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Moshe PyadeA leader of the Yugoslav partisan movement, major general, one of the closest associates of Josip Broz Tito.
Date of Birth: 04.01.1890
Country:  Serbia |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Political Involvement
- Revolutionary and Intellectual Activities
- Incarceration and Resistance
- Partisan Movement and Liberation
- Political Contributions and Legacy
Early Life and Education
Moše Pijade was born into a wealthy Sephardic Jewish family in Belgrade, Serbia. He attended primary school and studied fine arts in Belgrade, Munich, and Paris from 1905 to 1910. Pijade also had a passion for journalism and served as the secretary of the Journalists' Association from 1911 to 1912.
Political Involvement
In 1913 and 1915, Pijade taught drawing at a gymnasium in Ohrid, Macedonia. After World War I, he became involved in politics, publishing the daily newspaper "Slobodna Reč" (Free Speech) from March to December 1919. In 1920, he joined the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ).
Revolutionary and Intellectual Activities
Pijade's revolutionary tendencies led to his arrest in 1921. After being released, he continued his underground activities, organizing pro-communist trade unions and founding the Independent Labour Party (1923) as a legal cover for the KPJ. He also contributed to illegal publications and edited the party's organ, "Komunist." In 1924, Pijade was arrested again and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Incarceration and Resistance
During his imprisonment, Pijade established Marxist courses, party committees, and a party school. He translated Karl Marx's "Capital" and Charles Baudelaire's poems into Serbo-Croatian, and pursued his passion for painting.
Partisan Movement and Liberation
Released in 1939, Pijade resumed his artistic career. However, he was soon imprisoned again for his communist activities. With the outbreak of World War II, he organized the partisan movement in Montenegro. In December 1941, he joined the staff of the National Liberation Army of Yugoslavia, leading the economic department. He also played a key role in drafting legislation for territories controlled by the partisans.
Political Contributions and Legacy
In 1943, Pijade founded the Telegraph Agency of New Yugoslavia (TANJUG). After the liberation of Yugoslavia, he was elected to the National Assembly of Yugoslavia and the National Assembly of Serbia. As a theorist and publicist, he staunchly defended the KPJ and its leader, Josip Broz Tito, in the conflict with Stalin.
Pijade became a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the KPJ in 1948 and chaired the constitutional and legislative commissions of the National Assembly of Yugoslavia until 1953. He served as vice-chairman of the Federal Executive Council (government) from 1953 and as chairman of the parliament from 1954.
In 1955, Pijade abruptly retired from political life and moved to Paris. He died in 1957 and was buried in Belgrade.
