Petar Gračanin (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, t ...

: Петар Грачанин; 22 June 1923 – 27 June 2004) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician and general in 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 ...

Biography

Petar Gračanin was born on 22 June 1923 in

Jagodina ) , image_shield = Jagodina-grb.png , image_flag = FLAG Jagodina.png , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_map = File:Municipalities of Serbia Jagodina.png , map_caption = Location of Jagodina w ...

, then part of the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

. In July 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� ...

. After the formation of the 2nd Proletarian Brigade, in March 1942, at first he was a member and later the commander of a battalion. He was initiated as a

SKOJ , SKOJ mk, Сојуз на комунистичката младина на Југославија, СКМЈ sl, Zveza komunistične mladine Jugoslavije, ZKMJ , colorcode = red , founded = 1919 , dissolved = 1948 , succeeded by = League of S ...

member in the League of Communists of Yugoslavia in 1942. He was promoted to his first military rank in 1943. In 1945, he became Chief of Staff in OZNA for the Morava administrative center. A year later in 1946 he became commander of a tank brigade, Chief of Staff, deputy commander of an armored division and Chief of Staff of School center armored-mechanic units. He graduated from the Higher Military Academy. At the Federal Secretariat of the People's Defense, he was Chief of the Section, and Chief of Staff of the section for Personal authority. In the 7th Army he was Chief of Staff and deputy commander. He was also Chief of Staff of the Command-headquarters academy, and later he was assigned as commander of the 1st Army. He was chosen as 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 l ...

(CK SKJ) in 1978 and 1982. He was promoted to the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

in 1970,

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in 1974, and colonel general in 1978. He was Chief of the General Staff of Yugoslav People's Army from 5 May 1982 to 1 September 1985. His active military service ended on 31 December 1985. After that he was in high state positions such as: President of Presidency of

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 ...

(1987–89) and then Federal Secretary of the Interior (1989–91). During the

Ten-Day War The Ten-Day War ( sl, desetdnevna vojna), or the Slovenian War of Independence (), was a brief armed conflict that followed Slovenia's declaration of independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991. It was fought between the separatists of the ...

Gračanin was situated in a JNA air base near

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...

. After the JNA forces were ordered by the General Staff to withdraw from Slovenia, Gračanin flew back to Belgrade.Branka Magaš, Ivo Žanić, Noel Malcolm; ''The war in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1991-1995''. Taylor & Francis, 2001. (p. 26) Slobodan Milošević promoted him to the rank of reserve general of the army of the

FR Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yug ...

in 1999. He died in Belgrade on 27 June 2004, aged 81, and was buried in the ''

Alley of Distinguished Citizens The New Cemetery ( sr, Ново гробље, ''Novo groblje'') is a cemetery complex in Belgrade, Serbia, with a distinct history. It is located in Ruzveltova street in Zvezdara municipality. The cemetery was built in 1886 as the third Christia ...

'' at Belgrade's New Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gracanin, Petar 1923 births 2004 deaths People from Jagodina Chiefs of Staff of the Yugoslav People's Army Yugoslav Partisans members Presidents of Serbia within Yugoslavia Recipients of the Order of the People's Hero League of Communists of Serbia politicians Serbian generals Generals of the Yugoslav People's Army Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia members Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery