The Order of the People's Hero or the Order of the National Hero ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Orden narodnog heroja, Oрден народног хероја; , ), was a Yugoslav gallantry medal, the second highest military award, and third overall Yugoslav decoration.Orders and Decorations of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, 1945–90
by Lukasz Gaszewski 2000, 2003 It was awarded to individuals, military units, political and other organisations who distinguished themselves by extraordinary heroic deeds during war and in peacetime. The recipients were thereafter known as People's Heroes of Yugoslavia or National Heroes of Yugoslavia. The vast majority was awarded to partisans for actions during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A total of 1,322 awards were awarded in Yugoslavia, and 19 were awarded to foreigners. In 1998, the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

decided to award the Order of the People's Hero again and decorated several military units, but no individuals.

History

Socialist Yugoslavia

The bulletin of the Supreme Command of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia no. 12–13 (December 1941 and January 1942) announced the establishment of the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

of "People's Hero" for heroic and self-sacrificing participants of the People's Liberation War. The first person to be awarded the title was Petar Leković. A total of 22 persons were awarded this title. On 15 August 1943, the title was formalized as an order together with Order of the People's Liberation, Order of Bravery, Order of the Partisan Star, Order of Brotherhood and Unity and the Medal for Bravery. At the same time, all the persons who already held the title of the People's Hero were awarded the order., volume 1, page 7 The Order consists of an oval gold badge showing a soldier with rifle and banner superimposed upon a rayed star surrounded by a wreath of laurel. The badge is suspended from a red ribbon, with a narrow white stripe towards each edge. The design for this and the other Orders were undertaken by the painter

Đorđe Andrejević Kun Đorđe Andrejević Kun (; 31 March 1904 – 17 January 1964) was a Serbs, Serbian and Yugoslavs, Yugoslav painter and graphic artist, a participant in the Spanish Civil War and the World War II in Yugoslavia, National Liberation War in Yugoslavia ...

and the sculptor Antun Augustinčić. Before 29 November 1943, the title of People's Hero was awarded by the Central Committee of the

KPJ Bryan Kevin Porter Jr. (born May 4, 2000), also known by his initials KPJ, is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the USC Trojans men's ...

, after 1945 it was awarded by the Presidium of the People's Assembly of Yugoslavia, and starting in 1953 by the

President of Yugoslavia The president of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the head of state of that country from 14 January 1953 to 4 May 1980. Josip Broz Tito was the only person to occupy the office. Tito was also concurrently President of the League ...

. From its inception until around 1993, the Order had been awarded nearly 1,400 times. Marshal

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...

was awarded the Order three times: in 1944, 1972, and 1977. The holders of the order were entitled to certain benefits, like free fares on public transport, and pensions for the surviving family members of deceased people's heroes. Although the benefits have since been downscaled, post-Yugoslav countries still provide certain benefits to people's heroes. Many schools and streets in post-war Yugoslavia were named after people's heroes, and many of the names remain, to varying degrees in different successor countries. Not only people, but cities, military units and organizations were also awarded the order. Eight cities in Yugoslavia were awarded the order and proclaimed "hero cities":

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 ...

Cetinje Cetinje ( cnr-Cyrl, Цетиње, ) is a List of cities and towns in Montenegro, town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital ( cnr-Latn-Cyrl, prijestonica, приjестоница, separator=" / ") of Montenegro and is the location of sev ...

Drvar Drvar (, ) is a town and the seat of the Municipality of Drvar in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the road between Bosansko Grahovo an ...

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

Prilep Prilep ( ) is the List of cities in North Macedonia, fourth-largest city in North Macedonia. According to 2021 census, it had a population of 63,308. Name The name of Prilep appeared first as ''Πρίλαπος'' in Greek (''Prilapos'') in 1 ...

Pristina Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and District of Pristina, district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdo ...

