PASIC, NICHOLAS (1846?-1926), Serbian statesman, was the son of a merchant at Zajee'ar, close to the Bulgarian frontier. He studied engineering first at Belgrade and then, with the help of a State bursary, at the University of Zurich, where he and other young Serbs came under the influence of Bakunin.
Pagi.6 was one of a small group who surrounded Svetozar Markovi6, and on the latter's early death in 1875 became one of the chief exponents of his views, which were of capital importance for the political development of Serbia. He became a deputy in 1878, and was in 1881 one of the founders of the Radical party. A popular rising which broke out at ZajeCar in 1883 led to the arrest of most of the Radical leaders and fresh repressive meas ures. Pa'ie" fled across the Danube and was condemned to death in absentia, remaining in exile till after King Milan's abdication in 1889. On his return he became president of the Skupkina and on two occasions mayor of Belgrade. He was premier for the first time from Feb. 1891 to Aug. 1892, and as foreign minister accompanied the young King Alexander on his first visit to the Tsar. As a strong Russophile he was made Serbian minister in St. Petersburg, but resigned as a mark of protest against the illegal return of King Milan to Serbia in 1894. The Radicals were now in keen opposition, and when an attempt was made on the ex-king's life in 1899 the Government rid itself of their leaders by trumped-up charges of engineering the crime, and imposed savage sentences of forced labour. Pagi6, thanks to Russian remonstrances, received only five years and was then amnestied on condition of leaving the country. He returned only after Milan's final withdrawal. After the fall of the ObrenoviC dynasty in 1903 the Radical party became dominant, and Pagie was foreign minister in 1904 and premier in 1906 and again from 1908-10. He shared in Milovanovie's negotiations for a Balkan league and on Milovanovie's death in 1912 became the dominant figure in the Radical party, resuming the premiership on the very eve of war with Turkey. He remained in office throughout the two Balkan wars, and contributed materially towards the alliance with Greece and the rapprochement with Rumania. While his foreign policy was essentially Russophile, he, on two occasions, in 1912-13 made overtures to Vienna, which were rejected.
The murder of the Archduke at Sarajevo brought the already strained relations with Austria-Hungary to a head. But so ab sorbed was Pagi'e in internal politics that he was absent from Bel grade when the fateful ultimatum was presented, and even then was preparing to visit Venizelos at Salonica when an urgent mes sage recalled him. Party discord was silenced by the national danger, the elections were postponed and the already dissolved Parliament reassembled at Nil. In November, a coalition cabinet was formed, but Pagi6 remained premier, and when in 1917 the Opposition again seceded, he once more formed a purely Radical Government.
The revolution of March 1917 and the fall of Tsardom weak ened PagiCs position both at home and abroad, forcing him to recede from his strictly Pan-serb and Orthodox attitude, and to negotiate, upon equal terms, with the Yugoslav committee under Dr. Trumbi6, the so-called "declaration of Corfu" (July 1917), which laid down the broad lines of the future unified Yugoslav State. But his relations with the committee became increasingly strained, and he stubbornly denied to them any status in the allied camp and refused to admit them to a coalition cabinet. This attitude was the main reason why the Entente governments withheld from the Yugoslays that recognition which they accorded in Aug. 1918 to the much less favourably situated Czechoslovaks. The result was that Austria-Hungary collapsed before any agree ment had been reached among the Allies on the Yugoslav problem, and that Italy, abandoning the compromise reached at the Roman Congress of Oppressed Nationalities in the previous April, re asserted her full territorial claims under the secret Treaty of London. Despite this dangerous situation Pagi6 maintained his obstructive tactics not merely towards the Yugoslav committee but also towards the new provisional Government which had been formed in Zagreb and which had at once nominated Trumbie as its spokesman in Paris. Finally, a certain compromise was reached, and while Proti6 became the first premier of Yugoslavia, Pagie" was made first delegate to the Peace conference, with Trumbie and Vesnie'as his colleagues.
In Jan. 1921 Pagi6 again became premier, and thanks partly to his skilful bargaining with the minor groups and partly to the foolish abstention of the Croat Peasant party, he was able to manoeuvre the new centralist constitution through parliament (June 28, 1921), and to suppress the Communist Party. In the following winter he manoeuvred his Democratic allies out of the Government and formed a purely Radical cabinet. At the elections of March 1923 he failed to secure a majority, but was again saved by the blunders of the Opposition. Though from July to Oct. 1924 he had to give place to a coalition cabinet under Davidovie, he returned to power stronger than ever.
In Feb. 1925 he again dissolved parliament, threw Radio and his colleagues into prison, and by the adoption of extremely drastic electoral measures secured a small working majority. Radio here upon made his famous recantation (see RADIO, ST JEPAN ) and entered the cabinet in October. The two strongest parties in Yugoslavia were now temporarily united ; but the situation became increasingly difficult. On April 4, 1926 Pagie", whose health was failing, handed the premiership over to Ouzounovi6. He died on Dec. 1o, 1926.