Mihailo Apostolski ( mk, Михаило Апостолски; born Mihail Mitev Apostolov, bg, Михаил Митев Апостолов; sr, Михаило Митић or Mihailo Mitić; November 8, 1906 – August 7, 1987) was a Yugoslav general, military theoretician, politician and historian. He was commander of the Headquarters of the National Liberation Army and Partisan detachments of Macedonia ( NOV and POM),Blaze Risteski (editor), Macedonian Encyclopedia (vol. I), MANU, 2009, Skopje.Narodni heroji Jugoslavije, ''Mladost'', Beograd 1975.

colonel general Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

of the

Yugoslav National 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 a ...

(JNA), and was declared a

People's Hero of Yugoslavia The Order of the People's Hero or the Order of the National Hero ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Orden narodnog heroja, Oрден народног хероја; sl, Red narodnega heroja, mk, Oрден на народен херој, Orden na ...

Biography

Early life

Apostolski was born on November 8, 1906, at

Štip Štip ( mk, Штип ) is the largest urban agglomeration in the eastern part of North Macedonia, serving as the economic, industrial, entertainment and educational focal point for the surrounding municipalities. As of the 2002 census, the city ...

, Kosovo Vilayet, in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. He attended primary and secondary school in

. In 1927 graduated from the Military Academy in Belgrade, capital of

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...

. In 1933 he graduated from the High Military Academy, and in 1938 graduated Commanding Academy as a major.

During World War II

During the

invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, or ''Projekt 25'' was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was p ...

in April 1941, as a commander of the alpine units of the

Royal Yugoslav Army The Yugoslav Army ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Jugoslovenska vojska, JV, Југословенска војска, ЈВ), commonly the Royal Yugoslav Army, was the land warfare military service branch of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (originally Kingdom of Serbs ...

, he participated in demolition of bridges in today Slovenia, in order to slow the progress of the German troops.Kiro Gligorov, ''Macedonia is Everything we Have'', Izdavacki centar TRI, 2001, Skopje Киро Глигоров, ''Македонија е сѐ што имаме'', Издавачки центар ТРИ, 2001, Скопје After the capitulation of Yugoslavia, Bulgarian troops entered

Vardar Banovina The Vardar Banovina, or Vardar Banate ( mk, Вардарска бановина, Vardarska banovina; sr, Вардарска бановина, translit=Vardarska Banovina; al, Banovina e Vardarit, italics=no), was a province (banate) of the King ...

and seized most of it. Meanwhile, Apostolski was captured by the Italian army and was taken to the camp Vestone. Shortly after, his father, a Bulgarian army veteran, made a request to the

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

Minister of War A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

, insisting on the Bulgarian roots of his family, and it was granted soon after. Apostolski, was released with Bulgarian intervention by the Italian authorities. After his liberation from the prison, Apostolski received a certificate he was a trustworthy Bulgarian. Later he filed an application for appointment in the Bulgarian army. Because of his past, him was offered a captain's rank as a Bulgarian officer in

Labour battalion Labour battalions have been a form of alternative service or unfree labour in various countries in lieu of or resembling regular military service. In some cases they were the result of some kind of discriminative segregation of the population, wh ...

, but he considered this unsatisfactory. Meanwhile, Apostolski entered the

Sofia University Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski" at the University of Sofia, ( bg, Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“, ''Sofijski universitet „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“'') is the oldest higher education i ...

, where he conducted underground work. In April 1942 he became a member of the CPY, and in June of the same year he was appointed commander of the Headquarters of the Yugoslav partisan units of Macedonia. In May 1943 he was appointed Major General. During the Second Session of

AVNOJ The Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia,, mk, Антифашистичко собрание за народно ослободување на Југославија commonly abbreviated as the AVNOJ, was a deliberat ...

he was appointed to the Presidency of AVNOJ. In addition to the Macedonian brigades operating under his command, in February 1944, he commanded the brigades from

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

and Southern Serbia. He became a member of the Initiative Board for organization of ASNOM. He participated in the First Session of the ASNOM and was elected to its presidency.

After World War II

After the Second World War Apostolski became one of the military leaders of new

SFRY The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yugo ...

. After the end of his active military service he began intensively to deal with history of the Macedonian nation. From 1965 to 1970 was head of the Institute of National History in Skopje. He is accused of systematically falsifying history and in the use of

hate speech Hate speech is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thoug ...

against

and the

Bulgarian people Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not complete ...

. On that occasion Apostolski became famous among Bulgarian historians with his phrase: "''I have no evidence, but I claim it.''" He was actively involved in formation of the

Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( mk, Македонска Академија на Науките и Уметностите, МАНУ) is an academic institution in North Macedonia. History The Academy of Sciences and Arts was establ ...

, of which he was member since its creation. He was president of

for the period 1976–1983. He was also member of: *

Serbian Academy of Sciences The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Serbica, sr-Cyr, Српска академија наука и уметности, САНУ, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, SANU) is a national academy and the ...

, *

Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Croatica, hr, Hrvatska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti, abbrev. HAZU) is the national academy of Croatia. HAZU was founded under patronage of the Croatian bishop Jo ...

(now:

Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Croatica, hr, Hrvatska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti, abbrev. HAZU) is the national academy of Croatia. HAZU was founded under patronage of the Croatian bishop Jo ...

), *

Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

and *

Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo The Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo ( sq, Akademia e Shkencave dhe e Arteve e Kosovës, la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Kosoviensis) is the national academy of Kosovo. History & Organization The Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo ...

. In one of his last interviews, given in 1986 for

Radio Skopje Macedonian Radio Television (MRT; mk, Македонска радио-телевизија (МРТ), Makedonska radio-televizija (MRT)), officially National Radio-Television ( mk, Национална Радиотелевизија, Nacionalna ...

, he stated that the very battles between the Yugoslav communist partisans in Vardar Macedonia and the Bulgarian forces during the

Second World War 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

proved the " non-Bulgarian origin" of the Macedonians. He died on August 7, 1987, in

Dojran Dojran ( mk, Дојран ) was a city on the west shore of Lake Dojran in the southeast part of North Macedonia. Today, it is a collective name for two villages on the territory of the ruined city: Nov Dojran (New Dojran, settled from the end o ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

Legacy

In 1995, the Military Academy in

Republic of Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

was named "General Mihailo Apostolski". His birthplace, the House of Mihajlo Apostolski, is a recognized as an object of Cultural Heritage of North Macedonia.

References

External links

Website of the military academy "General Mihailo Apostolski"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Apostolski, Mihailo 1906 births 1987 deaths People from Štip People from Kosovo vilayet Yugoslav Partisans members League of Communists of Macedonia politicians Generals of the Yugoslav People's Army Yugoslav prisoners of war Yugoslav communists Yugoslav historians Members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Recipients of the Order of the People's Hero Yugoslav people of Bulgarian descent Macedonian atheists Macedonian people of Bulgarian descent