Veljko Kovačević (19 December 1912 – 24 May 1994) was a
Montenegrin general and writer.
Biography
He was born in
Grahovo (part of
Nikšić
Nikšić (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Никшић, ), is the second largest city in Montenegro, with a total population of 32,046 (2023 census) located in the west of the country, in the centre of the spacious Nikšić field at the foot of Trebjesa ...
) in the
Kingdom of Montenegro
The Kingdom of Montenegro was a monarchy in southeastern Europe, present-day Montenegro, during the tumultuous period of time on the Balkan Peninsula leading up to and during World War I. Officially it was a constitutional monarchy, but absolu ...
. After abandoning the studies at the
Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb in 1937 he volunteered in the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
. After internment in France (1939–1941) as requested by the leadership of the Communist Party, he organized partisan units in
Gorski Kotar
Gorski Kotar () is the mountainous region in Croatia between Karlovac and Rijeka. Because 63% of its surface is forested it is popularly called ''the green lungs of Croatia'' or ''Croatian Switzerland''. The European route E65, which connects B ...
and along the Croatian littoral. After the end of
World War II
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 ...
he held several senior military and government posts. In 1952 he finished the
Higher Military Academy in Belgrade. He studied
military history
Military history is the study of War, armed conflict in the Human history, history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to Politics, local and international relationship ...
, and war topics were a recurrent theme in his stories and novels.
He died 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 ...
.
Works
* ''U rovovima Španije'' (1958)
* ''Kapelski kresovi'' (1961)
* ''Mlada šuma'' (1966)
* ''Gavrijada'' (1971)
* ''Dani koji ne odlaze'' (I–II, 1985)
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovacevic, Veljko
1912 births
1994 deaths
Military personnel from Nikšić
Writers from Nikšić
Yugoslav people of the Spanish Civil War
Foreign volunteers in the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction)
Montenegrin communists
Recipients of the Order of the People's Hero
Members of the Central Committee of the 8th Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia