Živojin Rafajlović ( sr-cyr, Живојин Рафајловић, 1871 – 1953), known as Žika (Жика) was co-founder of the

Serbian Chetnik Organization The Serbian Revolutionary Organization () or Serbian Chetnik Organization (Српска четничка организација / Srpska četnička organizacija) was a paramilitary revolutionary organization with the aim of liberation of Old Se ...

, politician, state deputy, a member of the Democrats. He was the Ban of Vardar during 1940 and 1941.

Early life

He was born in

Mionica Mionica ( sr-cyr, Мионица, ) is a town and municipality located in the Kolubara District of western Serbia. , the population of the town is 1,590, while population of the municipality is 12,061 inhabitants. Geography The township of Mionic ...

Principality of Serbia The Principality of Serbia () was an autonomous, later sovereign state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation was negotiated first through an unwritten agre ...

. He finished the Military Academy as an infantry captain, 2nd class. He worked as a frontier guard in

Vranje Vranje ( sr-Cyrl, Врање, ) is a city in Southern Serbia and the administrative center of the Pčinja District. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population of 55,214 while the city administrative area has 74,381 inhabitan ...

, which became his hometown.

Serbian Chetnik Organization

The Central Committee (of Belgrade) was established in 1902 by

Milorad Gođevac Milorad Gođevac ( sr-cyr, Милорад Гођевац, 1 March 1860 – 21 September 1933) was the organizer of the Serbian Chetnik Organization, a medical doctor by profession. Life Born in Valjevo, Principality of Serbia, he finished t ...

, Luka Ćelović, Vasa Jovanović, Žika Rafajlović, Nikola Spasić and

Ljuba Kovačević Ljuba may refer to: * Ljuba (given name) Ljuba is a Slavic given name. In the Serbian language Serbian (, ) is the standard language, standardized Variety (linguistics)#Standard varieties, variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by ...

. On 25 April 1904, two armed cheta groups of some 20 fighters under vojvoda

Anđelko Aleksić Anđelko Aleksić ( sr-cyr, Анђелко Алексић; 1876 – Četirce, Ottoman Empire, 27 May 1904) was a Serbs in North Macedonia, Macedonian Serb Chetnik commander (''voivode''). He and Đorđe Cvetković led the first two armed bands of ...

and vojvoda Đorđe Cvetković swore oath in a ceremony before Milorad Gođevac, Vasa Jovanović, Žika Rafajlović, Luka Ćelović and General Jovan Atanacković, with ''prota'' Nikola Stefanović holding the prayers.Krakov, p. 150 The Committee had prepared the formation of the first bands for a number of months. The bands crossed into Ottoman territory on 8 May, but were subsequently exposed in the Albanian and Turkish villages. The Ottoman army killed all of the Chetniks at the

Fight on Šuplji Kamen Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is resorted to either as a method of ...

hill on May 27.Krakov, pp. 161–164 According to Serbian state documents, the death toll was 24 Chetniks, a ''zaptı'' (Ottoman

gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...

), and three Ottoman soldiers. Serbian deputy Ristić, according to the document, named Žika Rafajlović as the organizer of the band, and that "such adventures and thoughtless treacherous actions should be stopped".

Family

He had five sons.

Annotations

*His surname is infrequently spelled as Rafailović (Рафаиловић).

References

Sources