Montenegro was united with Serbia for 14 years. |
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Here you see a picture of Montenegro’s King Nicholas I, who ruled the country from 1910 to 1918. He was also a poet who wrote his country’s national anthem. In 1919, Montenegro became part of a larger country, which was later named Yugoslavia. Have you ever heard of Yugoslavia? This country no longer exists – it split apart in the 1990s, during a series of civil wars. Montenegro was part of Yugoslavia until 1992. Then it split from Yugoslavia and united with Serbia, forming a country called “Serbia and Montenegro.” Together, Serbia and Montenegro made up an area that is a little bigger than the state of Kentucky, with about 10.5 million people. In 2006, the citizens of Montenegro got to vote on whether or not to stay united with Serbia. This special election was called a referendum. The referendum passed by only about 2,300 votes. Independence was strongly opposed by ethnic Serbs, who make up about a third of the population, and there were fears that protests and unrest would occur. But the new country remained mostly peaceful. On June 3, 2006, the government of Montenegro declared its independence. Later that month, it became the newest member of the United Nations. The other picture here shows a newspaper the day after the elections. What do you think the headlines might say? If you lived in Montenegro, do you think you would have voted for or against independence? |
| THOUGHT QUESTIONS:
Would you like to visit Montenegro, or even live there? Why or why not? Do you think we will ever have a poet for a president? |
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Check out the BBC’s “Country Profile” of Montenegro. |