Kosta Taušanović was a Serbian

Serbs

The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...

 politician, minister and banker. He studied agriculture in Tábor

Tábor

Tábor is a city of the Czech Republic, in the South Bohemian Region. It is named after Mount Tabor, which is believed by many to be the place of the Transfiguration of Christ; however, the name became popular and nowadays translates to "camp" or "encampment" in the Czech language.The town was...

 (then in Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

, today in the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

) and commerce in Hohenheim

Hohenheim

Stuttgart-Hohenheim is a quarter of Plieningen, one of the 18 outer districts of Stuttgart, the state capital of Baden-Württemberg, Germany...

 (Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

). Taušanović was a prominent member of the People's Radical Party

People's Radical Party

The People's Radical Party of Serbia was a political party formed on January 8, 1881, which was active in the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes...

, among its founding members and one of the closest collaborators of its leader Nikola Pašić

Nikola Pašic

Nikola P. Pašić was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and diplomat, the most important Serbian political figure for almost 40 years, leader of the People's Radical Party who, among other posts, was twice a mayor of Belgrade...

. A Russophile, and an opponent of the Obrenović dynasty

House of Obrenovic

The House of Obrenović was a Serbian dynasty that ruled Serbia from 1815 to 1842, and again from 1858 to 1903. They came to power through the leadership of their progenitor Miloš Obrenović in the Second Serbian uprising against the Ottoman Empire, which led to the formation of the Principality of...

, Taušanović was persecuted by the Royal government on several occasions. After the Timok Rebellion (1883) he was, along with many other Radical leaders, sentenced to eight years in prison, but was pardoned in early 1886. He was a negotiator of the Liberal-Radical Coalition of 1886. He was again in trouble with the authorities due to his Radical affiliation after the assassination attempt against ex-King Milan Obrenović

Milan Obrenovic

Milan Obrenović may refer to:* Milan Obrenović II, Prince of Serbia * Milan Obrenović IV...

 (1889), as well as during the so-called Čebinac affair (1894).

Career

A Radical deputy in the Serbian Parliament (1880-1883), serving as a chairman of the Great Constitutional Assembly, he was one of the key figures in the process of the adoption of the highly liberal 1888 constitution of Serbia

Kingdom of Serbia

The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...

. Besides being a deputy in the Serbian parliament, Taušanović was, after the abdication of King Milan Obrenović

Milan Obrenovic

Milan Obrenović may refer to:* Milan Obrenović II, Prince of Serbia * Milan Obrenović IV...

, a Minister in several governments (Minister of Interior 1889-1891 in Grujić’s cabinet, Minister of Economy 1891-1892 in Pašić’s Cabinet), and founder of the first insurance company in Serbia, as well as the Serbian Lottery (Srpska Lutrija) and the Serbian Shipping Company (Srpsko Brodarsko Drustvo). In 1895 he was instrumental in founding the Serbian Bank (Srpska banka) in Zagreb

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

, Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

. As Minister of Interior he was criticized for not acting strongly against attacks by a mob on the members of the Progressive party

Serbian Progressive Party (historical)

The Serbian Progressive Party was a liberal political party in Serbia that existed from 1881 to 1919.-Origins:The origin of the Progressive Party can be traced back to a political grouping known as "Young Conservatives" that had existed from 1871...

 in the streets of Serbian cities in May 1889. He was elected president of the Serbian Society of Journalists in 1899. Jointly with another prominent Radical leader, Jovan Đaja, Kosta Taušanović launched the Narod (The People) daily. In the mid-1890s, he distanced himself from Pašić

Pašic

Pašić is the family name of:*Ilijas Pašić , retired yugoslav footballplayer and -coach*Nikola Pašić , Serbian and yugoslav politician and diplomat*Predrag Pašić , retired yugoslav footballplayer...

 and formed a separate faction within the National Radical Party. In 1899, sentenced for alleged participation in the assassination attempt against ex-king Milan, Taušanović was sentenced to nine years in prison only to be pardoned again in 1900. He left prison in bad health.

Taušanović was considered one of the most entrepreneurial Serbian politicians, an expert for both the banking and insurance system. He was highly successful in business, serving as chairman of Beogradska zadruga, Trgovačka zadruga and Izvozna Banka. In Beogradska zadruga (Belgrade Co-op) he founded the first Serbian insurance society; in Trgovačka zadruga (Merchant Co-op), he redirected their business into export of livestock; at Izvozna banka (Export Bank) he contributed greatly to the company's establishment as a serious enterprise. Only in Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

-held Macedonia

Macedonia (region)

Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...

 did Taušanović's attempt to establish financial institutions not provide expected results.

His friends and admirers erected a monument of him at the entrance of the Kalemegdan

Kalemegdan

Belgrade Fortress , represent old citadel and Kalemegdan Park on the confluence of the River Sava and Danube, in an urban area of modern Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Stari Grad...

 Park (formerly the city fortress) in downtown Belgrade

Belgrade

Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...

.