Branko Pešić | |
|---|---|
 Pešić in 1985 | |
| 60thMayor of Belgrade | |
| In office 15 April 1965 – May 1974 | |
| Preceded by | Milijan Neoričić [sr] |
| Succeeded by | Živorad Kovačević |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1922-10-01)1 October 1922 |
| Died | 4 February 1986(1986-02-04) (aged 63) Zemun,SR Serbia,SFR Yugoslavia |
| Resting place | Zemun Cemetery |
| Party | League of Communists of Yugoslavia |
| Alma mater | University of BelgradeFaculty of Law |
| Profession | Politician |
Branko Pešić (Serbian Cyrillic:Бранко Пешић,pronounced[brâːŋkopěʃitɕ]; 1 October 1922 – 4 February 1986) was a Serbian politician inSFR Yugoslavia.
Pešić was a member of theYugoslav Partisans during theSecond World War and was theMayor ofBelgrade from 1965 to 1974. He is widely remembered as one of the most popular Belgrade mayors as his decade-long tenure saw the construction and completion of many important projects.[1]
Pešić was born on 1 October 1922 in Zemun to father Dimitrije "Mita" (1900–1976) and mother Anka (1897–1983). He completed elementary school in Zemun and high school at theZemun Gymnasium. After that he studiedlaw at theUniversity of Belgrade. As a student of the Zemun Gymnasium, he joined the youth revolutionary movement and became a member of theLeague of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia (SKOJ).
After theinvasion andoccupation of theKingdom of Yugoslavia in 1941, he left his studies and joined the anti-fascist movement in Yugoslavia. He first worked politically in occupied Zemun and its surroundings where he took part in preparing and organizing sabotages and diversions against theoccupying forces. He later joined theYugoslav Partisans where he entered into Bosnia as a member of the Vojvodina Brigades. During the war he was apolitical commissar and battalion commander. He became a member of theCommunist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ) in 1942.
After the end of the war, he graduated from theĐuro Đaković Political School and had various political functions. He was a member and secretary of the Committee of theCommunist Party of Serbia for Zemun, the SKOJ Committee secretary for Zemun andBelgrade, member and secretary of the City Committee for the League of Communists of Serbia and the president of theSocialist Alliance of Working People of Yugoslavia City Council for Belgrade.
He was also a member of the Bureau of theCentral Committee of the People's Youth of Serbia, the president of the Zemun City Municipality Assembly from 1955 to 1958, an instructor in the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Serbia, secretary for commodity traffic in the Executive Council of the Socialist Republic of Serbia and the Vice-President of the Presidency of SR Serbia. He was also President of the Assembly of SR Serbia from 1982 to 1984.
He was chosen as a Member of Parliament of theRepublic Assembly of SR Serbia and the SFR Yugoslavia Assembly numerous times. He was chosen as a member of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Serbia at the Fourth and Fifth Congresses of the party.
He also served as president of theFootball Association of Yugoslavia from 1953–1955 and 1956–1957.[2]
Pešić was Mayor of Belgrade from 1965[3] to 1974 and was one of the most popular mayors of Belgrade. During his tenure, many important buildings were built such as theMostar interchange,Gazela Bridge,Terazije Tunnel and theBeograđanka among others. During his tenure, the ambitious plan of lowering Belgrade onto its surrounding rivers (Belgrade on the Sava) was introduced along with initiating theBelgrade railway junction and theBelgrade Metro. For a time, his economic advisor wasSlobodan Milošević after his graduation from university in 1966. Pešić's tenure as mayor is often referred to as thegolden age of Belgrade for which he was nicknamed thePericles from Zemun.[4]
Pešić married twice. From his first marriage with professorZagorka Golubović he had a daughter named Branislava and from his second marriage with Desanka Desa Pešić he had a son Lazar and a daughter Sofija.[5]
During his lifetime, he was awarded many Yugoslav awards including theCommemorative Medal of the Partisans of 1941 among others. He was awarded theOrder of the Hero of Socialist Labour on 24 January 1986.
Pešić died due to cancer on 4 February 1986 and is interred in a family plot in theZemun Cemetery.[4]
A street in Zemun, near his family home, bears his name. The elementary school in Zemun has also been named after him.
