Koča Popović
Koča Popović | |
---|---|
Коча Поповић | |
2nd Vice President of Yugoslavia | |
In office 14 July 1966 – 30 June 1967 | |
President | Josip Broz Tito |
Preceded by | Aleksandar Ranković |
Succeeded by | Office dissolved |
Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
In office 15 January 1953 – 23 April 1965 | |
Prime Minister | Josip Broz Tito Petar Stambolić |
Preceded by | Edvard Kardelj |
Succeeded by | Marko Nikezić |
Personal details | |
Born | Konstantin Popović 14 March 1908 Belgrade, Kingdom of Serbia |
Died | 20 October 1992 Belgrade, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia | (aged 84)
Political party | League of Communists of Yugoslavia |
Spouse |
Veronika Vjera Bakotić
(m. 1933; div. 1946) |
Domestic partner | Leposava Lepa Perović (1946–1992; his death) |
Battles/wars | Spanish Civil War, World War II |
Konstantin "Koča" Popović (
Despite being a member of the Communist 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 included Marko Nikezić and Latinka Perović. He retired in 1972, amidst pressure against his group of liberals. He spent the rest of his life in Dubrovnik and was very outspoken against the Yugoslav Wars and the regimes of Franjo Tuđman and Slobodan Milošević.
In his youth, Popović was one of the founding members of the Serbian
Biography
Popović came from a prosperous Belgrade family and spent the
In 1929, Popović moved to Paris to study Law and Philosophy. Here he mixed with the Left Bank world of poets, writers, artists and intellectuals.[3] He became an active Surrealist, active in both the French and Serbian Surrealist groups.[2] In 1931 Nacrt za jednu fenomenologiju iracionalnog (Outline for a Phenomenology of the Irrational) was published which he had co-written with Marko Ristić.[2]
Popović then became involved with the then illegal
World War II
In 1940, as a reserve officer in the Royal 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 the
During his time leading the Partisans he encountered William 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
Alongside dozens of other WW2 and Spanish Civil War veterans, Popović was among the founding fathers of the Partizan Belgrade football club in October 1945.[4]
After the establishment of a communist regime in
Consequently, Popović became the
From 1965 until 1972, Popović acted as a member of the
Popović died in Belgrade in 1992 at the age of 84.
Honours
See also
- Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
- Yugoslav People's Army
- Yugoslav Partisans
- Titoism
- Josip Broz Tito
References
- ^ a b Čkrebić, Dušan (2012). Koča Popović, duboka ljudska tajna. Službeni glasnik.
- ^ a b c "Konstantin Koča Popović". Nadrealizam. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- ^ ISBN 0-19-215175-4.
- ^ cbnostalgija (9 May 2019). "Osnivači Partizana". Crno-bela Nostalgija (in Serbian). Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ 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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