-standing military tradition. The family traces its lineage back to Vojvoda Čolak-Anta Simeonović, a notable leader in the First Serbian Uprising of 1804.
He was the eldest son of Colonel Ilija Čolak-Antić, commander of the Serbian Ibar Army during the Serbo-Turkish war, and Jelena (née Matić). Čolak-Antić's maternal grandfather was Dimitrije Matić, a prominent Liberal politician and philosopher who served as minister and was president of the National Assembly when Serbia gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. Čolak-Antić had a younger brother, Vojin Čolak-Antić, who became a Yugoslav general and a sister, Jovanka, who was married to writer Ilija Vukićević.
After graduating from secondary school, Čolak-Antić went on to study law at the University of Geneva, where he earned his doctorate in law in 1894. Upon his return to Serbia, he began his career at the Ministry of Finance before transferring to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1898, joining the diplomatic service in December.
His diplomatic career began in 1899 when Čolak-Antić was appointed secretary of the Serbian Delegation in Sofia and later Minister Plenipotentiary to the Principality of Bulgaria. This occurred three years after Ferdinand was recognised as King of the Bulgarians by the Great Powers, during a period of turmoil in neighbouring Turkish provinces. Čolak-Antić expressed concern to his government about the secret talks between the Bulgarians and the Ottomans regarding the unrest in Macedonia, which bypassed the three other representatives of the different communities: Serbian, Greek, and Vlach (Aromanians and Megleno-Romanians). He warned his government about Bulgaria's expansionist intentions. Macedonia being at the time the focus of diplomatic and political activity for both Bulgaria and Serbia. The rise of nationalistic visions led both countries to seek partitioning the Turkish territory and claiming it as historically theirs while preparing for war with the Ottoman Empire. Čolak-Antić's mission in Bulgaria ended in 1903. That same year, the outbreak of the Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising in Macedonia, a failed rebellion organised by a Bulgarian secret revolutionary society, intensified the path towards war.[1]
In May 1903 by order of the Foreign Minister Andra Nikolić, he was called back to Serbia. After the change of dynasty and the coronation of Peter I of Serbia on 21 September 1904, Čolak-Antić was appointed acting Marshal of the Royal Court of Serbia, for King Petar I Karađorđević, a position he held while continuing to carry out diplomatic missions across Europe and the Middle East. On 16 October 1904, Čolak-Antić accompanied the Serbian King to Sofia, Bulgaria, along with Prime Minister Sava Grujić, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Pašić and Minister of War Radomir Putnik for an official visit with Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria.
His subsequent appointment was in Cairo after an initiative to establish a Serbian diplomatic office in Egypt. In 1908, King Peter I Karađorđević appointed Čolak-Antić as the general consul and diplomatic agent in Egypt. That same year, he was also promoted to Marshal of the Court. At the time, Egypt was an autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire under British dominance. During his tenure in Egypt, Čolak-Antić established a lifelong friendship with French Egyptologist Gaston Maspero, director of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, who mentioned him several times in his memoirs. Čolak-Antić remained in Cairo until 1912, when he returned to Serbia at the onset of the Balkan Wars.
After the Second Balkan War in mid-December 1913, he returned to diplomatic service as the plenipotentiary minister in Sofia. On 9 January 1914, royal embassies and consulates were informed via encrypted telegram that diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and Serbia had been restored. This occurred less than a year after Bulgaria had attacked its former ally and lost the Second Balkan War, marking the first restoration of diplomatic relations since Bulgaria became a kingdom. Despite the complex intertwining of Serbian and Bulgarian interests, the desire for stability in international relations and internal pressures facilitated the swift restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In this context, Čolak-Antić's nomination was accepted and validated by the Bulgarian government, and on 4 February 1914, he presented his letters of credence.
On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo. A month later, on 28 July, Austria-Hungary began hostilities by bombarding Belgrade, effectively initiating the First World War. Although Bulgaria declared its neutrality, it simultaneously entered into secret negotiations with Austria-Hungary and Germany. In a telegram dated 1 July 1914, Čolak-Antić warned Prime Minister Nikola Pašić that a loan offered by the German Empire had bound the Bulgarian government to the camp of the Triple Alliance, thereby posing an imminent danger to Serbia. He also informed Pašić that the Bulgarians had appointed eighteen vojvodes to various cities of Macedonia.In August 1914, Austro-Hungarian forces penetrated deep into Serbia, occupying the northern part of the country. The government was forced to relocate, but by mid-December, Serbian forces, against all odds, defeated the invaders and expelled them from the country. The pressures of war transformed diplomacy as well. Čolak-Antić was entrusted with the crucial task of bringing new partners into the war, maintaining links between allies, and preventing them from defecting to the other side. In April 1915, Čolak-Antić warned his government in a telegram that Italy was participating in secret talks with the Triple Entente about annexing lands in Dalmatia and ports in Albania in exchange for joining the Allies. On 10 August, Čolak-Antić met with Bulgarian Prime Minister Vasil Radoslavov, presenting a proposal from Serbian Prime Minister Pašić for a mutual settlement to resolve all disputes between the two countries, particularly regarding prisoners of war, without the need for Allied mediation. Radoslavov rejected the proposal, asking for more time. Radoslavov then told Čolak-Antić that Bulgaria will remain completely neutral, no matter what turn the conflict between Austria and Serbia takes. Not trusting the minister, Čolak-Antić informed his government that Bulgaria's participation on the side of the Central Powers seemed inevitable.[2] On 24 August 1915, Radoslavov signed a secret agreement with the German Empire, followed by a treaty of friendship and alliance. Later that day, Radoslavov signed a military convention with Germany and Austria-Hungary, placing Bulgaria in the camp of the Central Powers and making it an enemy of Serbia, Russia, France, and Britain, and an ally of the Ottomans.
On 9 September 1915, Tsar Ferdinand and Prime Minister Radoslavov signed a decree of general mobilisation. Numerous rumours of preparations for mobilisation began to spread. Čolak-Antić warned Pašić about these rumours, but the Bulgarian government continued to deny them.[3] In Serbia, Field Marshal Radomir Putnik, the Serbian Chief of the General Staff, suggested launching a preventive attack while Bulgaria was mobilising, viewing it as their only chance before Austria attacked again. To the consternation of Čolak-Antić, British Foreign Secretary Edward Grey chose to give Bulgaria one more chance, reasoning that Bulgaria had assured the Allies of its peaceful intentions. The Triple Entente tried to calm the situation by giving an ultimatum to Bulgaria, but without success. On 23 September 1915, the Triple Entente severed diplomatic relations with Bulgaria. In response, and based on orders from his government, Serbian Plenipotentiary Minister Čolak-Antić left Bulgaria.
On 6 October 1915, the combined armies of Germany and Austria-Hungary launched the invasion of Serbia. A few days later, on 11 October, without any prior declaration of war, Bulgaria joined the invaders and attacked the greatly outnumbered Serbian army from the rear. Čolak-Antić immediately returned to Serbia. On 31 October, he arrived in Raška to meet representatives of France, Great Britain, Russia, and Italy. After spending the night there, Čolak-Antić brought them to Mitrovica to meet with the King, Nikola Pašić, and the Serbian government. He joined the retreat through Albania to Corfu, where he followed the Serbian government into exile.
Later that year, he relocated to the front in Salonika with the rest of the army, and where his brother Vojin Čolak-Antić, now a Colonel, commanded the 3rd Serbian Cavalry Brigade. In Salonika, he took part in the controversial trial of Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijević, known as Apis, and other members of the Black Hand. During this time, Čolak-Antić was appointed Marshal of the Court. Of this period of intrigue, when politicians mistrusted military officers who, in turn, mistrusted the government, he famously declared: "Trust no one. Suspect everyone"[4] For the remainder of the war, while the government operated between Corfu, Salonika, and Nice and the army fought on the Salonika front, Serbia was divided and occupied, enduring harsh military governance by Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary. Čolak-Antić was sent on diplomatic missions around Europe.
