Nebojša Pavković ( sr-cyr, Небојша Павковић; born 10 April 1946) is a former Serbian army general who served as Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Yugoslavia from February 2000 to June 2002. He also served as the Commander of Third Army of the Armed Forces of Yugoslavia during the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...

, from December 1998 to February 2000.

Education and military career

Pavković was born in the village of Senjski Rudnik on 10 April 1946. He finished teacher training college in

Aleksinac Aleksinac ( sr-Cyrl, Алексинац) is a town and municipality located in the Nišava District of Southern and Eastern Serbia, southern Serbia. According to 2022 census, the municipality has a population of 43,258 inhabitants. History Preh ...

in 1966, and was conscripted into the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

on 20 July 1970. Pavković graduated from the Military Academy in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

in 1970, finished junior officers' school in 1982 and senior officers' school in 1988. He served as a battalion commander within the 10th Infantry Brigade and later headed the 16th Proletarian Infantry Regiment. From 1988 to 1989, he was the commander of the 16th Motorized Brigade. Between 1988 and 1993, he held several posts in the Federal Secretariat for National Defence. When the conflict in Kosovo began, Pavković was the Commander of the Third Army. He was promoted to the rank of Major General in 1996, Lieutenant General in 1998 and Colonel General in 1999. For success as commander leadership he received numerous medals and awards;

Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Милошевић, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the President of Serbia between 1989 and 1997 and President of the Federal Republic of Yugos ...

awarded him the Order of Freedom for commanding the Third Army during the

NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Serbia and Montenegro, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombing ...

. After the overthrow of Milošević, Pavković remained at his position as Chief of the General Staff until 24 June 2002, when he was removed from his position by the President of FR Yugoslavia

Vojislav Koštunica Vojislav Koštunica ( sr-cyrl, Војислав Коштуница, ; born 24 March 1944) is a Serbian former politician who served as the last President of Serbia and Montenegro, president of FR Yugoslavia from 2000 to 2003 and as the Prime Min ...

ICTY trial and sentence

On 25 April 2005, Pavković was surrendered to the

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes in the Yugoslav Wars, war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to tr ...

(ICTY) in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

where he was charged with committing

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

and

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

during the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...

. On 26 February 2009, the ICTY convicted Pavković of the charges and sentenced him to 22 years in prison. His sentence was upheld in January 2014. He has been serving his sentence in Finland since 2014.

Publications

He published two books, which covered events which led to the Kosovo War and military events during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia on the Kosovo battlefield. The published books are: * ''The smell of gunpowder and death in Kosovo and Metohija in 1998'' ( sr-cyr, Мирис барута и смрти на Косову и Метохији 1998.) (2015) * ''The Third Army 78 days in the embrace of Merciful Angel'' ( sr-cyr, Трећа армија 78 дана у загрљају Милосрдног анђела) (2018)

Notes

References

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External links

INTERVJU: General Nebojša Pavković - Nisam izdao Miloševića, pretio je građanski rat! (16.9.2018)
at youtube.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Pavkovic, Nebojsa 1946 births Living people People from Despotovac Serbian generals Generals of the Yugoslav People's Army Candidates for President of Serbia People convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Serbian people convicted of crimes against humanity Serbian people convicted of war crimes Serbian people imprisoned abroad Prisoners and detainees of Finland