Petronijević was born in 1831 in Jagodina which at that time was part of the Principality of Serbia.

[1] He started off his diplomatic career as an Ambassador of Serbia to the Ottoman Empire from 1854 to 1861.

He was a representative of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jovan Ristić from 3 to 21 November 1867.

[1] On 21 November 1867, he got appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and served until 21 June 1868.

[1] In 1855, Petronijević married Cleopatra, the daughter of the Prince of Serbia Alexander Karađorđević.