, and

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

Serbia and Montenegro

Following the dissolution of SFR Yugoslavia,

was formed, and later renamed

Serbia and Montenegro The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

. In 1998, it passed a law that continued to use some of the decorations of former Yugoslavia, among them Order of the People's Hero, making it, at the time, the fourth-highest order after the Order of Yugoslavia, the Order of the Yugoslav Star and the Order of Freedom.Orders and Decorations of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, 1990–
by Lukasz Gaszewski 2000, 2003 The Serbian media ridiculed several proposals to decorate

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 ...

with the Order of the People's hero because he would have had to decorate himself. It was never given to any individuals, but several military units active in 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 ...

were decorated: *125th Motorized Brigade, Military of Yugoslavia *549th Motorized Brigade, Military of Yugoslavia *37th Motorized Brigade, Military of Yugoslavia * 63rd Parachute Brigade, Military of Yugoslavia *124th Police Intervention Brigade, Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs * 126th Air Surveillance Brigade, Military of Yugoslavia * 250th Air Defence Missile Brigade, Military of Yugoslavia

Notable recipients

Because of the large number of awards, only people with Wikipedia articles are listed. The date of the award(s) is given in parentheses., volume 2 Those marked with a

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or stabbing, thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or ...

(†) died during the war. They were all awarded posthumously, except for Petar Leković, who was awarded the order ''before'' he died in WWII. * Mirče Acev (1945†) * Vera Aceva (1953) *

Božidar Adžija Božidar Adžija ( sr-Cyrl, Божидар Аџија; 24 December 1890 – 9 July 1941) was a Croatian communist politician and publicist. Biography A native of Drniš in the Kingdom of Dalmatia (present-day Croatia), of Croat and Serb descent, ...

(1945†) * Nisim Albahari (1953) * Mihailo Apostolski (1953) * Ljupčo Arsov (1953) * Viktor Avbelj (1951) * Maks Baće (1953) * Vlado Bagat (1948†) * Slobodan Bajić Paja (1952†) *

Filip Bajković Filip Bajković (20 May 1910 – 15 February 1985) was the President of the Executive Council of Montenegro from 16 December 1951 to 12 July 1962. From 12 July 1962 to 5 May 1963, he was the President of the People's Assembly of Montenegro. Bio ...

(1953) * Vladimir Bakarić (1952) * Mitar Bakić (1951) * Rajka Baković (1953†) * Olga Ban (1973†) *

Aleš Bebler Aleš Bebler (8 June 1907 – 12 August 1981) was a Yugoslav diplomat and a political Commissar. He was a Slovene by ethnicity and was born in Idrija, in the Austro-Hungarian Duchy of Carniola (now Slovenia). Bebler joined the Yugoslav Commun ...

(1953) * Anka Berus (1953) * Milan Blagojević Španac (1945†) *

Vera Blagojević Vera Blagojević (, 16 May 1920 – 18 March 1942) was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav medical student and Communism, Communist political activist. During World War II, she was captured by the Gestapo in 1942 and later killed. She was posthu ...

(1953†) * Jakov Blažević (1953) * Antun Blažić (1951†) * Mate Blažina (1953†) * Hasan Brkić (1953) * Zvonko Brkić (1953) *

(1944, 1972, 1977) * Boško Buha (1951†) * Rade Bulat (1953) * Marija Bursać (1943†) * Anka Butorac (1949†) * Rudi Čajavec (1951†) * Marijan Čavić (1953†) * Zdravko Čelar (1942†) * Jelena Ćetković (1952†) *

Rodoljub Čolaković Rodoljub "Roćko" Čolaković ( sr-cyr, Родољуб Чолаковић; 7 June 1900 – 30 March 1983) was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav politician and writer who served as the 1st Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina#Prime ...

(1953) * Krste Crvenkovski (1953) * Ljubo Čupić (1953†) * Božidarka Kika Damjanović-Marković (1953) *

Peko Dapčević Peko Dapčević (Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic: Пеко Дапчевић; 25 June 1913 – 10 February 1999) was a Yugoslav communist who fought as a volunteer in the Spanish Civil War, joined the Partisan uprising in Montenegro, and became com ...

(1945) *

Karel Destovnik Karel Destovnik (sometimes Drago Destovnik), pen name and nom de guerre Kajuh (Slovene convention: ''Karel Destovnik – Kajuh'', 13 December 1922 – 22 February 1944), was a Slovenian poet, translator, resistance fighter, and Order of the Peopl ...

(1953) *

Milovan Đilas Milovan Djilas (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Милован Ђилас, Milovan Đilas, ; 12 June 1911 – 20 April 1995) was a Yugoslav communist politician, theorist and author. He was a key figure in the Partisan movement during World War II, as well ...

