“Faithful to the tradition of Serbian people and My ancestors, I shall govern myself by the traditional aspirations of Serbian people in foreign affairs, and at the same time maintain friendly relationships demanded by the European community, especially with neighboring nations.”

On 12 June 1903, according to the Julian calendar valid at the time, Peter Karadjordjevic took oath on the new Serbian Constitution in the Parliament, and thus became the King of Serbia.

At the beginning of XX century, Serbia was weakened by internal political crises and pressures from abroad. Frequent conflicts of political interest and different ideologies stood in the way of the rising already strong middle classes. The twisting of laws and constitutions, dismissals of the Parliament, lack of strategic allies and clear attitude in foreign policy, created enormous discontent among all social strata of the Serbian society, which culminated in the May Coup d'état.

With the accession of King Peter I to the throne, a new era of democracy and liberal governing of the country began in Serbia. The man of great experience, educated in Europe, enlightened monarch, King Peter I introduced European political institutions and values into Serbia, and established inner stability in the country. He supported democracy, parliamentarism, freedom of the press, political work, gathering and speech, and individual civil rights. He believed that only freedom could bring the progress to the nation, development of science, culture, education and economy.

Upon taking his oath in the presence of the members of the Parliament, Senators and members of the Government, King Peter I stated: “I want to be the true Constitutional King of Serbia. The Constitution and all of its guarantees are sacred to me, and I shall always respect and protect them to the best of my abilities”. On that occasion he appealed for political and dynastic reconciliation, saying: “I forgive everything, I leave everything to history”.

King Peter I was the most enlightened Serbian ruler of modern era. He read the works of leading French and English philosophers and sociologists of the period, and he himself translated into Serbian the essay “On Liberty” by the great English political thinker John Stuart Mill. Although he was a true Christian, he had full religious tolerance for everyone. King Peter I tried to establish harmony between the spirit of European modernism and the traditional values of Serbian patriarchal society, to reconcile old and with new, urban and rural, trade and industry. He believed that countryside farms were the backbone of the society and worked hard to protect them from impoverishment. He fought against corruption, bureaucracy and partisanship, and in foreign policy he supported the change in relationship with the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

During the reign of King Peter I the program of liberation and unification of the Serbian people from Macedonia, Kosovo and Metohija and Raska region was fulfilled. The King Liberator remained in the people’s memory as the unrivalled most popular ruler of Serbia, he was given a name of endearment “Uncle Pete”. His deeds and his character were described in many anecdotes and popular songs, throughout generations, to the present day. That, in the most wonderful way, is the confirmation of the words of King Peter I: “Without the love of the people, frail are the thrones of this world”.