Imra Agotić (12 January 1943 – 18 March 2012) was a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n general who distinguished himself in the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

. Agotić was born in Gorjani and was educated in the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

. In July 1991, as the war started, he was a member of the 5th Corps Counter-intelligence service, and he defected to the fledgling Croatian National Guard, becoming its first commanding officer in August 1991. In October 1991, President

Franjo Tuđman Franjo Tuđman (14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999) was a Croatian politician and historian who became the first president of Croatia, from 1990 until his death in 1999. He served following the Independence of Croatia, country's independe ...

promoted him to the rank of Major General (''general bojnik'') and made him the chief ceasefire negotiator with the Yugoslav People's Army. Agotić fulfilled that role with success up until the final ceasefire was signed in January 1992, and became known to the public. Agotić then became the first commander of the Croatian Air Force and Defence. He remained in charge of the air force, and was promoted to the rank of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

(''general pukovnik'') in 1995. Between 1996 and 2000, he was the assistant commander of the

General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Glavni stožer Oružanih snaga Republike Hrvatske) is a joint body of the Armed Forces of Croatia, Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia established within the Ministry ...

in charge of the air force. In 2000, he was appointed advisor to the President of Croatia for matters of defence and military under

Stjepan Mesić Stjepan "Stipe" Mesić (; born 24 December 1934) is a Croatia, Croatian lawyer and politician who served as the president of Croatia from 2000 to 2010. Before serving two five-year terms as president, he was Prime Minister of Croatia, prime minis ...

. He was promoted to the rank of

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

(''general zbora'') and retired from active military service in 2002. Between 2003 and 2005 he held the post of national security advisor to the President. In 2003, he testified against

Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Милошевић, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the President of Serbia between 1989 and 1997 and President of the Federal Republic of Yugos ...

at the ICTY. Agotić was decorated with the Homeland War Memorial Medal, Homeland Gratitude Medal, Order of Nikola Šubić Zrinski, Order of Ban Jelačić, Order of the Croatian Interlace, as well as medals for Operation Flash, Operation Summer 95 and

Operation Storm Operation Storm ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Operacija Oluja, separator=" / ", Операција Олуја) was the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence and a major factor in the outcome of the Bosnian War. It was a decisive victory f ...

. In 2006 he became a member of the Military Decorations and Awards Commission with the

Office of the President of Croatia The president of Croatia, officially the president of the Republic of Croatia (), is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the Military of Croatia, military and chief representative of the Croatia, Republic of Croatia both within the count ...

that was in charge of awarding military decorations and awards, and in 2010 he was named its chairman. He died in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agotic, Imra 1943 births 2012 deaths People from Gorjani Croatian army officers Military personnel of the Croatian War of Independence Order of Nikola Šubić Zrinski recipients Officers of the Yugoslav People's Army