(1953, rescinded in 1957) * Nada Dimić (1951†) * Xhevdet Doda (1973†) * Robert Domany (1953†) * Dara Dragišić (1953†) *

Petar Drapšin Petar Drapšin ( sr-Cyrl, Петар Драпшин; 15 November 1914 – 2 November 1945) was a Serbian and Yugoslav Partisan commander. Early life and education Drapšin was born to a family of poor peasant farmers in the village of Turija ...

(1953) * Andreana Družina (1953) * Ratomir Dugonjić (1953) * Emin Duraku (1952†) * Ovadya Estreya (1953†) * Stjepan Filipović (1949†) * Čede Filipovski Dame (1949) * Ivan Gošnjak (1953) * Petar Gračanin (1951) *

Čedo Grbić Čedo Grbić (8 April 1921 – 4 December 1994) was a Serbs of Croatia, Croatian Serb communist politician. Grbić was born in Rajić, Sisak-Moslavina County, Rajić, a village near Novska. In 1937, he became a member of the League of Communist ...

(1951) * Janko Gredelj (1951†) * Fadil Hoxha (1953) * Većeslav Holjevac (1951) * Avdo Humo (1953) * Lizika Jančar (1953†) * Vlado Janić Capo (1951) * Blagoj Jankov Mučeto (1951†) * Vera Jocić (1951†) * Kuzman Josifovski Pitu (1945†) *

Blažo Jovanović Blažo Jovanović ( Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic; Блажо Јовановић; ; 28 March 1907 – 4 February 1976) was a Montenegrin politician and revolutionary army commander in the Yugoslav Partisans. He served as the first President of the Peop ...

(1952) * Radovan Jovanović (1951†) * Žikica Jovanović Španac (1945†) * Olga Jovičić (1951†) * Jovo Kapičić (1950) * Osman Karabegović (1952) * Elpida Karamandi (1951†) *

Edvard Kardelj Edvard Kardelj (; 27 January 1910 – 10 February 1979), also known by the pseudonyms Bevc, Sperans, and Krištof, was a Yugoslav politician and economist. He was one of the leading members of the Communist Party of Slovenia before World War II ...

(1951) *

Boris Kidrič Boris Kidrič (10 April 1912 – 11 April 1953) was a Slovene and Yugoslav politician and revolutionary who was one of the chief organizers of the Slovene Partisans, the Slovene resistance against occupation by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy a ...

(1952) * Đuro Kladarin (1952) * Filip Kljajić (1944†) *

Franjo Kluz Franjo Kluz (19 September 1913 – 14 September 1944) was a Yugoslav pilot from Bosnia and a People's Hero of Yugoslavia. He is best known as one of the founders of the Partisan air force, and served as an officer in No. 352 Squadron RAF. Ea ...

(1948†) * Fana Kochovska (1953) *

Lazar Koliševski Lazar Koliševski ( ; 12 February 1914 – 6 July 2000) was a Macedonians (ethnic group), Macedonian Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav Communism, communist political leader in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia and briefly in th ...

(1952) *

Rade Končar Rade Končar ( sr-cyr, Раде Кончар; 6 August or 28 October 1911 – 22 May 1942) was a Serbs of Croatia, Croatian Serb politician and leader of the Yugoslav Partisans in the Independent State of Croatia and Governorate of Dalmatia, ...

(1942†) *

Sava Kovačević Sava Kovačević ( sr-cyrl, Сава Ковачевић; 25 January 1905 – 13 June 1943) was a Yugoslav Partisan divisional commander during World War II, and one of the heroes of the communist Partisan movement. Early life Kovačević was ...

(1943†) * Veljko Kovačević (1951) * Boris Kraigher (1953) *

Josip Kraš Josip Kraš (26 March 1900 – 18 October 1941) was a Croatian communist and Partisans (Yugoslavia), partisan who died in World War II and was proclaimed a People's Hero of Yugoslavia. Kraš was born in the village of Vuglovec (near Ivanec and ...

(1945†) * Branko Krsmanović (1945†) * Vicko Krstulović (1952) *

Dušan Kveder Dušan Kveder (9 April 1915 – 12 March 1966) was a Yugoslav soldier and diplomat from Slovenia who served in a number of official capacities during and after the Second World War, including a term as Military Commander of the Free Territory ...

