Dragoljub Ojdanić ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб Ојданић; 1 June 1941 – 6 September 2020) was a Serbian army general 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 The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...

by the

ICTY The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal ...

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 Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

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 Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...

placed Ojdanić as a Chief of the General Staff of the Yugoslav Army. He was also a Chief of General Staff during

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

's Operation Allied Force. In February 2000 after the death of defence minister

Pavle Bulatović Pavle Bulatović (Serbian Cyrillic: Павле Булатовић; 13 December 1948 – 7 February 2000) was a Yugoslav politician. Bulatović served as Interior Minister of Montenegro from 1990 to 1992, then as Federal Minister of Interior of FR ...

, 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 The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal ...

(ICTY) in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

. 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. On 27 May 2009, Ojdanić's case was appealed. 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. On 29 August 2013, Ojdanić was granted early release and has since lived in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

.Dragoljub Ojdanić granted early release
icty.org; accessed 25 December 2015

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

External links

Optuznica za ratne zlocine

Presuda Haškog suda
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ojdanic, Dragoljub 1941 births 2020 deaths Generals of the Yugoslav People's Army People convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia People extradited from Serbia Military personnel from Užice Serbian generals Serbian people convicted of crimes against humanity