Metodi Stamboliski (, born 10 April 1947, Mačevo) is a former

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...

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 ...

who served as the Chief of General Staff of the

Army of the Republic of Macedonia The Army of the Republic of North Macedonia (, ARSM) is the military of North Macedonia. The army is organized, prepared and trained to conduct armed struggle and combat and other actions to achieve its constitutional function of defending the ...

(2001–2004).

Biography

Stamboliski was born on 10 April 1947 in the village of Mačevo, located in the eastern

Republic of Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

(then part of the

Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

). He had two sisters and three brothers, one of whom also became an officer 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 ...

(JNA).

Education

He graduated from a high school in the town of

Berovo Berovo (, ) is a small town near the Maleševo Mountains, from Skopje, from Strumica and from Kočani, in North Macedonia. It is the seat of Berovo Municipality. Demographics According to the 2002 census, the town had a total of 7,002 inha ...

in 1966 and later attended the academy of the Yugoslav People's Army Ground Forces in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, specializing in artillery.''Bulgarian Army'' (Българска армия) magazine. Published 15 March 2002.

Military career

Stamboliski became an artillery platoon command and eventually rose up to command an artillery regiment in the JNA. After the formation of the

, he became the chief of the operations management in the General Staff. In 1995 Stamboliski was appointed the commander of the 3rd Army Corps in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

, and the following year he commanded the 2nd Army Corps in

Bitola Bitola (; ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki border crossing ...

. Stamboliski was promoted to brigadier general by a presidential decree on 18 August 1997. On February 11 of that year, he was given command of the border guard brigade and later promoted to major general. He became a

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 ...

on 18 June 2001 and took office as the Chief of General Staff of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia on 9 August 2001. Stamboliski was promoted to

by presidential decree. In 2004, Stamboliski was replaced as the Chief of General Staff by

Gjorgji Bojadžiev Gjorgji Bojadžiev (; 31 March 1950 – 1 December 2024) was a Macedonian general who served as the Chief of the General Staff of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia, Chief of General Staff of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia (2004–200 ...

Arms scandal

In the summer of 2007, General Stamboliski was arrested on charges of abuse of power regarding the purchasing and selling off of spare parts for the ARM's

T-55 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet medium tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks 1944–2 ...

tanks donated by

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, which cost the country 2.5 million euros (3.18 million U.S. dollars). He was also charged with embezzling 1.8 million Euros (about US$2.5 million) but released on bail. Later in 2008, Stamboliski, along with former

Minister of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

Vlado Bučkovski Vlado Bučkovski (; born 2 December 1962) is a Macedonian politician who served as Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Prime Minister of Macedonia from 2004 to 2006. He previously served as Minister of Defense (North Macedonia), Minister of Defence ...

and two other defense ministry officials, were found guilty. The former chief of general staff was jailed for three and a half years.Macedonia's ex-PM jailed for abuse of power
/ref>

References

Sources

* Bulgarian Wikipedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Stamboliski, Metodi 1947 births Living people People from Berovo Municipality Yugoslav People's Army personnel Army of North Macedonia personnel