Slobodan "Krcun" Penezić ( sr-cyr, Слободан Пенезић Крцун; 2 July 1918 – 6 November 1964) was a Yugoslav communist politician who served as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

and

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

of the

Socialist Republic of Serbia , life_span = 1944–1992 , status = Constituent state of Yugoslavia , p1 = Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia , flag_p1 = Flag of German Reich (1935–1945).svg , p2 ...

. During his heyday, he was the

Secret Police Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of a ...

chief in Serbia. He was also notable for leading the arrest of

Draža Mihailović Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб Дража Михаиловић; 27 April 1893 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslavs, Yugoslav Serb general during World War II. He was the leader of the Chetniks, Chetnik Detachments ...

and for being awarded the

Order of the People's Hero 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 ...

(on 5 July 1952).

Career

Penezić was a member of the

Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia The Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (Централни комитет Савеза комуниста Југославије) was the highest body of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia between Congresses. In the ...

, a member of the

League of Communists of Serbia , logo = , colorcode = , leader = President of the League of Communists of Serbia , predecessor = Provincial Committee for Serbia of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia , merged = , successor = SPS , ...

Executive Committee and was also chairman of the Executive Council of the Serbian parliament.

Death

On 6 November 1964, Penezić and were killed in a car accident when their car skidded off a wet road into a tree.''The Milwaukee Journal'' (7 November 1964). "2 Yugoslav Officials Killed in Car Crash". Retrieved 4 September 2015. Penezić's death cleared the way for plans by

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...

to limit the power of secret police chief

Aleksandar Ranković Aleksandar Ranković ( nom de guerre Marko; sr-Cyrl, Александар Ранковић Лека; 28 November 1909 – 19 August 1983) was a Yugoslav communist politician, considered to be the third most powerful man in Yugoslavia after Jo ...

at a crucial party congress. His wife was among those who doubted the circumstances of his death, but his son considered finding out hard facts nearly impossible.

References

1918 births 1964 deaths Politicians from Užice Yugoslav Partisans members Interior ministers of Serbia Government ministers of Serbia League of Communists of Yugoslavia politicians League of Communists of Serbia politicians Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia members Road incident deaths in Yugoslavia Road incident deaths in Serbia Death conspiracy theories Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery Recipients of the Order of the People's Hero {{Serbia-politician-stub