Konstantin "Koča" Popović (; 14 March 1908 – 20 October 1992) was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and communist volunteer in the Spanish Civil War, 1937–1939 and Divisional Commander of the First Proletarian Division of the Yugoslav Partisans. He is on occasion referred to as "the man who saved the Yugoslav Partisans", because it was he who anticipated the weakest point in the Axis lines on the Zelengora–Kalinovik axis, and devised the plan for breaking through it during the Battle of Sutjeska, thus saving Josip Broz Tito, his headquarters and the rest of the resistance movement. After the war, he served as the Chief of the General Staff of the Yugoslav People's Army, before moving to the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs and spent the final years of his political career as Vice President of Yugoslavia.

Despite being a member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, Popović was a supporter of free-market reforms and was also a member of a group of Serbian liberals, a prominent political movement in the 1970s, which also included Marko Nikezić and Latinka Perović. He retired in 1972, amidst pressure against his group of liberals. He spent the rest of his life in Dubrovnik and was very outspoken against the Yugoslav Wars and the regimes of Franjo Tuđman and Slobodan Milošević.

In his youth, Popović was one of the founding members of the Serbian Surrealist movement. He co-wrote a book with Marko Ristić. Also, Popović was among the founders of the Yugoslav Sports Association Partizan and FK Partizan, the football section of the Yugoslav Sports Association Partizan.

Biography

Popović came from a prosperous Belgrade family and spent the First World War in Switzerland. He became an active Surrealist, active in both the French and Serbian Surrealist groups.

After the establishment of a communist regime in Yugoslavia in 1945, he served as the Chief of the Yugoslavian General Staff from 1945 until 1953. In this function he also conducted negotiations with the representatives of Western powers associated with the modernisation of the JNA during the conflict with the Soviet Union (i.e., Informbiro).

thumb|Popović pictured with [[Josip Broz Tito]]

Consequently, Popović became the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Yugoslavia in 1953 and held this office until 1965. As Foreign Minister, he was the head of the Yugoslav delegation to the UN General Assembly sessions on several occasions.

From 1965 until 1972, Popović acted as a member of the Federal Executive Council and the Vice President of Yugoslavia from 1966 until 1967. In 1985, he and Peko Dapčević were considered for promotion in rank General of the Army, but they both rejected the proposition.

Popović died in Belgrade in 1992 at the age of 84.

Honours

{| class="wikitable"

|- style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;"

| colspan=2 |Yugoslavian decorations

|-

|

|Order of Freedom

|-

|

|Order of the People's Hero

|-

|

|Order of the People's Liberation

|-

|

|Order of the War Banner

|-

|

|Order of the Yugoslav Flag

|-

|

|Order of the Partisan Star

|-

|

|Order of the Republic

|-

|

|Order of Merits for the People

|-

|

|Order of Brotherhood and Unity

|-

|

|Order of Labour

|-

|

|Order of Military Merits

|-

|

|Order of Bravery

|-

|

|Commemorative Medal of the Partisans of 1941

|-

|

|Order of the Yugoslav Crown

|-

|- style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;"

| colspan=2 |International and foreign awards

|-

|

|Order of the Falcon, (Iceland)

|-

|

|Order of the White Rose of Finland, (Finland)

|-

|

|Order of the Union of Burma, (Myanmar)

|-

|

|Order of the Leader, (Kingdom of Afghanistan)

|-

|

|Order of Menelik II, (Ethiopian Empire)

|-

|

|Order of the Partisan Star (Albania)

|-

|

|Order of May, (Argentina)

|-

|

|Order of the Southern Cross, (Brazil)

|-

|

|Order of People's Freedom, (Bulgaria)

|-

|

|Order of George I, (Kingdom of Greece)

|-

|

|Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy)

|-

|

|Royal Order of Cambodia, (Cambodia)

|-

|

|Order of the Flag of the Republic of Hungary, (Hungarian People's Republic)

|-

|

|Order of the Aztec Eagle, (Mexico)

|-

|

|Order of St. Olav, (Norway)

|-

|

|Order of Suvorov, (Soviet Union)

|-

|

|Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945", (Soviet Union)

|-

|

|Order of the Two Niles, (Sudan)

|-

|

|Order of the Republic, (Tunisia)

|-

|

|Order of Orange-Nassau, (Netherlands)

|-

|

|Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal, (United Kingdom)

|-

|

|Legion of Honour, (France)

|-

|

|Legion of Honour, (France)

|-

|

|Order of the White Lion, (Czechoslovakia)

|-

|

|Czechoslovak Military Order for Liberty, (Czechoslovakia)

|-

|

|Czechoslovak War Cross 1939–1945, (Czechoslovakia)

|-

|

|Order of Merit, (Chile)

|-

|

|Order of Liberty, (Spanish Republican government in exile)

|}

See also

  • Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
  • Yugoslav People's Army
  • Yugoslav Partisans
  • Titoism
  • Josip Broz Tito

References

  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs