Laza Kostić
| Lazar "Laza" Kostić (Serbian Cyrillic: Лаза Костић) |
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| Born | Lazar Kostić 12 February 1841 Kovilj, Austrian Empire (now Serbia) |
| Died | 27 November 1910 (aged 69) Vienna, Austria-Hungary |
| Resting place | Sombor, Serbia |
| Pen name | Laza |
| Occupation | poet, dramatist, journalist |
| Language | Serbian |
| Nationality | Serbian |
| Ethnicity | Serb |
| Period | 1868–1910 |
| Genre | romanticism |
| Spouse | 1 |
Lazar "Laza" Kostić (Serbian Cyrillic: Лазар "Лаза" Костић; 1841, Kovilj – 27 November 1910, Vienna) was a Serbian poet, prose writer, lawyer, philosopher, polyglot, publicist, and politician, considered to be one of the greatest minds of Serbian literature. He devoted himself to writing poetry and to translating from European languages. He promoted the study of English (to balance the German predominance in the Balkans) and was among the first with Dr. Jovan Andrejević-Joles (1833–1864) to begin the systematic translation of Shakespeare into the Serbian language.
Laza Kostić was born in Kovilj, Vojvodina (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) in 1841, of a military family. In his youth he was converted to the principles of social justice and Serbian independence in particular, and threw himself with great energy into political agitation. In 1864 he graduated from the Law School of the University of Budapest, and two years later he successfully defended his doctoral thesis in jurisprudence. After completing his studies, he occupied several positions and was very active in cultural and political life in Novi Sad, Belgrade, and Montenegro. He was among the leaders of Ujedinjena omladina srpska (United Serbian Youth) and was elected a Serbian representative to the Hungarian parliament, thanks to Svetozar Miletić, his mentor. Because of his liberal and nationalistic views he had to leave that Hungarian-occupied part of Serbia, but after several years in Belgrade and Montenegro he returned home. He died in Vienna in 1910.
From 1869 to 1872 he was the president of Novi Sad's Court House, and virtually the leader of his party in his county; he was a delegate several times in the clerico-secular Sabor at Sremski Karlovci. He was Lord Mayor of Novi Sad twice, and also twice a Sajkasi delegate to the Parliament in Budapest.
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