(1952) * Petar Leković (1942†) * Franc Leskošek (1952) *

Nikola Ljubičić Nikola Ljubičić (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Љубичић; 4 April 1916 – 13 April 2005) was the President of the Presidency of Serbia (1982–1984), a member of the Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1984–19 ...

(1953) * Ivan Maček (1952) *

Vahida Maglajlić Vahida Maglajlić (17 April 1907 – 1 April 1943) was a Yugoslav Partisan recognized as a People's Hero of Yugoslavia for her part in the struggle against the Axis powers during World War II. She was the only Bosnian Muslim woman to receive t ...

(1951†) * Miha Marinko (1953) * Moma Marković (1953) * Veselin Masleša (1951†) * Sergej Mašera (1973†) * Petar Matić Dule (1951) * Mile Mećava (1953†) * Cvijetin Mijatović (1953) *

Veljko Milatović Veljko Milatović ( Serbo-Croat Cyrillic: Вељко Милатовић; 5 December 1921 – 19 October 2004) was a Montenegrin Communist partisan, politician, statesman serving once as the Speaker and twice as President.Danica Milosavljevic (1953) *

Ivan Milutinović Ivan Milutinović (nickname Milutin; sr-cyr, Иван Милутиновић; 27 September 1901 – 23 October 1944) was a Yugoslav Partisan general and an eminent military commander who participated in World War II. Before the war In October ...

(1953†) * Miloš Minić (1953) * Milutin Morača (1951) * Dušan Mugoša (1953) * Mara Naceva (1953) * Kosta Nađ (1951) * Stefan Naumov (1945†) * Nada Naumović (1951†) * Gojko Nikoliš (1951) * Jordan Nikolov Orce (1945†) * Marko Orešković (1945†) * Đorđije Pajković (1953) * Boško Palkovljević (1943†) * Đoko Pavićević (1953) * Kata Pejnović (1968) * Slobodan Penezić (1952†) * Vladimir Perić (1953†) * Dušan Petrović Šane (1952) *

Moša Pijade Moša Pijade (, alternate English transliteration Moshe Piade; – 15 March 1957), was a Serbian and Yugoslavia, Yugoslav painter, journalist, Communist Party of Yugoslavia, Communist Party politician, World War II participant, and a close ...

(1953) * Strašo Pindžur (1945†) * Bojan Polak (1952) *

Koča Popović Konstantin "Koča" Popović ( sr-cyrl, Константин "Коча" Поповић; 14 March 1908 – 20 October 1992) was a Serbia, Serbian and Yugoslavs, Yugoslav politician and communist volunteer in the Spanish Civil War, 1937–1939 and D ...

(1953) *

Miladin Popović Miladin Popović ( sr-cyr, Миладин Поповић; 23 September 1910 – 13 March 1945) was a Yugoslav Partisan and secretary of the Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (OK KPJ) of Kosmet (Kosovo). He was one of the ...

(1946†) * Vladimir Popović (1952) * Janko Premrl (1944†) * Ognjen Prica (1945†) *

Slobodan Princip Slobodan Princip ( sr-cyr, Слободан Принцип; 25 May 1914 – 25 April 1942), nicknamed Seljo (Сељо), was a Yugoslav Partisans, Yugoslav Partisan fighter and the district staff chief of the Partisan Sarajevo area during World War ...

(1942†) * Đuro Pucar (1951) * Lepa Radić (1951†) * Darinka Radović (1953†) * Joakim Rakovac (1952†) *

Aleksandar Ranković Aleksandar Ranković (nom de guerre Marko, nicknamed Leka; sr-Cyrl, Александар Ранковић Лека; 28 November 1909 – 19 August 1983) was a Serbian and Yugoslav communist politician, considered to be the third most powerful ...

(1945) *

Ivo Lola Ribar Ivan Ribar (23 April 1916 – 27 November 1943), known as Ivo Lola or Ivo Lolo, was a Yugoslavs, Yugoslav Croats, Croat communist politician and military leader. In the 1930s, he became one of the closest associates of Josip Broz Tito, leader of ...

