Vladimir "Vlada" Zečević ( sr-cyr, Владимир Влада Зечевић; 21 March 1903 ( OS) – 26 October 1970) was a

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and later a member of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia and the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...

during

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 ...

who served as the first post-WWII Minister of the Interior of Yugoslavia from 7 March 1945 to 2 February 1946.

Biography

Zečević was born in

Loznica Loznica ( sr-cyrl, Лозница, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city located in the Mačva District of western Serbia, on the right bank of the Drina river. In 2022 the city had a total population of 19,515, while the administrative area had a ...

, on 25 March 1903. He graduated from the University of Belgrade's Faculty of Theology. From 1927 to 1941 he served as a parish priest in Krupanj, whereupon he became invested in the political life, ardently supporting the opposition. After the

Invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a Nazi Germany, 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 put fo ...

in 1941 by the

Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

, Zečević voluntarily joined the

Royal Yugoslav Army The Yugoslav Army ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Jugoslovenska vojska, JV, Југословенска војска, ЈВ), commonly the Royal Yugoslav Army, was the principal Army, ground force of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It existed from the establishment of ...

. He was, at first, affiliated with the

Chetniks The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...

but, following the siege on

Šabac Šabac ( sr-Cyrl, Шабац, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river ...

, he defected to the

together with lieutenant

Ratko Martinović Ratko (Cyrillic script: Ратко) is a male given name of Slavic origin. It is a diminutive form of the names Ratibor and Ratimir. Notable people * Ratko Čolić (1918–1999), Serbian footballer * Ratko Dautovski, Macedonian percussionist, ...

, alongside five hundred other Chetnik soldiers. In November 1941, during the short-lived liberated territory in Western Serbia, known as

Republic of Užice The Republic of Užice ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Užička republika, Ужичка република) was a short-lived liberated Yugoslav territory and the first liberated territory in World War II Europe, organized as a military mini ...

, he was a member of the newly established Main National Liberation Committee for Serbia responsible for Trade, supplies, forestry and mining.Mladenović, p. 140 He joined the

League of Communists of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, was the founding and ruling party of SFR Yugoslavia. It was formed in 1919 as the main communist opposition party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats ...

in 1942 and went on to serve as a political commissar deputy of the

Valjevo Valjevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Ваљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Kolubara District in western Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population of 56,145 while the city admini ...

Partisan Unit, a member of the

AVNOJ The Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia,; ; commonly abbreviated as the AVNOJ, was a deliberative and legislative body that was established in Bihać, Yugoslavia, in November 1942. It was established by Josip Broz ...

's Executive Board, a commissioner of the Denominational Department during the First AVNOJ Session and a commissioner of internal affairs during the

. Having survived the war, Zečević served as

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

of Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1946; as Minister of Construction, Transportation and Infrastructure of the

SR 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=" / " ...

from 1952 to 1953 and as president of the Yugoslav Parliament from 1954 to 1960. Zečević 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 ...

on 26 October 1970, where he was also buried.

Bibliography

Zečević authored three books, all published in the 1960s, respectively titled ''An Encounter in the Dark'' (

, 1963), ''The More You Know'' (

, 1968) and ''Insurgency Growing'' (

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 ...

, 1968).

References

Sources

* *Roberts, Walter. Tito, Mihailovic and the Allies 1941 - 1945. Duke Univ. Press, 1994. *Steinberg, S. H. The Statesman's Year-Book: Statistical and Historical Annual of the States of the World for the Year 1950. Macmillan, 1950 {{DEFAULTSORT:Zecevic, Vlada 1903 births 1970 deaths People from Loznica League of Communists of Serbia politicians Yugoslav Partisans members Serbian people of World War II Serbian communists Interior ministers of Yugoslavia Members of the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia Serbian Orthodox clergy Eastern Orthodox Christians from Serbia Christian communists Eastern Orthodox socialists European Christian socialists