The tiny Southeast European country of Montenegro
became the 192nd member of the United Nations in 2006.
However, unlike many other new UN members, it had in fact been an independent state previously.
In this video, I'm going to explore it's fascinating journey from independent states to independent state
via at least five intermediate countries.
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Hello. My name is James Ker-Lindsay.
Welcome to Independent Thinking.
A channel dedicated to international relations, statehood, independence and the origins of countries.
The Republic of Montenegro lies on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea,
in a region now known as the Western Balkans.
It's one of the smallest countries in Europe, both geographically and in terms of population.
Its six hundred and thirty thousand inhabitants reside in a country that's just 5,300 square miles
or 13,800 square kilometres in size.
Although it has access to the sea, Montenegro has always have a fearsome reputation
for being all but impenetrable.
Its highly mountainous terrain long kept it isolated from the outside world.
Indeed, the very name Montenegro translates into English as 'Black Mountain'.
These natural defences served it well.
Unlike other parts of the region, the country was never fully incorporated into the Ottoman Empire,
which ruled the Balkan Peninsula for many hundreds of years until the 19th century.
However, the story really begins in 1852 when the country became an independent principality.
This was officially recognized by the international community at the Congress of Berlin in 1878.
Then, just over 30 years later, in 1910, the Principality was upgraded to the Kingdom of Montenegro.
During the First World War, Montenegro was invaded and occupied by Austria-Hungary.
Although US President Woodrow Wilson called for Montenegro to be evacuated and its independence
guaranteed as part of his famous 14 Points, at the end of the war Montenegro's exiled King was deposed
and the country was incorporated into neighbouring in Serbia.
Just days later, on 1 December 1918, the country then became part of the newly formed
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes,
which was subsequently renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929.
During the Second World War, Yugoslavia was invaded and occupied by Axis forces.
At the end of the conflict, the old monarchy was deposed and a communist regime was installed
under the famous Partisan resistance leader, Joseph Broz Tito.
In November 1945, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia formally became the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia,
which was renamed the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), in 1963.
Within this structure, Montenegro would become one of the six Constituent federal republics
- alongside Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia.
In 1980, Tito died.
This effectively started a process that would eventually lead to Yugoslavia's disintegration.
As a result, by early 1992, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was now left with just two republics:
Serbia and Montenegro.
This raised the question of Montenegro's future.
On 1 March, the country went to the polls to decide whether it wished to remain a part of Yugoslavia
or whether it should follow the other republics and become independent.
The vote was overwhelmingly in favour of remaining in the common state.
96.8 percent said yes off a 66 percent turnout.
As a result, on the 27 April 1992, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ceased to exist.
It was instead replaced by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), composed of Serbia and Montenegro.
Importantly, as international legal opinion had decided that the Socialist Federal Republic no longer existed,
this new version of Yugoslavia was deemed to be an entirely new country.
This was confirmed when it was eventually admitted to the United Nations
as a new member on 1 November 2000.
Although Serbia and Montenegro had decided to remain joined,
the Union nevertheless came under pressure in the years that followed.
By 2000, it was clear that the two countries were drifting further and further apart.
There were elements in Montenegro that clearly wanted full statehood.
However, after all that had happened in the region,
there was also a wider international desire to see the country remain united,
especially in light of the 1992 vote.
In 2003, and following strong pressure from the European Union,
the two countries formed a new relationship.
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was abolished
and the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro came into existence.
This was an extremely loose arrangement that saw both countries retain a very high degree of autonomy.
Crucially, the agreement also noted that, 'after a period of three years the member states have the right to
initiate a procedure to change the statehood status or to leave the union of states.'
As the 3 year mark passed, in February 2006, the leadership in Montenegro announced that it wished
to terminate the State Union and would hold a referendum to this end.
In order to ensure that the decision carried as much legitimacy as possible, the European Union appointed
an envoy to oversee the process.
He argued that the final result must be based on at least 55 percent support off a 50 percent turnout.
This was reluctantly accepted by the Montenegrin Government.
However, and controversially, it was also decided that while Montenegrins living abroad could have a say
on independence, those living in Serbia should be excluded from the vote.
This was obviously done as it was felt that they would vote to preserve the union between the two countries.
On 21 May 2006, the people of Montenegro went to the polls to vote on whether
to become an independent state.
86.49 percent of the 419, 236 voters turned out.
Of this number, 230,711 voted in favour and 184,954 voted against.
The final result was therefore 55.5 percent in favour of Independence.
The necessary threshold had been met.
On 3 June 2006, Montenegro officially declared independence
- once again becoming an independent state after 88 years.
Just over three weeks later, on 28 June, the Republic of Montenegro join the United Nations,
becoming the organisation's 192nd member.
Despite its small size, Montenegro has had a fascinating history.
After becoming an independent principality in the 19th century, and then a kingdom in the early 20th century,
it was effectively annexed by the Kingdom of Serbia in 1918, before just a few days later becoming a part of the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which in turn became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, in 1929.
In 1945, following occupation, it became a constituent republic in the newly formed
Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, which was later renamed the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
When this dissolved at the start of the 1990s, it became one of the two parts of the new
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which in turn became the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in 2003.
Then, finally, in 2006 it once again became an independent state - this time as a republic.
In what is probably a record for any country, in the course of less than a century it went from
independence to independence by at least five other distinct countries,
two further name changes and a military occupation.
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