# Cabinet of Matija Nenadović

The cabinet of Matija Nenadović was formed on 27 August 1805. It was the first government of Serbia. It held office until April 1807, when it was replaced by the cabinet of Mladen Milovanović.

## Timeline

Following the slaughter of the Knezes in 1804, a group of leading Serbs decided to begin an uprising against dahijas; they soon after elected Đorđe Petrović, a merchant better known as Karađorđe, as their leader.$^{:200}$ His forces assumed control of Požarevac, Šabac, Smederevo, and Belgrade, after which they held Austrian-mediated negotiations with the Ottomans in order to secure autonomy for the Serbs.$^{:xviii–xix}$ The negotiations broke down in 1805, after which the Battle of Ivankovac occurred, in which the Serb forces were defeated.$^{:200}$$^{:xix}$ Dukes Jakov Nenadović, Matija Nenadović, Milan Obrenović, and Sima Marković, with the assistance of Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, the minister of foreign affairs of the Russian Empire, proposed the creation of a government in order to limit Karađorđe's powers. Karađorđe accepted the formation of the government on conditions that the government would help him with military and foreign policy.
This led to the formation of the first government of Serbia, known as the Serbian Governing Council (Serbian Cyrillic: Правитељствујушчи совјет сербски, romanized: Praviteljstvujušči sovjet serbski; lit. 'Serbian Soviet'). With the Assembly of Uprising Champions, it represented the authority in Revolutionary Serbia. The government organized and supervised the administration, economy, judiciary, foreign policy, order, and the supply of arms for Serb forces. The founding assembly of the Governing Council was held on 14 August 1805 in Marković's house near Barajevo. Together with his cabinet, Matija Nenadović was appointed president of the Governing Council on 27 August 1805.$^{:7}$
The government's headquarters were initially at Voljavča and then at Bogovađa, although it was later moved to Smederevo.

## Composition

The cabinet was composed of 12 representatives from 12 nahiyahs from among whom the president was elected every month. Considering that the representatives of the Governing Council changed frequently, it is hard to determine all of its representatives and when they served as representatives.
According to historian Radoš Ljušić, the first composition included Mladen Milovanović, Avram Lukić, Jovan Protić, Pavle Popović, Velisav Stanojlović, Janko Đurđević, Đurica Stočić, Milisav Ilijić, Ilija Marković, Vasilije Radojičić, Milutin Vasić, and Jevta Savić Čotrić. In late 1805, the cabinet only included Jakov Nenadović, Janko Katić, Milenko Stojković, Luka Lazarević, and Milan Obrenović, with Nenadović as president. According to Vuk Karadžić, the following representatives were:
| Office | Name | Ref(s) |
| President of the Governing Council | Matija Nenadović | $^{:7}$ |
| Kragujevac nahiyah representative | Mladen Milovanović | $^{:7}$ |
| Požega and Rudnik nahiyah representative | Avram Lukić | $^{:7}$ |
| Požarevac nahiyah representative | Jovan Protić | $^{:7}$ |
| Belgrade and Grocka nahiyah representative | Pavle Popović | $^{:7}$ |
| Jagodina nahiyah representative | Velisav Stanojlović | $^{:7}$ |
| Smederevo nahiyah representative | Janko Đurđević | $^{:7}$ |
| Ćuprija nahiyah representative | Milija Zdravković | $^{:7}$ |
| Valjevo nahiyah representative | Milisav Ilijić | $^{:7}$ |
| Užice nahiyah representative | Vasilije Radojičić | $^{:7}$ |
| Soko nahiyah representative | Milutin Vasić | $^{:7}$ |
| Zvornik nahiyah representative | Jevta Savić Čotrić | $^{:7}$ |

## Aftermath

Nenadović stepped down as president of the Governing Council in April 1807. He was succeeded by Mladen Milovanović, who headed the government until 1810.