National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs

The National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (Croatian: Narodno vijeće Slovenaca, Hrvata i Srba) was a group of political representatives of South Slavs living in Austria-Hungary and subsequently in the short-lived State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs formed in the wake of dissolution of Austria-Hungary. It was established in Zagreb on 8 October 1918, largely composed of members of various representative bodies operating in Habsburg crown lands inhabited by South Slavs. Founding of the National Council was fulfilment of the Zagreb Resolution on concentration of South Slavic political forces adopted earlier that year on the initiative of the Yugoslav Club. The council elected its central committee and the presidency led by Anton Korošec as the president and by Svetozar Pribičević and Ante Pavelić as vice-presidents.

On 19 October 1918, the National Council declared itself the supreme body of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. This position was upheld by the Croatian Sabor meeting on 29 October to sever ties between the Croatia-Slavonia, Dalmatia and the city of Rijeka on one hand and the Kingdom of Hungary and Austria-Hungary on the other. The National Council took part in negotiating the Geneva Declaration in early November as an agreement on unification with the Kingdom of Serbia in a confederal state. The declaration was quickly repudiated. Instead, the National Council sent a delegation to Serbia to request speedy unification as it was facing pressure from widespread violence and disorder in the countryside and advancing Italian Army enforcing promises made by the Allies of World War I through the Treaty of London. The delegation ignored the instructions provided by the National Council and asked for unification without any specific conditions. By early December 1918, the National Council declared the bulk of its work completed.