Živan Knežević ( sr-Cyrl, Живан Кнежевић; 28 July 1906 – 1 December 1984) was a major in the Yugoslav Royal Guards who was a key conspirator in the Yugoslav coup d'état of 27 March 1941 that deposed the regency of Prince Paul, Dr. Radenko Stanković and Dr. Ivo Perović, as well as the government of Prime Minister Dragiša Cvetković. Knežević and his fellow plotters declared the 17-year-old King Peter to be of age and brought to power a government of national unity led by Air Force General Dušan Simović. The coup resulted in the German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia during which the armed forces of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

were defeated within 11 days. Fleeing the country by air, Knežević was based in Alexandria for a period, where he briefly commanded a battalion of Yugoslav Royal Guards formed with British assistance. He subsequently served as a military liaison officer between 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 ...

Draža Mihailović Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб "Дража" Михаиловић; 27 April 1893 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslavs, Yugoslav Serb general during World War II. He was the leader of the Chetniks, Chetnik Detachments ...

and the Yugoslav government-in-exile then after promotion to lieutenant colonel he served as a military attaché in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

until the end of the war, by which time he had achieved the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. He remained in the US after the war and died in 1984.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Knezevic, Zivan 1906 births 1984 deaths People from Vranje People from the Kingdom of Serbia Yugoslav military personnel of World War II Burials at the Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery in Libertyville, Illinois People convicted in absentia