Čedomir "Ljubo" Čupić ( sr-cyr, Чедомир Љубо Чупић; 1913 – 9 May 1942) was a Yugoslav law student, political commissioner of Communist resistance movement in

Nikšić Nikšić ( cnr, Никшић, italic=no, sr-cyrl, Никшић, italic=no; ), is the second largest city in Montenegro, with a total population of 56,970 located in the west of the country, in the centre of the spacious Nikšić field at the foot ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

and a decorated war hero of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

. He became known on a wider scale for the photo of him taken moments before he was shot by

Chetniks The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nation ...

who captured him, showing him with shackles on his hands and smiling. He is a recipient of 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 ...

, a Yugoslav medal for gallantry. He is commonly referred to by media as "Yugoslav

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quot ...

Biography

He was born in 1913 in Argentina, one of the ten children in an immigrant working-class Montenegrin family. His parents were Sava and Stana (née Burić) from the village of Zagarač. One of his brothers was Vukan Čupić, a famous pediatrician who founded the 'Mother and Child Institute', paediatric clinic in Belgrade. During the 1930s, he moved to Nikšić, where he finished high school. He studied law at the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade ( sr, / ) is a public university in Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac- ...

, and joined the League of Communists of Yugoslavia in 1940. After 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 ...

he returned to Nikšić and participated in the preparation of the uprising. In July 1941, he fled from the Nazi-occupied city and joined the

Partisan Partisan may refer to: Military * Partisan (weapon), a pole weapon * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line Films * ''Partisan'' (film), a 2015 Australian film * '' Hell River'', a 1974 Yugoslavian film also kno ...

division "Đuro Đaković", formed by communists and

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 ...

members who had also escaped from Nikšić. As a commissioner of the Partisan movement in Nikšić, he was captured by Chetniks in April 1942, after a battle on Kablena Glavica near Nikšić. He was tortured in prison and was subject to a public trial by the ''

ad hoc Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with '' a priori''.) C ...

'' court composed by the Chetniks. He was sentenced to death and executed by firing squad. Before his public execution he cheered his friends and the people who were forced to witness the event. Among his last word was the slogan "Long live the glorious Communist Party."

Legacy

He was posthumously declared a people's hero by decree of the Yugoslav President

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 ...

on 10 July 1953. In memory of Ljubo Čupić, a street in Zagorič, a neighborhood of

Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; Literal translation, lit. 'under the hill') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd ...

, has been named after him.Yugoslav lexicon - Ljubo Čupić

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cupic, Ljubo 1913 births 1942 deaths Yugoslav communists Yugoslav Partisans members Montenegrin soldiers Montenegrin people of World War II Military personnel from Nikšić University of Belgrade Faculty of Law alumni Deaths by firearm in Montenegro Argentine people of Montenegrin descent Argentine people executed abroad Montenegrin communists Executed Montenegrin people Recipients of the Order of the People's Hero