Jevrem Grujić

Jevrem Grujić (Serbian Cyrillic: Јеврем Грујић; November 8, 1827 – September 15, 1895) was a Serbian lawyer, politician, and diplomat who played a key role in shaping 19th-century Serbian politics.^[1] Known as an ideologue of Serbian liberalism, he was instrumental in drafting laws, serving in various government cabinets, and advocating for constitutional governance and national independence. His commitment to liberal ideals often placed him at odds with the absolutist regime of Prince Mihailo Obrenović, leading to multiple imprisonments, though public support frequently secured his release.

Jevrem Grujić
Minister of Internal Affairs Principality of Serbia
In office 23 July 1859 – 4 August 1859
Monarch	Miloš Obrenović
Preceded by	Milivoje Jovanović
Succeeded by	Vladislav Vujović
Minister of Justice
In office 4 July 1859 – 4 August 1859
Monarch	Miloš Obrenović
Preceded by	Jovan Filipović
Succeeded by	Matija Simic
Minister of Justice
In office 1860–1861
Monarch	Mihailo Obrenović
Preceded by	Jevrem Grujić
Succeeded by	Djordje D. Cenić
Minister of Internal Affairs
In office 31 August 1875 – 8 October 1875
Monarch	Milan Obrenović
Preceded by	Danilo Stefanović
Succeeded by	Ljubomir Kaljević
Minister of Justice Principality of Serbia
In office 24 April 1876 – 13 October 1878
Monarch	Milan Obrenović
Preceded by	Stojan Marković
Succeeded by	Dimitrije Matić
Personal details
Born	(1827-11-08)8 November 1827 Darosava, Principality of Serbia
Died	September 15, 1895(1895-09-15) (aged 67) Belgrade, Kingdom of Serbia
Spouse	Jelena Grujić
Children	Slavko Grujić Mirka Grujić
Relatives	Mabel Grujić (daughter-in-law)
Alma mater	Licej Kneževine Srbije Sorbonne Law School University of Heideberg
Occupation	lawyer, politician, diplomat
Awards	Order of the White Eagle Order of the Cross of Takovo

Grujić’s career was marked by significant contributions to Serbian political and intellectual life. As a founding member of the Liberal Party and a minister in several governments, he championed modernisation, freedom of the press, and education. Grujić’s legacy endures through his writings, his political reforms, and his efforts to establish Serbia as an independent, progressive state.

Early life and education

Jevrem Grujić was born on 23 July 1826 in the village of Darosava near Arandjelovac.^[2] His father, a merchant and high-ranking state official, came from a lineage with roots in Montenegro, where his ancestors had settled in the 17th century.^[3] The family patriarch, Grujića Šestanović, played a notable role in both Serbian insurrections and served as a deputy in the assembly during Prince Miloš Obrenović’s first reign.^[4][3] Grujić completed his studies at the Gymnasium and, in 1846, enrolled at the Lyceum in Belgrade.^[5]

During his time at the Lyceum, Grujić co-founded the Society of Serbian Youth (Družina mladeži srpske) in 1847, inspired by the German Burschenschaften.^[a] The group published an almanac, Neven sloge, where Grujić contributed an article titled “Horizon of the State” (Obzor države). This piece became a seminal statement of Serbian liberalism for his generation.^[6]

Grujić’s article championed the role of the state in ensuring the happiness and wellbeing of its people. He criticised the church, praised education, and expressed faith in progress, while lamenting Serbia's lack of internal and external freedom as a vassal of the Ottoman Empire without constitutional rights.^[7] His vision for Serbia included liberation from foreign rule and improved relations with other Slavs, ending his text with the rallying cry: "Long live an independent, legal, and, in time, free state of Serbia".^[8][9]

In 1849, Grujić was awarded a government scholarship to study law at prestigious universities, including Heideberg and the Sorbonne.^[b] In Paris, he published Slaves du Sud, (Southern Slavs) a book critical of the Serbian government, which led to the cancellation of his scholarship. He completed his law studies in 1854 and returned to Belgrade. Known as one of the "Parisians", a group of young liberals influenced by French political thought, Grujić joined the civil service, steadily rising through its ranks.^[10]

