Paul
Paul was a prince of Yugoslavia and regent for Peter II.
History
Alexander I was assassinated on October 9th, 1934. Paul served as regent for his very young cousin Peter II.
Policies
Paul appointed Milan Stojadinović as prime minister. He has served as finance minister and was a trained economist, so he was largely chosen for his capacity to lead Yugoslavia out of the Great Depression. With regard to foreign policy, Stojadinović was a sceptic of the League of Nations (especially after Alexander I's assassination) and favored the rising Axis.
Paul also favored the Axis, but more generally sought to play the international factions (Hitler and Mussolini; France and the United Kingdom; and the Soviet Union which the kingdom had still not officially recognized) against each other.
Paul dismissed Stojadinović's government in February 1939 and began a push towards the Allies. However, the invasion of Czechoslovakia in March and of Albania in April placed Yugoslavia on the battlefront. The Molotov-Ribbontrop Pact consolidated Paul's options. A gradual slide into Axis alignment began. Diplomatic relations were opened with the Soviet Union in June 1940. Paul signed the Tripartite Pact on March 25th, 1941.
Two days later, Paul's regency was overthrown by the military. Peter II appointed a government under General Dušan Simović.
Legacy
Ten days after the regency was overthrown, Germany invaded and rapidly forced an unconditional surrender which saw the kingdom partitioned.
Paul lived in exile and died in 1976.