Banat, Bačka and Baranja


Banat, Bačka and Baranja was a de facto province of the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes between November 1918 and 1922. It included the geographical regions of Banat, Bačka, and Baranja and its administrative center was Novi Sad.

Name

The official name of the province was Banat, Bačka and Baranja, but it was also unofficially known as Vojvodina.

History

Following the collapse of Austria-Hungary in October 1918, the regions of Banat, Bačka and Baranja came under control of the Serbian army, in November. They entered Novi Sad on 9 November and dismantled the Hungarian-supported Banat Republic on 15 November. The local ethnic Serb population from these regions had already formed its own administration under the supreme authority of Serb National Board in Novi Sad.
On November 25, 1918, the Great National Assembly of Serbs, Bunjevci and other Slavs from Banat, Bačka and Baranja, voted that these regions join to the Kingdom of Serbia. The assembly numbered 757 deputies, of whom 578 were Serbs, 84 Bunjevci, 62 Slovaks, 21 Rusyns, 6 Germans, 3 Šokci, 2 Croats, and 1 Hungarian.
The Great People's Assembly decided to join Banat, Bačka and Baranja to Serbia, and formed a new local administration in these regions known as the People's Administration for Banat, Bačka and Baranja. The president of the People's Administration was Jovan Lalošević. The People's Council was formed as the legislative body of the province.
On December 1, the Kingdom of Serbia together with the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs formed a new country named Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
Although the government in Belgrade accepted the decision that Banat, Bačka and Baranja had joined Serbia, it did not recognize the People's Administration. The People's Administration for Banat, Bačka and Baranja was active until March 11, 1919, when it held its last session.
Before the peace conference defined the exact borders of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the People's Administration for Banat, Bačka and Baranja also administered parts of Banat, Bačka and Baranja that today belong to Romania and Hungary.
After the Paris peace conference, the Banat, Bačka and Baranja province remained in place until the Vidovdan Constitution of 1921 which established the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes as a unitary state and replaced in 1922 the 8 Pokrajinas by 33 new administrative oblasts ruled from the center.

Population

The population of Banat, Bačka and Baranja was 1,365,596, including 29.1% Serbs, 27.71% Hungarians, 23.10% Germans, and others. Serbs and Croats together comprised 36.80% of population of the region.

Institutions

The legislative body of the province was known as the Great People's Council, while executive body was known as the People's Administration. The Great People's Council consisted of 50 members, which included 35 Serbs, 8 Bunjevci, 5 Slovaks, 1 Krashovan, and 1 Uniate priest.
The People's Administration included following sections: