PAUL KARADJORDJEVIC, PRINCE

born April 27 [April 15, Old Style], 1893, St. Petersburg, Russia died Sept. 14, 1976, Paris, France Karadjordjevic also spelled Karageorgevic, Serbo-Croatian Knez (Prince) Pavle Karadordevici regent of Yugoslavia in the period leading into World War II. When Yugoslavia's king Alexander I was assassinated (Oct. 9, 1934), Paul was appointed regent for his 11-year-old nephew Peter II. Although Paul's sympathies lay with the British-French entente, he was forced to submit to Hitler's demands and align his country with the Axis powers. On March 27, 1941, two days after signing a treaty with Germany, Paul was deposed by a conspiracy led by General Duan Simovic and other air force officers. Paul fled to Greece, where he was captured by British forces after the war. After internment in Kenya he was released, and he settled in Paris.