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Milan Gulić, PhD
Institute for Contemporary History, Belgrade, Republic of Serbia

 

ESTABLISHMENT AND WORK OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE SERBIAN AUTONOMOUS REGION OF KRAJINA (APRIL 30–DECEMBER 19, 1991)

Vol. XLIV, 2/2026, pp. 543–562
https://doi.org/10.29362/ist20veka.2026.2.gul.543-562

 

ABSTRACT/RESUME:
In the period of the collapse of socialist Yugoslavia, one of the open questions was the position of Serbs in Croatia. They felt threatened by the change of republican authorities, and in the process of Croatian secession from Yugoslavia, they believed that they had the right to decide their own future. In those events, they started autonomously organizing. The germ of Serbian autonomy in Croatia was represented by the Union of Municipalities of Northern Dalmatia and Lika, from which the Serbian Autonomous Region of Krajina was born on December 21, 1990. Only during the first two months of its existence was it considered autonomous within Croatia as a Yugoslav republic. When Croatia initiated the procedure for separation from the Yugoslav state framework, Krajina also declared its separation from Croatia. In order to strengthen its position, it built institutions, so on April 30, 1991, the Assembly of the Serbian Autonomous Region was formed. Each municipality that was part of Krajina provided seven deputies for its assembly. At the constitutive session, nine municipalities were represented, and at the last one, 17. Assembly of the Serbian Autonomous Region of Krajina held a total of eight sessions, seven of which were in Knin, and one in Bosansko Grahovo. During that time, the number of deputies increased from 61 to 119. The first president was Velibor Matijašević, and the second was Mile Paspalj. It operated under its original name until December 19, 1991, when it became the Assembly of the Republic of Serbian Krajina.

 

KEYWORDS: Serbian Autonomous Region of Krajina, Assembly of the Serbian Autonomous Region of Krajina, Republic of Serbian Krajina, Republic of Croatia, Milan Babić

 

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