European Kingdoms

Principality of Monte Negro
AD 1697 - 1918

In 1875 an anti-Ottoman rebellion started in Bosnia and quickly spread to Bulgaria. The Ottoman Turks brutally suppressed the rebellions and in the process aroused strong European opinion. After a spell of dithering, Russia declared war on Turkey. At the end of a victorious campaign, the Treaty of San Stephano ended the war and freed large swathes of the Balkans. This threatened to upset the European balance of power, so the Congress of Berlin redressed the balance a little. Serbia, Rumania, and Monte Negro all became independent, with increased territory, but Bulgaria was divided, with the major portion (the northern segment) being allowed autonomy. Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Novipazar were made protectorates of Austria.

The name Monte Negro originates from an Italian version of its Serbo-Croat original, and means 'Black Mountain'. The region possessed one of the earliest traditions of local autonomy under Ottoman rule.

1697 - 1737

Prince-Bishop (Vladika). Petrović Njegoš.

1737 - 1782

Nephew. Prince-Bishop. Died 1782.

1744 - 1766

Nephew. Coadjutor.

1766 - 1774

Coadjutor.

1774 - 1782

Nephew of Vasili. Coadjutor.

1782 - 1830

Brother. Prince-Bishop.

1830 - 1851

Nephew. Son of Sava. Prince-Bishop.

1851 - 1860

Prince-Bishop (1851-1852). Prince (1852-1860).

1851 - 1854

Regent.

1860 - 1918

Prince (1860-1910). King (1910-1918).

1918

On 28 November 1918 Monte Negro is forcibly united to the kingdom of Serbia. King Nicholas is thrown out, ending both Monte Negro's absolute monarchy and its independence. Three days later, on 1 December 1918, it is incorporated into the 'Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes'.

1918 - 1921

Deposed king and claimant to the title.

1921

Son. Crown Prince of Montenegro. Abdicated after 1 week.

1921 - 1986

Grandson of Nicholas. Son of Mirko. Prince of Montenegro.

1963 - 1990

The Socialist Republic of Croatia is established as part of communist-governed Yugoslavia. A growing movement for independence results in the Croatian Spring of 1971, which is suppressed by the authorities. The 1974 Yugoslav constitution does provide its federal divisions with more autonomy. In the 1980s the situation becomes more unstable, with nationalist sentiment being fanned by the Serbian SANU Memorandum in 1986 and then the 1989 coups in Kosovo, Montenegro, and Vojvodina.

1986 - 2006

Son. Prince of Montenegro. Retained title in Montenegro.

2006

Serbian-dominated Yugoslavia loses Montenegro (which is how the name is usually shown in modern texts), following a vote in the latter for full independence, and thereby completing the break-up of the Yugoslav state.

Modern Montenegro (Crna Gora)
AD 2006 - Present Day
Incorporating Heads of State (2006-2022)

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Following a century of dominance by the kingdom of Serbia and then its successor, Yugoslavia, the former principality of Montenegro emerged as a sovereign state after just over fifty-five per cent of the population opted for independence in a May 2006 referendum. Situated at the southern end of the Dinaric Alps, this western-central Balkans state is neighboured to the north by Bosnia and Herzegovina, to the east by Serbia and the republic of Kosovo, and to the south by Albania, while Italy lies across the Adriatic Sea.

Its people swing back and forth between recognising their ethic origins as 'Mountain Serbs' who had successfully resisted conquest by the Ottoman empire and concentrating more on their modern Montenegrin identity. The country also contains sizable minority populations of Bosniaks (Muslims) and Albanians.

The final split from Belgrade in 2006 completed the break-up of the former federal Yugoslav state. Technically, the state had been terminated three years before, in 2003, when the federated 'Union of Serbia and Montenegro' had replaced it as a reluctant acceptance that Serbia had certainly lost its former dominance over the other constituent parts of the kingdom. The EU-brokered deal that formed the union was intended to stabilise the region by settling Montenegrin demands for independence from Serbia while also attempting to prevent further changes to Balkan borders. The same deal also contained the seeds of the union's dissolution. It stipulated that after three years the two republics could hold referenda on whether to keep or scrap the union. Montenegro opted for the latter.

