Geneva Declaration (1918)

Geneva Declaration
The declaration was negotiated in present-day Palais Wilson (then Hôtel National)
Created	9 November 1918
Location	Geneva, Switzerland
Signatories	Nikola Pašić for the Kingdom of Serbia; Milorad Drašković, Marko Trifković, and Vojislav Marinković for the Serbian parliamentary opposition; Anton Korošec, Gregor Žerjav, and Melko Čingrija for the National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs; Ante Trumbić, Jovan Banjanin, Gustav Gregorin [sl], Nikola Stojanović, and Dušan Vasiljević for the Yugoslav Committee
Purpose	Determination of the system of government in the process of creation of Yugoslavia

The Geneva Declaration, Geneva Agreement, or Geneva Pact^[a] was a statement of political agreement on the provisional political system in the future union of the South Slavs living in the territories of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire and Kingdom of Serbia. It was agreed by Serbian Prime Minister Nikola Pašić on behalf of Serbia, representatives of Serbian parliamentary opposition, representatives of the National Council of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs which recently seceded from Austria-Hungary, and representatives of the Yugoslav Committee. The talks held in Geneva, Switzerland on 6–9 November 1918 built upon and were intended to supersede the 1917 Corfu Declaration agreed by Pašić and Yugoslav Committee president Ante Trumbić. The basis for the talks was provided by the Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos on behalf of the Supreme War Council of the Triple Entente. The talks were necessary in the process of creation of Yugoslavia as a means to demonstrate to the Entente powers that various governments and interests groups could cooperate on the project to establish a viable state.

Trumbić and Anton Korošec leading delegations of the Yugoslav Committee and the National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs respectively generally conducted the negotiations from a common platform. The Serbian opposition sided with the Yugoslav Committee aiming to undermine Pašić's hold on power. Trumbić's proposal to establish a confederal system of government was adopted. It envisaged a common government having foreign affairs, defence, common finances, communications and transport, as well as several other departments. The proposal also specified retaining the Serbian government and the National Council as the executive in the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs to manage affairs relevant for the two states separately. Pašić also agreed to recognise the National Council as a legitimate government and to ask the Entente to do the same. Pašić accepted the Geneva Declaration only after President of France Raymond Poincaré personally intervened telling him to agree with the Yugoslav Committee.

The Serbian government first accepted the declaration, and only days later reversed the course when Pašić suggested in a message to his finance minister Stojan Protić that the Prince Regent Alexander might use his prerogative to reshuffle the government. The government rejected the Geneva Declaration and resigned—only to be replaced two days later by a coalition government led by Pašić and including the former opposition in its ranks. In the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, the leader of the largest political party, the Croat-Serb Coalition Svetozar Pribićević, rejected the Geneva Declaration as well. Faced with internal unrest caused by the Green Cadres, peasant revolts, and mutinies in the military, as well as the approaching Italian Army enforcing Italian territorial claims under the Treaty of London following the Armistice of Villa Giusti, the National Council dispatched a delegation to seek urgent unification from Prince Regent Alexander—leading to establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes on 1 December 1918.

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