KOROEC, ANTON

born May 12, 1872, Wisserian, Styria, Austria-Hungary [now in Slovenia] died Dec. 14, 1940, Belgrade Slovene political leader who helped to found the Yugoslav nation after World War I and briefly served as prime minister in 1928. A Jesuit priest and a noted orator, he shared, and exploited politically, the Slovene fear of Italian expansion; his dislike of Italy outweighed his distaste for Serb domination of the Yugoslav government. Both before and after his premiership he held various offices in the Yugoslav Cabinet, including the ministries of railways, the interior, and education. Because of his popularity among the Slovenes, he escaped punishment for his opposition to the dictatorship of King Alexander I and Petar Zivkovic, premier from 1929 to 1932. In 193334, however, he was imprisoned for his insistence on Slovene autonomy.