(1944†) * Slavko Rodić (1949) * Vladimir Rolović (1971) * Franc Rozman (1944†) * Ivan Rukavina (1951) * Ramiz Sadiku (1945†) * Vlado Šegrt (1951) *

Ivan Šibl Ivan Šibl (28 October 1917 – 30 March 1989) was a Yugoslav Partisans officer and Yugoslav People's Army Lieutenant Colonel General, as well as a writer and politician. Šibl was born in Virovitica. During the World War II, he joined the anti- ...

(1951) * Velimir Škorpik (1952†) *

Slavko Šlander Slavko Šlander, nom de guerre Aleš (20 June 1909 – 24 August 1941), was a Slovene communist, Partisan, and people's hero. He was born in Dolenja Vas near Prebold, Duchy of Styria, Austria-Hungary (now part of Slovenia). After he was s ...

(1943†) * Milan Spasić (1973†) *

Mika Špiljak Mika Špiljak ( Odra Sisačka 28 November 1916 - Zagreb 18 May 2007) was a Croatian politician who spent most of his political career as a member of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia in the SFR Yugoslavia. He served as President of the Pres ...

(1953) * Drago Štajnberger (1943†) * Petar Stambolić (1953) * Dragi Stamenković (1953) *

Mladen Stojanović Mladen Stojanović ( sr-cyr, Младен Стојановић; 7 April 1896 – 1 April 1942) was a Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian Serb and Yugoslavs, Yugoslav physician who led a detachment of Yugoslav Partisans, Par ...

(1942†) * Blagoj Stračkovski (1953†) * Borko Temelkovski (1953) *

Milan Tepić Milan Tepić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Тепић; 26 January 1957 – 29 September 1991) was a major in the Yugoslav People's Army during the Croatian War of Independence. In September 1991, Tepić was tasked with defending an ammunition storage i ...

(1991†) * Hristijan Todorovski Karpoš (1945†) * Vida Tomšič (1953) * Jovan Veselinov (1952) *

Veljko Vlahović Veljko Vlahović ( Cyrillic: Вељко Влаховић; 2 September 1914 – 7 March 1975) was a Montenegrin politician and career army officer. He was one of the prominent members of the Montenegrin branch of the Yugoslav Communist Party from ...

(1953) * Rada Vranješević (1951†) * Majda Vrhovnik (1951†) * Bogdan Vujošević (1953) *

Ratko Vujović Ratko Vujović (16 December 1916 – 29 October 1977) was a Yugoslavian political activist and soldier. After the Second World War, Vujović was the first elected President of FK Partizan. Biography Ratko Vujović was born on 16 December 1916 ...

(1953) *

Svetozar Vukmanović Svetozar Vukmanović - Tempo ( sh-Cyrl, Светозар Вукмановић - Темпо; 3 August 1912 – 6 December 2000) was a leading Montenegrin communist and member of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia. D ...

(1951) * Boro Vukmirović (1945†) *

Žarko Zrenjanin Žarko Zrenjanin "Uča" ( sr-Cyrl, Жарко Зрењанин, ; 11 September 1902 – 4 November 1942) was a Yugoslav partisan and National Hero of Yugoslavia. The city of Zrenjanin, in Serbia, is named after him, since 1946. Zrenjanin w ...

(1944†) Josip Broz Tito Bihać 1942.jpg,

was awarded the order three times. Tito sa narodnim herojima iz Bosne i Hercegovine.jpg, President Tito with People's Heroes from PR Bosnia and Herzegovina (1955) Tito sa narodnim herojima iz Crne Gore.jpg, President Tito with People's Heroes from PR Montenegro (1955) Tito sa narodnim herojima iz Hrvatske.jpg, President Tito with People's Heroes from PR Croatia (1955) Tito sa narodnim herojima iz Slovenije.jpg, President Tito with People's Heroes from PR Slovenia (1955) Tito sa narodnim herojima iz Srbije i Makedonije.jpg, President Tito with People's Heroes from

PR Serbia The Socialist Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Социјалистичка Република Србија, Socijalistička Republika Srbija), previously known as the People's Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / " ...

and PR Macedonia (1955)

Foreign citizens recipients of the order

Source: * Sergey Biryuzov (1964) * Ivan Bulkin (1945) * Reshit Çollaku (1945†, rescinded in 1948) * Pavel Dmitrienko (1945) *

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of People's Socialist Republic of Albania, Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the Secretary (titl ...

