Academician Mihailo Vojvodić passed away

It is with great regret that the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts announces the passing of Academician Mihailo Vojvodić who passed away at the age of 87 on 22 March 2025. Born in Cetinje on 27 October 1938, he was one of our most prominent historians.

Vojvodić graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy (Department of History) in Belgrade in 1960. In 1964, he earned his master’s degree from the same faculty and defended his doctoral dissertation, The Skadar Crisis of 1913, in 1966. During the 1964/65 academic year, he pursued advanced studies in France.

Career-wise, he was appointed a teaching assistant at the Department of General History of the New Century Era at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Belgrade in 1961. He was elected to all positions on his alma mater having been elected a full professor in 1980. He went on to serve as head of the Department of General History of the New Century Era, chair of the Department of History (1988–1990), and dean of the Faculty (1988–2000).

He was also a research assistant of the Yugoslav National Committee for Historical Sciences and president of managing i.e. scientific councils at the University of Belgrade, the Historical Museum of Serbia and the Historical Institute of Montenegro.

His scholarly work focused on the general and national history of the new century era, with a particular emphasis on the development of the Eastern question, Serbia’s international relations and the role of politics of great powers in the Balkans In addition to his doctoral research, he contributed extensively to studies on the Balkan Wars. Through the research of national history topics, he put them into the context of international relations and historical processes in Southeast Europe.

His extensive bibliography includes monographs such as Serbia in International Relations in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries (1988), Serbian Diplomacy Paths: Experiments in Foreign Policy of Serbia in the 19th and 20th Centuries (1999), The Challenges of Serbian Foreign Policy (1791–1918) (2007), The Years of Uncertainty: Serbia in International Policy between 1903 and 1908 (2021), and The Balkan Aftermath: Serbia and the Struggle Against Foreign Influence (Annexation Crisis to the Great War) (2024).

He honoured Stojan Novaković by authoring papers such as Stojan Novaković and Vladimir Karić (2003), St. Petersburg Years of Stojan Novaković (1900–1905) (2009), Stojan Novaković (2012), and On His Own Course: Stojan Novaković in Serbian Politics and Public Life (1905–1915) (2015). He compiled 11 volumes of Serbian diplomacy records from an extensive document collection documenting Serbia’s foreign policy between 1903 and 1914.

As a corresponding member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, he was elected in 2009, while in 2015 he was elected its full member. Within the Academy, he served as the secretary of the Department of Historical Sciences (2016-2024), and he was also a member of the Board for the Study of the Establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes 1914-1918, Board for the History of XIX Century; Board for the History of XX Century; Board for the History of Serbian-Russian Relations and Vardar Board. Additionally, he was a member of the Managing Board of the SASA Fund and president of the Managing Board of the Institute for Balkan Studies of SASA.

His contributions were recognized with numerous accolades, including the Vuk’s Endowment Award for Science (2012), the Vladimir Ćorović Award (2012), and the University of East Sarajevo Charter.

A historian of exceptional research qualities M. Vojvodić engaged in numerous pivotal topics related to general and national history. Through his scholarly and pedagogical work, he left an indelible mark on the development of our historical science.

His passing is an immense loss to the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, as well as to Serbian society, science, and culture.