After the war and Čolak-Antić returned to diplomatic duties and became the Ambassador of the newly formed Kingdom of Yugoslavia in Sweden, taking residence in Stockholm on 18 February 1918. Čolak-Antić's appointment aimed to fortify the Serbian diplomatic service as part of an agreement between Prime Minister Nikola Pašić and the opposition. This effort was in response to the weakened international position of Serbia following the Bolshevik Revolution and the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty. Čolak-Antić worked on enhancing trade with Sweden, monitor developments in Russia, and maintain relations with smaller countries to safeguard common interests against the great powers in the League of Nations. In December 1918, Romanian King Ferdinand decided to honour Regent Alexander of Serbia to foster closer ties and ease tensions in the Banat, occupied by Serbian troops. Čolak Antić was invited to a court reception in Bucharest where King Ferdinand expressed his wish for Alexander to marry one of his daughters. Queen Marie of Romania asked Čolak-Antić to convey the offer to Belgrade immediately.[5]
On 28 December 1918, a year after the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia, igniting the Russian Civil War, Čolak-Antić informed Crown Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević that the Bolsheviks likely took the Russian Empress and her daughters with them when they defected and that they might still be alive.[6] He further reported that Princess Jelena Petrovna doubted their deaths and mentioned reports from Arkhangelsk indicating that Grand Duchess Tatiana had written to Grand Duke Kirill, claiming the Russian emperor was alive, a belief held by many at the time. He also confirmed the death of Prince Ioann Konstantinovich Romanov, the Serbian king’s son-in-law.
On 21 September, Čolak-Antić asked Spalajković, the Serbian representative in Arkhangelsk, for information on Princess Jelena and her children, stating that the king was worried and wanted to make sure she was safe. Spalajković falsely informed him that Princess Jelena was in Yekaterinburg and her children were with their grandmother in Petrograd. In reality, she was held as a hostage in Perm. After the Norwegian envoy secured her release, she traveled from Moscow to Sweden. In December 1918, Boško Čolak-Antić hosted Princess Jelena at the Serbian embassy in Stockholm, where she received money from the king. She was accompanied by her mother-in-law, Grand Duchess Yelisaveta Mavrikievna, and her children. On 25 December, Čolak-Antić escorted Princess Jelena to Copenhagen where she departed for France. On 8 December 1920, following a reduction in expenditure budget, the Yugoslav Foreign Ministry closed all diplomatic representations in the Scandinavian countries, closing the Embassies for Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Čolak-Antić left the country that year.