(1946, rescinded in 1948) * Boris Kalinkin (1944) * Ivan Konstantinov (1945) * Semyon Kozak (1944) * Vojo Kushi (1945†, rescinded in 1948) *

Luigi Longo Luigi Longo (15 March 1900 – 16 October 1980), also known as Gallo, was an Italian communist politician and general secretary of the Italian Communist Party from 1964 to 1972. He was also the first foreigner to be awarded an Order of Lenin. E ...

(1980) *

Rodion Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky (; ; – 31 March 1967) was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. He served as Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union from 1957 to 1967, during which he oversaw the strengthening of the Sov ...

(1964) * Alexander Managadze (1945) * Grigoriy Okhrimenko (1945) * Alexander Shornikov (1944) * Vladimir Sudets (1964) *

Ludvík Svoboda Ludvík Svoboda (; 25 November 1895 – 20 September 1979) was a Czech general and politician. He fought in both World Wars, for which he was regarded as a national hero,Fyodor Tolbukhin Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin (; 16 June 1894 – 17 October 1949) was a Soviet Union, Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. He is regarded as one of the finest Soviet generals of World War II. Born into a peasant family i ...

(1945) * Vasiliy Ulisko (1945) * Andrey Vitruk (1945) * Pavel Yakimov (1944) * Vladimir Zhdanov (1944) * Michał Żymierski (1946)

Hero Cities

Eight cities were the Order of the People's Hero (one in each Socialist Republic and Socialist Province), and granted the title "Hero City". Dates of the award are given in parentheses. *

(20 October 1974) *

(7 May 1975) *

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

(7 May 1970) *

(7 May 1975) *

Priština Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdom. The heritage of th ...

(7 May 1975) *

(17 May 1974) *

(

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

) (7 May 1975)

Public and political organizations recipients of the order

* Young Communist League of Yugoslavia (

SKOJ The League of Socialist Youth of Yugoslavia (SSOJ) was the youth movement, member organisation of the People's Front of Yugoslavia, Socialist Alliance of Working People of Yugoslavia (SSRNJ). Membership stood at more than 3.6 million individuals i ...

), volume 2, page 432 * District committee of SKOJ for

* Union of Veterans of People's Liberation War ( SUBNOR) * Union of the Spanish War veterans of Yugoslavia

World War II military units recipients of the order

*Brigades ** 1st Proletarian Strike Brigade (1958) ** 2nd Proletarian Strike Brigade (1958) ** 3rd Proletarian (

Sandžak Sandžak (Serbian Cyrillic: ; ) is a historical and geo-political region in the Balkans, located in the southwestern part of Serbia and the eastern part of Montenegro. The Bosnian/ Serbian term ''Sandžak'' derives from the Sanjak of Novi Paza ...

) Strike Brigade (1958) ** 4th Proletarian (Montenegrin) Strike Brigade (1958) ** 5th Proletarian (Montenegrin) Strike Brigade (1958) ** 6th Proletarian (East Bosnian) Strike Brigade (1958) ** 1st

Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by t ...

Proletarian Strike Brigade (1977) ** 2nd Lika Proletarian Strike Brigade (1977) ** 3rd Lika Proletarian Strike Brigade (1974) ** 1st

Krajina Krajina () is a Slavic languages, Slavic toponym, meaning 'country' or 'march (territory), march'. The term is related to ''kraj'' or ''krai'', originally meanings ''land'', ''country'' or ''edge''Rick Derksen (2008), ''Etymological Dictionary of t ...

Proletarian Strike Brigade (1975) ** 3rd Krajina Proletarian Strike Brigade (1958) ** 7th Krajina Strike Brigade (1958) ** 1st

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

n Proletarian Strike Brigade (1958) ** 2nd Dalmatian Proletarian Strike Brigade (1958) ** 3rd Dalmatian Strike Brigade (1958) **12th

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

n Proletarian Strike Brigade (1977) **13th Proletaraian Strike Brigade "Rade Končar" (1972) **1st

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

n Proletarian Brigade "Tone Tomšič" (1974) **2nd Slovenian People's Liberation Strike Brigade "Ljubo Šercer" (1979) **10th Herzegovinian Strike Brigade (after 1952: 17th Proletarian) (1958) ** 1st

