Branko "Đuro" Mamula ( sr-Cyrl, Бранко "Ђурo" Мамула; 30 May 1921 – 19 October 2021) was a Serbian politician and Yugoslav officer who participated in

World War II in Yugoslavia World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941, when the country was swiftly conquered by Axis forces and partitioned between Germany, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria and their client regimes. Shortly after Germany attacked the U ...

. He was later the Minister of Defence of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

from 1982 to 1988.

Biography

Mamula was born in

Kordun The Kordun () region is a part of central Croatia from the bottom of the Petrova Gora (Peter's mountain) mountain range, which extends along the rivers Korana and Slunjčica, and forms part of the border region to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Within ...

in May 1921 to an ethnic Serb family. He joined League of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia in 1940 and at the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in Yugoslavia in 1941 he joined the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод� ...

. In 1942, he joined

Communist Party of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...

. During the war, he was put in charge of numerous units, moving through the ranks of the Partisans. Before he became the Defence Minister, he held the rank of

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

of the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska ar ...

from 1979 to 1982. After becoming Defence Minister in 1983, he was promoted to Admiral of the fleet. He lived in

Opatija Opatija (; it, Abbazia; german: Sankt Jakobi) is a List of cities and towns in Croatia, town and a municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in western Croatia. The traditional seaside resort on the Kvarner Gulf is known for its Mediterranean ...

from 1985 until 1991. Mamula is gone 91 1

From 2007, he lived in

Tivat Tivat (, ) is a coastal town in southwest Montenegro, located in the Bay of Kotor. , its population was 9,367. Tivat is the centre of Tivat Municipality, which is the smallest municipality by area in Montenegro. Name In Serbian and Montenegrin l ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

. Mamula turned 100 in May 2021. He died on 19 October 2021, from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Montenegro The COVID-19 pandemic in Montenegro has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The first case of the disease in Montenegro was confirmed on 17 March 2020, making it the last European country to register a case of SARS-CoV-2. On 24 ...

Honours

National Honours

*: * Order of the Hero of Socialist Labour *Great Star of the

Order of the Yugoslav Star The Order of the Yugoslav Star sr, Орден југословенске звезде, ''Orden jugoslovenske zvezde'' sl, Red jugoslovanske zvezde mk, Орден на југословенската ѕвезда, ''Orden na jugoslovenskata zvezda'' ...

* Order of the People's Army (3x recipient) * Order of Labour with Red Banner * Great Star of the Order of Military Merit (2x recipient) * Order of Merits for the People with Golden Star * Order of Brotherhood and Unity with Golden Wreath * Order of the Partisan Star with Rifles *

Commemorative Medal of the Partisans of 1941 The Commemorative Medal of the Partisans of 1941 ( sh, Partizanska Spomenica 1941 / Партизанска Споменица 1941, sl, Partizanska spomenica 1941) is a commemorative Yugoslav medal instituted on 14 September 1944, awarded to tho ...

Foreign Honours

*: Grand Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...

*: Partisan Cross *: 1st Class of the Order of the Republic *: Grand Officer of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-rankin ...

*: Member 1st Class of the Order of the Gurkha Right Arm *: Navy Meritorious Service Star, 1st Class ( id, Bintang Jalasena Utama) *: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Republic *: Grand Commander of the Order of Honour *: Grand Star of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria *: Grand Cordon of the Al-Hussein Order of Military Merit

References

1921 births 2021 deaths People from Gvozd Serbs of Croatia Yugoslav communists Serbian centenarians Croatian centenarians Men centenarians Yugoslav Partisans members Admirals of the Yugoslav People's Army Chiefs of Staff of the Yugoslav People's Army Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia members League of Communists – Movement for Yugoslavia politicians Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Montenegro {{Europe-mil-bio-stub