Rudolf Maister (pen name: Vojanov; 29 March 1874 – 26 July 1934) was a Slovene military officer, poet and political activist.

In 1918, near the end of the war when it was obvious that Austria-Hungary was losing, the city council of Marburg, then German-speaking by large majority, proclaimed the town part of German-Austria.

Maister organized Slovene volunteer forces of 4000 soldiers and 200 officers and in the night of 23 November 1918 seized control of the city of Maribor and the surrounding region of Lower Styria.

[citation needed] The Austrian Germans allegedly attacked the police inspector, Ivan Senekovič, and then pressed towards the Slovenian soldiers in front of the city hall.

[citation needed] After the Carinthian Plebiscite, in which the majority of the local Slovenian population decided to remain part of Austria, Maister withdrew to private life.