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

Strike Brigade (after 1958: 18th Proletarian) (1973) **1st

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

n- Kosovan Proletarian Strike Brigade (after 1951: 15th Proletarian) **3rd

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n Proletarian Brigade (1977) **7th

Banija Banovina or Banija is a geographical region in central Croatia, between the Sava, Una, Kupa and Glina rivers. The main towns in the region include Petrinja, Glina, Kostajnica, and Dvor. There is no clear geographical border of the region tow ...

n Strike Brigade "Vasilj Gačeša" (1958) **8th Banijan Strike Brigade (1958) **16th Banijan Strike Brigade (1958) **15th

Majevica Majevica ( sr-cyrl, Мајевица, ) is a low mountain range in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated between Semberija, Posavina, and Tuzla Canton. Its highest peak is Stolice, some 16 kilometres east of Tuzla, in the far sout ...

Strike Brigade (1958) *Battalions and regiments ** 2nd

People's Liberation Partizan

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

"Dr

" (1972) ** Escort Battalion of the Supreme Command of People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (1958) ** Workers' Battalion of the

Užice Užice ( sr-cyr, Ужице, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative centre of the Zlatibor District in western Serbia. It is located on the banks of the river Đetinja. According to the 2022 census, the city proper has a popu ...

People's Liberation Partizan Regiment (1979) *Army institutions ** Central Hospital of People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (1968) ** Partizan Hospital on Petrova Gora (1971) **Security and Intelligence Service (Varnostno-obveščevalna služba)

Statistics

A total of 1,322 persons were awarded in Yugoslavia by 1981. Most of the awarded were men (1231) and 91 were women. Most People's Heroes were either

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face (mining), face; cutt ...

s or industrial workers (34%), 19% were university and high school students, 18% were

farmworker A farmworker, farmhand or agricultural worker is someone employed for labor in agriculture. In labor law, the term "farmworker" is sometimes used more narrowly, applying only to a hired worker involved in agricultural production, including har ...

s and 13% were experts of all kinds., volume 2, page 463 Most of the awarded were very young. Half of them joined the Army before their 25th birthday, and only 325 of them were over 30. 42% of the Heroes who died in the war were between 16 and 26 years old, 38% were between 27 and 34. Three Heroes were less than 17 years old when they died. Milka Bosnić was the youngest recipient of the order, she was just 15 when killed during the Raid on Drvar. Most recipients were awarded in the years following World War II, most of them between 1951 and 1953. Tito was the only person to be awarded multiple times, he was awarded the order three times. Of the 955 recipients who died in the war, 77% were killed in combat, about 15% were executed or died in prison, and about 7% died from wounds. Most of the Heroes died in 1943 (about 30%) and in 1942 (27.5%). Nine of them were killed after the war officially ended during the fight with the remaining enemy forces. 55 People's Heroes committed suicide to escape arresting. Most of the recipients of the Order were born in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

(21.9%), followed by

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

(20.6%),

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

(18.7%),

Central Serbia Central Serbia (), also referred to as Serbia proper (), is the region of Serbia lying outside the autonomous province of Vojvodina to the north and the disputed Kosovo region to the south. Central Serbia is a term of convenience, not an administ ...

(15%) and

(11.05%). Most of those who died during World War II died in Bosnia and Herzegovina (32%). In 1957 there were 410 living People's Heroes, in 1975 there were 367, and in 1981 there were 343 living Heroes. The last living woman recipient of the Order was Andreana Družina (1920–2021) and the last living overall was Petar Matić Dule (1920–2024).

References

Literature

* *

External links

ZAKON O OSNOVNIM PRAVIMA LICA ODLIKOVANIH ORDENOM NARODNOG HEROJA
(''Law on Basic Rights of Persons Awarded the Order of the People's Hero'')

{{SFRY decorations Awards established in 1943 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia in World War II People's Hero Awards disestablished in 1993 Hero (title) 1943 establishments in Yugoslavia 1992 disestablishments in Yugoslavia

History

Socialist Yugoslavia

Serbia and Montenegro

Notable recipients

Foreign citizens recipients of the order

Hero Cities

Public and political organizations recipients of the order

World War II military units recipients of the order

Statistics

See also

References

Literature

External links