By 1858, Grujić, along with other liberal intellectuals such as Ranko Alimpić, Jovan Ilić, established the "Liberal Club." The group advocated for national independence, freedom of the press, religion, and education, as well as the economic and political modernisation of Serbia.^[11][12]

Political career

Jevrem Grujić emerged as a significant figure in Serbian politics during the St Andrew's Day Assembly (Svetoandrejska skupština) of 1858, which led to the overthrow of Prince Alexander Karađorđević. This pivotal event marked his entry into politics, and he played a crucial role in drafting Serbia's first law on the Assembly.^[13] A founding member of the Liberal Party, Grujić served as its leader from 1868 to 1878. His political career included ministerial positions in several Serbian governments and diplomatic roles in Constantinople, London, and Paris.^[14] Despite his achievements, his outspoken liberalism subjected him to harassment and imprisonment.^[15]

During the controversial "demise of the High Court",^[c] Grujić was one of five High Court judges (alongside Jovan Filipović, Jovan Mičić, Marinko Radovanović, and Jovan Nikolić) sentenced to three years in prison and two years of deprivation of civil rights for acquitting individuals involved in the Majstorović conspiracy.^[16] Imprisoned in July 1864, he spent a year in Karanovac prison and was released in September 1865 following public pressure, with Prince Mihailo Obrenović issuing a pardon.^[17] In 1876, Grujić was appointed Minister of Justice in the Second Government of Stevča Mihailović.

His contributions to Serbia were recognised with several prestigious honours. In 1877, he received the Order of the Cross of Takovo 1st Class, and in 1892, during his tenure as Serbian ambassador in Paris, he was awarded the Order of the White Eagle 2nd Class.^[18] Jevrem Grujić died in Belgrade in 1895. His memoirs, chronicling his life and political career, were posthumously published in three volumes by the Royal Serbian Academy in 1922–23.^[19]

Family and legacy

Jevrem Grujić's house, a Serbian Historic-Cultural Monument, located at 17 Svetogorska in Belgrade

Jevrem Grujić and his wife Jelena had three children: a son, Slavko, and two daughters, Miroslava (Mirka) and Stana. Dr Slavko Grujić earned his doctorate at the Sorbonne in Paris and held prominent roles as Serbian Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs and diplomat, serving in Athens, Petrograd, Washington, and London, where he died.^[20] He married the American Mabel Dunlop Grujić, who significantly contributed to humanitarian efforts by raising funds and establishing aid initiatives for Serbian soldiers fighting on the Salonika front. Through the efforts of Slavko and Mabel Grujić, the Belgrade University Library “Svetozar Marković” was built, funded by a $100,000 donation from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.^[21]

Stana married Stevan Ćurčić and had two daughters, Jelena and Milica. Jelena later married diplomat Milan Milojević, with whom she had two daughters, Milica and Milena. Milica married Vukašin Šećerović and had two sons, Milan and Lazar, while Milena married Milivoje Naumović, son of Mihailo Naumović.

Jevrem Grujić’s legacy extends beyond his family to the cultural and historical significance of Jevrem Grujić's House. This neo-Renaissance single-storey villa, built in 1896, was recognised in 1961 as a cultural property and later designated as a cultural property of great importance to the Republic of Serbia in 1979.^[d]

Published works

• Slaves du Sud ou le peuple Serbe avec les Croates et les Bulgares (1853)
• Uspomene (Memories) (1864)
• Zapisi (Writings) 3 vols., (1922–1923)

Notes

1. “Družina mladeži srpske” was the only organisation of Serbian students within Serbia. Serbian students in the Habsburg monarchy founded organisations that cooperated among themselves, but their unification was prevented by the Revolution of 1848 and the conservative reaction that followed.
2. Jevrem Grujić belonged to that first generation of learned Serbs born in Serbia but sent abroad for education on state bursaries in order to train a ‘local’ bureaucratic and intellectual elite
3. The Prince and the Council had established a special court purely for trying judges of the High Court; that special court did not have to rely on producing evidence but was allowed to pronounce its judgment according to the free conviction of its judges. The whole procedure was so contrived that Jevrem Grujić refused to recognise the legality of the proceedings and stood mute.
4. Since the house had not been confiscated by the communist regime, its original legacy has been kept intact over the past two centuries.