Kosta Protić

Kosta Protić (Serbian Cyrillic: Коста Протић; 29 September 1831 – 4 June 1892) was a Serbian general^[1] who served as Prime Minister of Serbia and the Chief of the Serbian General Staff.

General Kosta S. Protić
7th Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Serbia
In office 19 January 1889 – 7 March 1889
Monarch	Milan I
Preceded by	Nikola Hristić
Succeeded by	Sava Grujić
7th Minister of Army the Principality of Serbia
In office 22 October 1873 – 19 August 1875
Monarch	Milan I
Prime Minister	Jovan Ristić Jovan Marinović Aćim Čumić Danilo Stefanović
Preceded by	Milojko Lešjanin
Succeeded by	Tihomilj Nikolić
Minister of Construction of the Principality of Serbia
In office 21 September 1883 – 7 February 1884
Monarch	Milan I
Prime Minister	Nikola Hristić
In office 2 May 1885 – 23 March 1886
Monarch	Milan I
Prime Minister	Milutin Garašanin
8th Minister of Army of the Kingdom of Serbia
In office 14 April 1888 – 22 February 1889
Monarch	Milan I
Prime Minister	Sava Grujić Nikola Hristić Himself
Preceded by	Sava Grujić
Succeeded by	Dimitrije Đurić
3rd Chief of the General Staff of the Principality of Serbia
In office 1878 – 1879 Acting
Monarch	Milan I
Preceded by	Jovan Dragašević (acting)
Succeeded by	Milojko Lešjanin
Head of the Regency Council of Serbia
In office 6 March 1882 – 4 June 1892 Serving with Jovan Ristić Jovan Belimarković
Preceded by	Milan I (as king)
Succeeded by	Alexander I (as king)
Personal details
Born	29 September 1831 Požarevac, Principality of Serbia
Died	4 June 1892(1892-06-04) (aged 60) Brestovačka Banja, Kingdom of Serbia
Political party	Independent
Occupation	Military

Biography

During the Herzegovinian Uprising in 1875, Kosta Protić was sent by the Serbian government to Russia to investigate the possibilities for a war loan. Ivan Aksakov received Protić, instructed him and gave him letters of recommendation to the right persons in Saint Petersburg; moreover, since Aksakov's wife was a former lady-in-waiting with connections at the court, she introduced Protić to the empress Maria Alexandrovna and to the heir, the future Alexander III of Russia. The two were in favor of helping the Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina rid themselves of the Turks, more so than their government. Through their intercession public subscription for a loan was authorized by the tsar.

Protić served as a military officer during the Serbian-Ottoman War (1876-1877) and the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78). He served as the Chief of the Serbian General Staff during the Russo-Turkish War. He later briefly served as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Serbia during 1889. Upon the abdication of King Milan, Protić was appointed to a Regency council with Jovan Ristić and Jovan Belimarković for the underage Alexander I, on which he served until his death.^[2]

Honors

Domestic

• Order of the White Eagle
• Order of the Cross of Takovo with swords, First and Second class
• Order of the Cross of Takovo, Third class
• Medal for Zealous Service, Gold with diamonds
• Commemorative Medal for the War of 1876–1878
• Commemorative Medal for the Serbian-Bulgarian War of 1885

Foreign

• Order of St. Stanislaus, First class (Russia)
• Order of St. Anna, Second class (Russia)
• Order of the Crown of Romania, with a star (Romania)
• Order of the Star of Romania (Romania)
• Military Virtue Medal (Romania)
• Order of the Iron Crown, Third class (Austria-Hungary)

See also

• List of prime ministers of Serbia