The execution of the Yugoslav King Alexander I, carried out in Marseille by Vlado Chernozemski, undoubtedly ranks among the greatest assassinations in the world history of the 20th century.
The King had long been sentenced to death by the IMRO for the forced Serbization of the Bulgarians in Macedonia, and in this particular assassination he acted in conjunction with the far-right Croatian liberation movement of the Ustasha. On October 9, 1934, Alexander I arrived on an official visit to France. Tens of thousands of Marseille residents filled the streets. The French Foreign Minister Louis Bartou was also in the monarch's car.
At 4:20 p.m. Chernozemski jumped out of the crowd, slipped between two policemen and shot King Alexander and his companions at point-blank range. He then tried to commit suicide, but was captured. At eight in the evening, however, he died from his wounds received by the French policemen. The Yugoslav king died a few minutes later, and Minister Bartou - a few days later.
The murdered assassin was secretly buried in a sealed coffin in the “St. Peter" cemetery.
Vlado Chernozemski was the pseudonym of Velichko Dimitrov Kerin. He was also known by the name Vlado the Driver. He was born on October 26, 1897 in the village of Kamenitsa, today a district of Velingrad, Pazardzhik region. He participated in the First World War (1915-1918) in the automobile units of the active army. He became a member of the VMRO in 1922. One of the first actions in which he participated was the Kyustendil action of the VMRO, when the detachments of Pancho Mihaylov and Ivan Burlio occupied Kyustendil.
On February 15, 1930, at a meeting in Lucerne, an agreement was reached between the VMRO in the person of Ivan Mihaylov and the Croatian revolutionary organization Ustasha in the person of its leader Dr. Ante Pavelic to liquidate the Yugoslav king Alexander Karađorđević. On the Bulgarian side of the talks, Ivan Mihaylov, Simeon Evtimov and Toma Karajovov were present, and on the Croatian side - Dr. Ante Pavelic and August Košutić. The proposal to liquidate King Alexander came from Pavelic. After extensive preparation, the right person was chosen.