On 3 March 1920 Čolak-Antić was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and subsequently Ambassador to Romania. According to historian Srđan Mićić, alongside Živojin Balugdžić and Miroslav Spalajković, he became one of the top diplomats under Regent then King Aleksandar I Karađorđević. Based in Bucharest, he represented Yugoslavia in the talks of the Little Entente with Czechoslovakia and Romania, aiming to build a common defence against Hungary. During his service in Bucharest, Čolak-Antić also played a significant role in formal receptions at the Romanian court. Alongside Dr. Momčilo Ninčić, Čolak-Antić arranged the marriage of Princess Maria of Romania to Alexander Karadjordjević which took place in Belgrade in 1922. On 7 July 1923 in Bucharest, after the two kingdoms agreed to conclude a defence convention, Čolak-Antić, as Plenipotentiary Delegate, signed the Convention on the Defence Alliance between the Kingdom of Romania and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The first article of the Convention stipulated that: "In the case of an unprovoked attack by Hungary on either High Contracting Party, the other Party shall come to aid the attacked Party in accordance with the Treaty provided for." His brother Vojin was the military attaché in Bucharest from July 1923 to January 1927, in charge of settling the issue of the tri-border area between the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Romania and Hungary. The collaboration between the two countries during the 1920s and the early 1930s peaked significantly, largely due to Čolak-Antić, who played a crucial role in fostering this productive political climate. During his time in Bucharest, Čolak-Antić kept a record of his experiences, which was later published in a book.[7]
At the beginning of July 1929, as the head of the Yugoslav delegation, Čolak-Antić was summoned back to Belgrade to receive new instructions from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vojislav Marinković.[8] When Romania began to draw closer to Bulgaria and improve its relations with Hungary, Čolak-Antić demanded a meeting of the Little Entente at which Romania had to explain its position.[9] He complained about the Romanian military authorities' "lack of frankness" and increasingly questioned the military value of the Little Entente and the Romanian-Yugoslav ties. On 12 July 1932 alongside his diplomatic position in Bucharest, he was appointed acting Minister of the Court of King Alexander, the highest court’s position, replacing Bogoljub Jevtić who became Foreign Minister. On 1 February 1932, Čolak-Antić attended the Little Entente’s conference which took place on the margins of the League of Nations’ Counsel’s session, at the invite of Foreign Minister Marinković.
In March 1935, Čolak-Antić returned to Yugoslavia after being appointed Marshal of the Royal Court of King Peter II. As the time his brother Major-General Vojin Čolak-Antić served as aide-de-camp to the king. In May 1935 Čolak-Antić retired from diplomatic service. In 1939, Romanian officials approached Boško Čolak-Antić to act as a mediator and help reorganise bilateral relations that had become strained following the Munich Agreement.
In November 1940 Romania signed the Tripartite Pact.[10] In April 1941, Germany invaded Yugoslavia without a declaration of war. The territory of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was divided between Germany, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria. Čolak-Antić was arrested and sent to internment camp in Germany alongside former Foreign Minister Aleksandar Cincar-Marković and general Petar Kosić.
A keen sportsman throughout his life, Čolak-Antić founded the Serbian Cycling Society in 1885, which became the main national governing body for cycle sport in Serbia. Additionally, he was an accomplished equestrian and a practitioner of martial arts.[11]
On 13 March 1905, Čolak-Antić took offense at an article by journalist Milan Pavlović, Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper Opozicija, which he felt insulted the memory of his late father, war hero Colonel Ilija Čolak-Antić. He demanded reparations and challenged Pavlović to a duel.[12] Although Čolak-Antić preferred to fight with sabres, objections from the other party led to the decision to use pistols.
The duel took place on 16 March at 4 PM on the clearing of Banovo Brdo, with the opponents standing 20 steps apart. Dr. Dr Roman Sondermajer was present along with witnesses. Both opponents arrived on time, refused to settle the dispute, fired their guns, and remarkably, both remained unharmed. The event was reported by Čolak-Antić’s brother-in-law, Vladislav F. Ribnikar:, a journalist and founder of the newspaper Politika: "Yesterday at exactly 4 o'clock in the afternoon, there was a duel between Mr. Boško Čolak-Antić, Marshal of the Court and Milan Pavlović, Editor-in-Chief of Opozicija." Government officials chose to remain silent on the issue, even though duels were prohibited by law. Opozicija, the fiercest critic of the government, ceased publication a month later.
In July 1915, during negotiations with Bulgaria about joining the war on the Allies' side, Čolak-Antić was described as possessing "a refined courtesy and a real impartiality which dictated all the actions of his important position during a very delicate situation."[13] French historian Marcel Dunan described him as "a perfect gentleman, an aristocrat, who could have passed as a member of the Court of Henry III."
In the Serbian TV series "Aleksandar of Yugoslavia", directed by Zdravko Šotra and based on the novel of the same name by Vuk Drašković.[14] Boško Čolak-Antić is portrayed by Serbian actor Marko Janjić.[15]