Montenegro (or Monte Negro until the later twentieth century) is the Italian name for 'black mountain'. Its native name of Crna Gora means precisely the same thing. About half of the country is covered in thick forest while the rest of it encompasses an Adriatic coastline which it has not always possessed, lowlands, and high mountain ranges. The River Tara canyon is the deepest and longest in Europe, while the capital is Podgorica, formerly Titograd between 1946-1992, in the south of the country. The city gained its name in 1326, having previously been known as Ribnica while it fulfilled the role of a feudal state capital. Its origins lie in Birziminium, a Roman trading post which had probably begun as an Illyrian tribal centre.

Modern claimants to the lost throne of Montenegro are shown below with a shaded background as heads of the House of Petrović-Njegoš. Since 2011 the acceptance of a supporting role by the titular prince for the republic has largely negated any claim, but the succession is included for reasons of completeness.

Please note that the History Files does not normally monitor changes in modern elected heads of state or their representatives. Get in touch here if this section requires updating.

(Information by Peter Kessler and the John De Cleene Archive, with additional information from The Establishment of the Balkan National States, 1804-1920, Charles Jelavich & Barbara Jelavich (A History of East Central Europe, University of Washington Press, 1986), from Kingdoms of Europe, Gene Gurney (Crown Publishers, 1982), from Hammond Historical Atlas (Maplewood, New Jersey, 1963), from National Geographic (February 2000 & June 2005), from Washington Post (Call for Recount in Montenegro, 23 May 2006 & Montenegro Declares Its Independence from Serbia, 4 June 2006), and from External Links: Government of Montenegro, and BBC Country Profiles, and Encyclopaedia Britannica, and Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB), and Montenegro (Rulers.org), and Montenegro (Zárate's Political Collections (ZPC)), and Montenegro's governing coalition collapses (The Guardian), and Montenegro's new president (AP News).)

2006 - Present

Prince of Monte Negro (from 1986). House of Petrović-Njegoš.

2006 - 2018

Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro (DPS).

2006

In the lead-up to the vote on independence, there had been fears of unrest in areas of Montenegro in which ethnic Serbs, who make up roughly a third of the country's population, had formed a majority opposition to separation from Serb-dominated Yugoslavia. Most ethnic Montenegrins and ethnic Albanians living in Montenegro had supported the move towards independence and, in the event, no such unrest takes place.

Unlike much of the separation of the Balkan states from Serbia, Montenegro's course towards independence was free of violence

2011

On 12 July the Montenegrin parliament passes the 'Law on the Status of the Descendants of the Petrović Njegoš Dynasty'. It serves to rehabilitate the former royal house of Monte Negro and, in effect, enables a limited parliamentary monarchy to exist which could succeed the former absolute monarchy that had existed until 1918.

In its own words, the law 'governs the important issues regarding the status of the descendants of the Petrović Njegoš dynasty [for the historical and moral rehabilitation of the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty], whose dethroning was contrary to the Constitution of the Principality of Montenegro, a violent act of annexation in the year 1918'.

In practical terms the law provides a pension for the representative of the royal dynasty (ie. its current claimant to the title), which shall be taken from the monthly income of the new republic's presidential office, along with supplying official representation and official residences.

The royal house is essentially being invited to participate in representing the country without infringing upon the running of the republic or raising any claim to assume the power of the president or any office.

The coastal town of Kotor is encircled by a extensive walled fortification system which has had to contend with Ottoman sieges, Venetian and Habsburg rule, Russian occupation, and even a British attack

2016

In October the government accuses Russian-backed forces of attempting to launch a coup on the eve of parliamentary elections. A total of fourteen people are later indicted, including two Russian citizens.

2018 - 2023

President. DPS.

2022

Montenegro's conservative pro-Serbian governing coalition collapses on Friday 4 February 2022 amid internal disputes, after parliament had backed a no-confidence motion which had been tabled by a junior coalition partner.

Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić, a university professor who is close to the Serbian Orthodox Church, has headed an ideologically mixed coalition which has included pro-Serbian groups, as well as smaller parties which are unhappy with the pace of reforms which are needed for the small country's bid to join the European Union.

2023 - On

President. Europe Now!

2023

Newly-elected president Jakov Milatović assumes office after winning on 3 April 2023 on a platform of anti-corruption and pro-EU support. Pro-western groups in Montenegro and in Serbia continue to accuse him of being a puppet of the pro-Russian leadership in Belgrade.

Monenegro's Present Jakov Milatović promised to speed up the country's bid for membership of the European Union

Son of Nicholas II & heir apparent. Born 1980.