Ivan Pokaz (born 21 December 1942) is a retired
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 served as deputy head of intelligence at the
General Staff of the Armed Forces during 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 ...
, and as head of military intelligence from 1996 until 2000.
He is married to Slavica, with whom he has two sons - Tomislav and
Igor Pokaz
Igor Pokaz (born 23 May 1968) is a Croatian diplomat that has served as ambassador to NATO and Russia. He also served as Croatia's ambassador to the United Kingdom between September 2017 and May 2023.
Education
Pokaz has a Bachelor of Economics ...
.
Military career
Ivan Pokaz was actively involved in the Croatian War of Independence from the Summer of 1991. He initially served as expert advisor for research, development and production in the
Croatian Ministry of Defence
The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Croatia ( or MORH) is the ministry in the Government of Croatia which is in charge of the nation's military. It is Croatia's ministry of defence. The ministry was established in 1990.
Structure
Element ...
. From 1992, he held positions within the General Staff, including Head of Department for electronic reconnaissance, and then Deputy Head of Intelligence.
From 1996 to 2000, Pokaz was the Head of Intelligence within the General Staff. He went on to serve as Croatia's
to Austria, Slovakia, and the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...
from 2001 until his retirement in 2003.
After retirement
From 2006 to 2008, Pokaz worked closely with the defence of general
Mladen Markač
Mladen Markač (; born 8 May 1955) is a Croatian retired general. He was a Commander of Croatian Special Police during Operation Storm during the Croatian War of Independence (1991–1995), and afterwards held the rank of Colonel General. Later, ...
at 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 in the Yugoslav Wars, war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to tr ...
. Pokaz also produced an expert report that contributed to the defence of
Ante Gotovina
Ante Gotovina (born 12 October 1955) is a Croatian retired lieutenant general and former French senior corporal who served in the Croatian War for Independence. He is noted for his primary role in the 1995 Operation Storm. In 2001, the Intern ...
.
Pokaz was appointed to serve on the Defence Committee of the Croatian Parliament from 6 November 2017 until 22 July 2020.
Brigadier general Pokaz has authored numerous scientific research papers and scholarly articles in the fields of corporate security and the management of security risks. One of his most notable works is his analysis of the use of military intelligence during
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 ...
, detailed in his book "Storm - the response to the strategy of real threat".
He most recently co-authored the book "National Security of the Republic of Croatia in the 21st century", released in 2019. It is the first major study covering national security in the 21st century in Croatia and South-Eastern Europe.
References
1942 births
Croatian army officers
Military personnel of the Croatian War of Independence
Living people
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pokaz, Ivan