Mirko Šundov (born 15 January 1962) is a Croatian General who served as a Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Croatia from 2016 until 2020.

Early life and education

Mirko Šundov was born on 15 January 1962 in a small village of Bračević in municipality of Muć near

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

. He graduated defense in 1986 from the Faculty of Political Science of the

University of Sarajevo The University of Sarajevo (Bosnian language, Bosnian, Croatian language, Croatian and Serbian language, Serbian: ''Univerzitet u Sarajevu'' / Sveučilište u Sarajevu / Универзитет у Сарајеву) is a List of universities in Bo ...

. He gained his master's degree in 1999 in the field of Geo-sciences, branch Physical Geography, from the Faculty of Science of the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

. In 2001, Šundov graduated from the National War College "Ban Josip Jelačić". In 2007, he gained his PhD in the field of Geo-sciences, branch Physical Geography, from the Faculty of Science of the

Career

After graduation in 1986, Šundov started working as a Special Adviser in the Croatian Territorial Defense HQs in Split. 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 ...

(1991–1995), Šundov at first served as an Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations of the 4th Brigade of the National Guard (1991–1992), and later as its Commander (1992–1995). In 1995, Šundov become Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Area Command Split. After the war, Šundov worked as Director of the Education Directorate CAF GS (1995–1996), Deputy Commander of the Area Command

Ston Ston () is a settlement and a municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia, located at the south of isthmus of the Pelješac peninsula. History Because of its geopolitical and strategic position, Ston has had a rich history since ...

(1996–1998), Commander of the Area Command

Knin Knin () is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka (Croatia), Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagreb and Split, Croatia, Split. ...

(1998–2000), Commandant of the Training Command (2001–2003), Commandant of the War College "Ban Josip Jelačić" (2003) in which he also served as a lecturer on module "Military Strategy and Operations, Commandant of the Joint Education and Training Command "Petar Zrinski" (2003–2007), Commandant of the Croatian Defense Academy "Petar Zrinski" (2007–2011), Military Representative of Croatia to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and the EU (2011–2014), and Inspector General of Defense of Croatia (2014–2016). In 2016, President

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović (; born 29 April 1968) is a Croatian politician and diplomat who served as the president of Croatia from 2015 to 2020. She was the first woman to be elected to the office since the first multi-party elections in 1990 ...

and Prime Minister

Tihomir Orešković Tihomir "Tim" Orešković (; born 1 January 1966) is a Croatian-Canadian businessman who was Prime Minister of Croatia from January to October 2016, before a no-confidence vote filed by one of the two parties in the ruling coalition brought hi ...

named him

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan) * Chief of the General Staff (Albania) * C ...

Armed Forces of Croatia The Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia () are the national Military, military forces of Croatia. The Croatian military consists of three service branches: the Croatian Army, the Croatian Navy and the Croatian Air Force. The OSRH is headed ...

Decorations

* Order of Duke Branimir with Neck Ribbon *

Order of Nikola Šubić Zrinski The Order of Nikola Šubić Zrinski () is the 9th most important medal given by the Republic of Croatia. The order was founded on April 1, 1995. The medal is awarded for a heroic act in war or imminent danger of war, or exceptional circumstances in ...

Order of Ban Jelačić The Order of Ban Jelačić () is the 10th most important medal given by the Republic of Croatia. The order was founded on April 1, 1995. The medal is awarded for excellence in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia. It is named after the ban ...

Order of the Croatian Trefoil The Order of the Croatian Trefoil () is the sixteenth most important medal given by the Republic of Croatia. The order was founded on 1 April 1995. The medal is awarded for excellence in war, direct war danger or in extraordinary circumstances in ...

* Order of the Croatian Interlace *

Commemorative Medal of the Homeland's Gratitude Homeland's Gratitude Medal () is the 19th most important medal in the Croatian honours system. The Homeland's Gratitude Medal has four classes, each for the length of service of 5, 10, 15, and 20 or more years. Notable recipients * Imra Agoti ...

for 5 years of honorable service *

for 10 years of honorable service *

for 15 years of honorable service *

Homeland War Memorial Medal The Homeland War Memorial () is a Croatian state medal awarded to both Croatian and foreign citizens who participated in the nation's Croatian War of Independence as a volunteer, part of the Croatian Army and Croatian Council of Defence or in som ...

* Medal for Participation in Operation Storm * Pistol, Commander of the 4th Brigade of the National Guard, 1992 * Commendation, President of the Republic of Croatia and Supreme Commander, 1992 and 1993

Personal life

Šundov is married to Marijana Šundov with whom he has two children, son Tomo and daughter Ivana. He speaks Croatian, English and Italian.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sundov, Mirko 1962 births Croatian army officers Military personnel of the Croatian War of Independence Living people Order of Duke Domagoj recipients University of Sarajevo alumni