Konstantin "Koča" Popović(Serbian Cyrillic:Константин "Коча" Поповић;14 March 1908 – 20 October 1992) was aSerbianandYugoslavpolitician andcommunistvolunteer in theSpanish Civil War,1937–1939 and Divisional Commander of theFirst Proletarian Divisionof theYugoslav Partisans.He is on occasion referred to as "the man who saved the Yugoslav Partisans", because it was he who anticipated the weakest point in the Axis lines on theZelengora–Kalinovikaxis, and devised the plan for breaking through it during theBattle of Sutjeska,thus savingJosip Broz Tito,his headquarters and the rest of the resistance movement. After the war, he served as theChief of the General Staff of the Yugoslav People's Army,before moving to the position ofMinister of Foreign Affairsand spent the final years of his political career asVice President of Yugoslavia.
Despite being a member of theCommunist Party of Yugoslavia,Popović was a supporter of free-market reforms[1]and was also a member of a group of Serbian liberals, a prominent political movement in the 1970s, which also includedMarko NikezićandLatinka Perović.He retired in 1972, amidst pressure against his group of liberals. He spent the rest of his life inDubrovnikand was very outspoken against theYugoslav Warsand the regimes ofFranjo TuđmanandSlobodan Milošević.
In his youth, Popović was one of the founding members of the SerbianSurrealistmovement. He co-wrote a book withMarko Ristić.Also, Popović was among the founders of the Yugoslav Sports Association Partizan andFK Partizan,the football section of the Yugoslav Sports Association Partizan.
Biography
editPopović came from a prosperous Belgrade family and spent theFirst World WarinSwitzerland.[2][1]He was also one of the thirteen signatories of the SerbianSurrealistmanifesto in 1930.
In 1929, Popović moved toParisto studyLawandPhilosophy.Here he mixed with theLeft Bankworld of poets, writers, artists and intellectuals.[3]He became an activeSurrealist,active in both the French and Serbian Surrealist groups.[2] In 1931Nacrt za jednu fenomenologiju iracionalnog(Outline for a Phenomenology of the Irrational) was published which he had co-written withMarko Ristić.[2]
Popović then became involved with the then illegalYugoslav Communist Party.In Paris there was a center run byCominternand headed byJosip Broz Tito,which was used to feed volunteers from the Balkans to theRepublicansin theSpanish Civil War.Popović was drafted through this center along with aselect groupof Party members. Popović fought with Spanish Republican forces and not theInternational Brigades,holding the rank of artillery captain. At the close of the Spanish Civil War Popović escaped through France and made his way back to Yugoslavia.[3]
World War II
editIn 1940, as a reserve officer in theRoyal Yugoslav Army,Popović was mobilized and told by his Colonel to watch out for subversive activities within the regiment.
After the surrender of the Royal Yugoslav Army to theGerman Armyin April 1941, Popović organized theKosmajdetachment during the uprising in Serbia. On the formation of theFirst Proletarian Brigade,Popović became its commander, and subsequently commanded the First Proletarian Division.[3]
During his time leading the Partisans he encounteredWilliam Deakin,leader of the British military mission to Tito's headquarters, who wrote of Popović:
At the head of the First Proletarian Division was General Koča Popović. He had been present at our first encounter with Tito and his Staff on the morning of our arrival, but his identity was not disclosed. Taut and deliberately controlled by a sensitive and disciplined mind and power of will, Popovic was an intellectual soldier of outstanding talents, which were perhaps alien to his inner nature. [...] He was bilingual in caustic polished French, and his mental defences were impenetrable. His sarcasm was rapier-like, respectful of counter-thrusts, but he was never off his guard. [...] Popovic was a lone wolf and a solitary man, with rare unguarded moments. He had a touch of military genius and hatred of war. He was wary of friendship and defended with a devilish skill total integrity of mind and heart. [...] I was frequently in his company and grew to accept his contrived and polished sallies. Daring with cold deliberation and secret by nature, he was the idol of his troops, but few men knew him.[3]
Post-war
editAlongside dozens of other WW2 and Spanish Civil War veterans, Popović was among the founding fathers of thePartizan Belgradefootball club in October 1945.[4]
After the establishment of a communist regime inYugoslaviain 1945, he served as theChief of the Yugoslavian General Stafffrom 1945 until 1953. In this function he also conducted negotiations with the representatives of Western powers associated with the modernisation of the JNA during the conflict with theSoviet Union(i.e.,Informbiro).
Consequently, Popović became theMinister of Foreign Affairsof Yugoslavia in 1953 and held this office until 1965. As Foreign Minister, he was the head of the Yugoslav delegation to theUN General Assemblysessions on several occasions.
From 1965 until 1972, Popović acted as a member of theFederal Executive Counciland theVice President of Yugoslaviafrom 1966 until 1967. In 1985, he andPeko Dapčevićwere considered for promotion in rankGeneral of the Army,but they both rejected the proposition.
Popović died inBelgradein 1992 at the age of 84.
Honours
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^Jump up to: abČkrebić, Dušan (2012).Koča Popović, duboka ljudska tajna.Službeni glasnik.
- ^Jump up to: abc"Konstantin Koča Popović".Nadrealizam.Retrieved23 February2014.
- ^Jump up to: abcdDeakin, F.W.D. (1971).The Embattled Mountain.Oxford University Press. pp.103.ISBN0-19-215175-4.
- ^cbnostalgija (9 May 2019)."Osnivači Partizana".Crno-bela Nostalgija(in Serbian).Retrieved3 August2019.
- ^Acović, Dragomir (2012).Slava i čast: Odlikovanja među Srbima, Srbi među odlikovanjima.Belgrade: Službeni Glasnik.
- ^Гачић, Драган (2015). "Одликовања из легата историјског архива Београда". Историјски архив Београда.
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