Vladimir "Vlada" Zečević ( Serbian- Cyrillic: Владимир Влада Зечевић; 21 March 1903 ( OS), in

Loznica Loznica ( sr-cyrl, Лозница, ) is a city located in the Mačva District of western Serbia. It lies on the right bank of the Drina river. In 2011 the city had a total population of 19,572, while the administrative area had a population of 79 ...

– 26 October 1970, in Belgrade) was a

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

and later a member of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia and 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� ...

during

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

who served as the first post-WW2 Minister of the Interior of Yugoslavia from 7 March 1945 to 2 February 1946.

Biography

Zečević was born in

, on 25 March 1903. He graduated from the University of Belgrade's Faculty of Theology. From 1927 to 1941 he served as a parish priest in

Krupanj Krupanj ( sr-cyr, Крупањ, ) is a town and municipality located in the Mačva District of western Serbia. The municipality has a total population of 17,295 inhabitants, while the town has a population of 4,429 inhabitants (2011 census). Ge ...

, whereupon he became invested in the political life, ardently supporting the opposition. After the Invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941 by the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

, Zečević voluntarily joined 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 was, at first, affiliated with the Chetniks but, following the siege on

Šabac Šabac (Serbian Cyrillic: Шабац, ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river Sava. , the city ...

, he defected to the

together with lieutenant Ratko Martinović, alongside five hundred other Chetnik soldiers. In November 1941, during the short-lived liberated territory in Western Serbia, known as

Republic of Užice The Republic of Užice ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Užička republika, Ужичка република) was a short-lived liberated Yugoslav territory and the first liberated territory in World War II Europe, organized as a military mini ...

, he was a member of the newly established

Main National Liberation Committee for Serbia The Main National Liberation Committee for Serbia ( sr, Главни народноослободилачки одбор за Србију/Glavni narodnooslobodilački odbor za Srbiju) was the body of the "National Liberation Movement" (the Commu ...

responsible for Trade, supplies, forestry and mining.Mladenović, p. 140 He joined the League of Communists of Yugoslavia in 1942 and went on to serve as a political commissar deputy of the

Valjevo Valjevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Ваљево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Kolubara District in western Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the administrative area of Valjevo had 90,312 inhabitants, 59,073 of whom were urban dwell ...

Partisan Unit, a member of the AVNOJ's Executive Board, a commissioner of the Denominational Department during the First AVNOJ Session and a commissioner of internal affairs during the

. Having survived the war, Zečević served as

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

of Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1946; as Minister of Construction, Transportation and Infrastructure of the

SR 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 ...

from 1952 to 1953 and as president of the Yugoslav Parliament from 1954 to 1960. Zečević died in Belgrade on 26 October 1970, where he was also buried.

Bibliography

Zečević authored three books, all published in the 1960s, respectively titled ''An Encounter in the Dark'' ( Belgrade, 1963), ''The More You Know'' ( Belgrade, 1968) and ''Insurgency Growing'' (

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

, 1968).

References

Sources

* *Roberts, Walter. Tito, Mihailovic and the Allies 1941 - 1945. Duke Univ. Press, 1994. *Steinberg, S. H. The Statesman's Year-Book: Statistical and Historical Annual of the States of the World for the Year 1950. Macmillan, 1950 {{DEFAULTSORT:Zecevic, Vlada 1903 births 1970 deaths People from Loznica League of Communists of Serbia politicians Yugoslav Partisans members Serbian people of World War II Serbian communists Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia members Serbian Orthodox clergy Eastern Orthodox Christians from Serbia Christian communists Eastern Orthodox socialists European Christian socialists