Dragoljub Ojdanić
Born(1941-06-01)1 June 1941
Ravni, Užice, German-occupied Serbia
Died6 September 2020(2020-09-06) (aged 79)
Belgrade, Serbia
Allegiance SFR Yugoslavia (1964–1992)
 FR Yugoslavia (1992–2000)
Service/branchYugoslav People's Army (1964–1992)
Yugoslav Army (1992–2000)
Years of service1964–2000
RankGeneral of the Army
Battles/wars
AwardsOrder of Freedom

Dragoljub Ojdanić (Serbian Cyrillic: Драгољуб Ојданић; 1 June 1941 – 6 September 2020) was a Serbian General of the army who served as the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Yugoslavia and Minister of Defence of Yugoslavia. Ojdanić commanded the Uzice corps during the Bosnian War and was tried and convicted of the deportation and forcible transfer of Kosovo Albanians during the Kosovo War by the ICTY.[1][2]

Education and career

In 1958, Ojdanić studied at the Yugoslav Military Academy and graduated in 1964. He was deputy commander of the 37th Corps, with command in Užice. He was promoted to Major General on 20 April 1992 and he became the commander of Užice korpus. Under his command, the Užice Corps was deployed in military operations in eastern Bosnia during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He served as Chief of the General Staff First Army of FRY in 1993 and 1994. From 1994 to 1996, he was commander of the First Army. In 1996 he became deputy commander Chief of the General Staff. In 1998 Slobodan Milošević placed Ojdanić as a Chief of the General Staff of the Yugoslav Army. He was also a Chief of General Staff during NATO's Operation Allied Force. In February 2000 after the death of defence minister Pavle Bulatović, he was made defence minister of Yugoslavia and promoted to General of the Army.

ICTY trial and sentence

On 25 April 2002, Ojdanić was transferred by the Yugoslav government to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. Ojdanić was allowed to attend Milošević's funeral in March 2006. On 26 February 2009, the ICTY sentenced Ojdanić to 15 years in prison, following a conviction for deportation and forcible transfers of Kosovo Albanians.[2][1]

On 27 May 2009, Ojdanić's case was appealed.[3] Ojdanić's co-counsel on appeal was Peter Robinson of the United States. In January 2013, Ojdanić, publicly admitted his participation in war crimes against Kosovo Albanians and withdrew the appeal against his conviction.[1] On 29 August 2013, Ojdanić was granted early release and afterwards lived in Serbia.[4]

Awards

  • Order of Freedom (Yugoslavia)
  • Order of Merits for the People 2nd class
  • Order of Brotherhood and Unity 2nd class
  • Order of the People's Army 2nd class
  • Order for Military Merits 2nd class
  • Order of the People's Army 3rd class
  • Order for Military Merits 3rd class
  • Medal for 20 Years of JNA
  • Medal for 30 Years of JNA
  • Medal for 30 Years of Victory over Fascism
  • Medal for 40 Years of JNA
  • Medal for 50 Years of JNA (FRY)

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ristic, Marija. "Yugoslav Army General Dragoljub Ojdanić Admits Kosovo War Crimes". Balkan Insight. BIRN. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Kosovo trial clears Serbia leader". BBC News. 26 February 2009. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
  3. ↑ Profile: Dragoljub Ojdanić Archived 2011-02-04 at the Wayback Machine, haguejusticeportal.net; accessed 25 December 2015.
  4. ↑ Dragoljub Ojdanić granted early release, icty.org; accessed 25 December 2015
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