Ljuba Čupa should not be confused with Ljubomir Jovanović.
| Ljuba Čupa | |
| Birth Name: | Ljubomir S. Jovanović |
| Nickname: | Čupa |
| Birth Date: | 1877 |
| Birth Place: | Brezova |
| Death Date: | 25 June 1913 (aged 36) |
| Death Place: | Skopje |
| Placeofburial: | Skopje |
Ljubomir S. Jovanović (Serbian: Љубомир С. Јовановић, 1877–25 June 1913), known as Ljuba Čupa (Љуба Чупа), was a Serbian guerilla fighter, member of the Black Hand, soldier in the Balkan Wars, and journalist.[1] He advocated for a united state of South Slavs under the leadership of Serbia.[2]
He was born in Brezova, Principality of Serbia.[3] He attended primary school in his hometown and high school in Belgrade.[4] He was enrolled in law school but his studies were disrupted by his political interest.[4] A Serbian nationalist,[5] he participated in the March Demonstrations (1903) in Belgrade against King Aleksandar Obrenović, and was accused of being the leader of Greater Serbia-demonstrations and an associate of the rivaling officers; he was forced to flee by boat to Zemun, at the time part of the Austro-Hungary.[4] He moved to Vienna, and then returned to Serbia following the May Coup.[4]
As many nationalistic youths he was inspired by the Serbian Chetnik Organization.[4] In February 1905 he joined the unit of Aksentije Bacetović-Baceta and operated in the Kozjak area, participating in several operations.[4] After the death of Baceta in 1905, he returned to Belgrade where he finished his law studies.[4] At this time he began working in journalism. He spent some time in Brussels. As a student, he was a founder and editor of the Slovenski jug magazine, and when he was unable to pay the rent for his apartment he slept in the office.[4] In 1911, Ljuba Jovanović with two colleagues, Branko Božović and Bogdan Radenković, started a daily called Pijemont that had among its contributors well-known critics, poets, and writers, including Jovan Skerlić Milutin Bojić, Milan Rakić, Jovan Dučić, and others. Apart from tirelessly campaigning for pan-Serb unification, Pijemont offered a variety of political ideas, targeting corruption and discord in Serbia.
Ljuba was one of initiators of the establishment of the Black Hand (1911), and one of the founding members.[4] Together with Bogdan Radenković and Vojislav Tankosić he wrote the constitution of the organization.[4] The constitution was modeled after similar German secret nationalist associations and the Italian Carbonari.[4] He founded the Pijemont magazine in August 1911.[6]
He was mobilized in the First Balkan War and fought as a reserve officer.[4] He participated in the Second Balkan War against Bulgaria in the summer of 1913 and was wounded in the knee in fighting around Veles.[4] He was transported for treatment in Skopje, but the hospital was infected with cholera, from which he died on 25 June 1913.[4] He was buried in Skopje, but the location of his remains is unknown.[4]