Petar "Peko" Dapčević (Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic: Петар Пеко Дапчевић; 25 June 1913 – 13 February 1999) was a Yugoslav

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

who fought as a volunteer in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

, joined the Partisan uprising in Montenegro, and became commander of the Yugoslav 1st Proletarian Corps, 1st and 4th Armies. Dapčević led the Partisan troops that, along with Soviet

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

under General Vladimir Zhdanov,

liberated Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

Belgrade on October 20, 1944. He was the first person to be proclaimed as honorary citizen of Belgrade. He was also among the founders of

FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; en, Partizan Football Club), sometimes known as Partizan Belgrade in English, is a Serbian professional football club based in Belgrade. It forms a major par ...

, the football section of the Partizan Sports Society. In 1953, Dapčević was named Chief of the Yugoslav General Staff, but was demoted as a result of being indirectly involved in the

Milovan Đilas Milovan Djilas (; , ; 12 June 1911 – 30 April 1995) was a Yugoslav communist politician, theorist and author. He was a key figure in the Partisan movement during World War II, as well as in the post-war government. A self-identified democr ...

troubles with the party.

Biography

Born in the area of

Cetinje Cetinje (, ) is a town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital (''prijestonica'' / приjестоница) of Montenegro and is the location of several national institutions, including the official residence of the president of Montenegr ...

known as Ljubotinj, his father Jovan was an Orthodox deacon. He had one sister named Danica who was a public school teacher, and brothers Milutin (an officer in the

Royal Yugoslav Army The Yugoslav Army ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Jugoslovenska vojska, JV, Југословенска војска, ЈВ), commonly the Royal Yugoslav Army, was the land warfare military service branch of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (originally Kingdom of Serbs ...

), Dragutin (Major of Yugoslav Armies) and

Vlado Vlado () is a Slavic masculine given name. Notable people with the given name include: * Vlado Babić (born 1960), Serbian politician *Vlado Badžim (born 1964), Slovenian football player and football coach *Vlado Bagat (1915–1944), Croatian and ...

who was a revolutionary, dissident and

anti-revisionist Anti-revisionism is a position within Marxism–Leninism which emerged in the 1950s in opposition to the reforms of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Where Khrushchev pursued an interpretation that differed from his predecessor Joseph Stalin, t ...

. Dapčević died at the age of 85 in Belgrade.

References

1913 births 1999 deaths Military personnel from Cetinje People of the Kingdom of Montenegro Yugoslav communists Montenegrin communists International Brigades personnel Yugoslav people of the Spanish Civil War Yugoslav politicians Yugoslav Partisans members Chiefs of Staff of the Yugoslav People's Army Recipients of the Order of the People's Hero Generals of the Yugoslav People's Army Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia members Montenegrin atheists Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery Politicians from Cetinje {{Montenegro-politician-stub