Lazar "Laza" Kostić (; 12 February 1841 – 27 November 1910) was a Serbian poet, prose writer, lawyer, aesthetician, journalist, publicist, and politician who is considered to be one of the greatest minds of Serbian literature. Kostić wrote around 150 lyrics, 20 epic poems, three dramas, one monograph, several essays, short stories, and a number of articles. Kostić promoted the study of English literature and together with Jovan Andrejević-Joles was one of the first to begin the systematic translation of the works of William Shakespeare into the Serbian language. Kostić also wrote an introduction of Shakespeare's works to Serbian culture. Biography Laza Kostić was born in 1841 in Kovilj, Vojvodina—which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire—to a military family. He had Aromanian ancestry. Kostić graduated from the Law School of the University of Budapest and received a Doctor of Philosophy in jurisprudence at the same university in 1866. A part of his thesis was about the Dušan's Code. After completing his studies, Kostić occupied several positions and was active in cultural and political life in Novi Sad, Belgrade, and Montenegro. He was one of the leaders of Ujedinjena omladina srpska (United Serb Youth) and was elected a Serbian representative to the Hungarian parliament, thanks to his mentor Svetozar Miletić. Because of his liberal and nationalistic views, Kostić had to leave the Hungarian-occupied part of Serbia but he returned home after several years in Belgrade and Montenegro. From 1869 to 1872, Kostić was the president of Novi Sad's Court House and was virtually the leader of his party in his county. He was a delegate in the clerico-secular Sabor at Sremski Karlovci several times. He served as Lord Mayor of Novi Sad twice and also twice as Sajkasi delegate to the Parliament in Budapest. After Svetozar Miletić and Jovan Jovanović Zmaj, Laza Kostić was the most active leader in Novi Sad; his politics were distinct from those of his associates but he was convinced his mission to save Serbia through art had been baulked by obscurantist courtiers. In 1867, the Austrian Empire became Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Hungary became one of two autonomous parts of the new state. This was followed by a policy of Hungarization of the non-Hungarian nationalities, most notably promotion of the Hungarian-language and suppression of Romanian and Slavic languages, including Serbian. As the chief defender of the United Serbian Youth movement, Kostić was especially active