Kornelija Rakić:

Author(s)

Brigitte Fuchs

Abstract

This short biography focuses on the life and medical activities of Kornelija Rakić (1879–1952), a Serbian female pioneer of medicine
from the then Hungarian province of Vojvodina, who acquired an MD from the University of Budapest in 1905. Rakić came
from a humble background, and a Vojvodina Serbian women’s organization enabled her to become a physician and pursue her
social medicine mission. After a futile attempt to open a private practice as a “woman doctor for women” in Novi Sad in 1906,
she successfully applied to the Austro-Hungarian provincial government in Sarajevo for the position of an official female physician
in occupied Bosnia. Rakić began her career as an Austro-Hungarian (AH) official female physician in Bihać (1908–1912)
and was transferred to Banja Luka in 1912 and to Mostar in 1917–1918. Kornelija Rakić stayed in Mostar after the monarchy
collapsed in 1918 and continued to work as a public health officer in the service of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes,
founded in 1918. Subsequently, she served as the head of the “dispensary for mothers and children” at the Public Health Centre
in Mostar, founded in 1929, where she practiced until her retirement in 1949. After World War II, Rakić served as Vice President
of the Red Cross Society in Mostar. She received numerous awards and medals from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia. Kornelija Rakić died in Mostar in 1952 and was buried
at the local Orthodox cemetery of Bjelušine. Conclusion. Kornelija Rakić (1879–1952) was the first Serbian female physician in
Novi Sad, Vojvodina, and she was employed as an AH official female physician in Bihać (1908–1912), Banja Luka (1912–1917)
and Mostar (1917–1918). After World War I, she participated in the establishment and expansion of public health

Organisation(s)

Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Department of Development Studies

Journal

Acta Medica Academica

Volume

50

Pages

221-232

ISSN

1840-1848

Publication date

2021

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

305903 History of medicine

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/662a7f46-ce19-473c-baa9-5e781c5cdc46