6 September] 1882 in Vlasotince, south Serbia, as the youngest of six sons of Kostadina (née Stojilković) and Kosta Ilić, a mumdžija, or the soap-maker.

[2] Blagoje was murdered by the Bulgarian occupation forces during the World War I, Milan and Petar had no children, so only Mihajlo and Jevrosima have living descendants today.

Vlada finished the Trading Academy in Vienna, Austria and then studied the industrial cloth production at the Textile Faculty in Aachen, Germany.

To expand the business, he, in partnership with his sons, bought a cloth factory from German entrepreneur Eugen Michael in 1906, which was located in Belgrade's neighborhood of Karaburma.

Prior to the World War I, the brothers acquired the latest English technology for the cloth production as they bought the "Crompton Ltd", a Belgrade branch of the "Ungarische Tehtilindustrie".

During the World War I, he was one of the participants in the "Opanak affair", when footwear for the Serbian army produced by his company turned out to be unusable due to the extremely low quality.

[7] Before the World War II broke out, Ilić was in negotiations with the Ford Motor Company for obtaining the license to assemble the cars in Yugoslavia.

[6] The first tram line which connected Belgrade to Zemun, across the Sava river was established over the new King Alexander Bridge, which was opened just few weeks before Ilić's tenure began.

[2] After acquiring the Michael's factory in 1906 in Karaburma, Ilić sequestered a room and adapted it into the school for the children of his workers.

As the factory complex expanded and number of workers grew, the provisional school became too small, so Ilić rented the upper floor of the nearby Lavadinović kafana, still fully financed by him.

[1][6][12] His tenure of almost 5 years in office was a rarity in Belgrade, as in the previous decades city saw a large number of mayors which would stay for short terms.

He introduced structural reforms, austerity measures concerning the expenditures of the administration and hired new, young people.

The edifice has a ceremonial entry porch, Ionian columns, ornamental windows and is considered one of the most distinguished houses in Belgrade's Interbellum architecture.

After almost 50 years, the "Genex" sold villa, through an ad, to Nemanja Đorđević, then a senior member of JUL, or Yugoslav Left, political party founded by Mirjana Marković, first lady of Serbia as a wife of Slobodan Milošević.

Đorđević then sued the party wanting the house back and the successors of Vlada Ilić also entered the process of restitution, asking for villa to be returned to them.

The mansion is located in the neighborhood of Stari Grad, in modern Venizelosova street and today is adapted into the club and hotel Admiral, with 4 stars and 17 rooms and apartments.

Every Easter, Ilić sent 45 suits for the underprivileged pupils and his mother-in-law dispatched a railroad car of wheat to the Vlasotince Red Cross in 1929, which was distributed to 320 poorest families.

Many workers in his factories originated from the region, so an "Association of Vlasotince" was founded in Belgrade in 1928,[5] which today bears his name.

He was a member of the "Danube circle of the equestrians "Knez Mihailo", which operated the Belgrade Hippodrome in the neighbourhood of Careva Ćuprija.

By the ukaz issued by king Alexander I of Yugoslavia in 1920, he ceded the hippodrome's land to the Danube circle for the next 75 years, free of lease.

[16] Ilić's stallion Vesnik ("Messenger") set records during the Interbellum, while his filly Laguna won the triple crown in 1941.

[5][14] During the political turmoil prior to the World War II, German ambassador to Belgrade, Viktor von Heeren, suggested to the regent, Prince Paul, to appoint Ilić as the new prime minister of Yugoslavia.

One seat was reserved for Ilić but he refused, though his wife urged him to leave, and spent the entire occupation in Belgrade.

[1][2] He, and Aleksandar Belić, president of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, pleaded to general Milan Nedić to accept the position as the head of the collaborationist regime in 1941.

[5] New Communist authorities arrested Ilić in late 1944 and he was imprisoned together with the greatest Serbian actress Žanka Stokić.

Well known after-war state owned textile companies, like Beteks, Beko and Vunarski kombinat, developed from Ilić's factories.

His wife Olga pawned her jewelry, including the wedding ring, and they would receive groceries from the people who would recognize her on the market and give her food for free.

Ilić's funeral was attended by the members of the well known pre-war elite, now declared and prosecuted bourgeoisie, but also by the great number of his former factory workers.

[18][19] A monograph on his life, Prvi moderni gradonačelnik Beograda ("The first modern mayor of Belgrade"), was authored by Saša Z. Stanković and published in 2017.

[2] In September 2020, Belgrade city administration announced erection of the monument to Vlada Ilić, in the eastern section of the Stari Grad municipality.