Ivan Gošnjak Иван Гошњак | |
|---|---|
 Ivan Gošnjak, 1966. | |
| 2ndFederal Secretary of People's Defence of Yugoslavia | |
| In office 14 January 1953 – 18 May 1967 | |
| Preceded by | Josip Broz Tito |
| Succeeded by | Nikola Ljubičić |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1909-06-10)10 June 1909 Ogulin,Croatia-Slavonia,Austria-Hungary |
| Died | 8 February 1980(1980-02-08) (aged 70) Belgrade,SR Serbia,SFR Yugoslavia |
| Nationality | Yugoslav |
| Political party | SKJ |
| Spouse | Tea Gošnjak |
| Awards | Order of Freedom Order of National Hero of Yugoslavia |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia |
| Branch/service | International Brigades Yugoslav People's Army |
| Years of service | 1937–1939 1941–1974 |
| Rank | General of the Army |
| Commands | Yugoslav People's Army |
| Battles/wars | Spanish Civil War World War II |
Ivan Gošnjak (10 June 1909 – 8 February 1980) was aCroatian andYugoslav communist who held numerous important offices inYugoslavia during and afterWorld War II, serving as theMinister of Defence from 1953 to 1967.
Ivan Gošnjak was a carpenter by profession and joined theCommunist Party of Yugoslavia in 1933. In 1935 Gošnjak was sent toMoscow and was enrolled for one year at theLenin School where he also attended lectures by "comrade Walter", better known by his World War II-era codenameTito. In 1936 Gošnjak was sent to a military barracks inRyazan where he was given the designation "Number 36", instead of his real name and was given military instruction before being sent as avolunteer to theSpanish Civil War in January 1937. A great admirer ofJoseph Stalin, Gošnjak was appointedcaptain in theInternational Brigades. After the defeat of the republican forces inSpain, Gošnjak was detained inFrance in 1939. After the capitulation of France in 1940 Gošnjak escaped from the camp, going in 1941 to Germany as a worker. InGermany he used a fake passport, and in July 1942 returned toCroatia and immediately joinedTito's partisans.
As a Spanish civil war veteran, he was given command of allCroatian Partisan units, regrouped in the4th (Croatian) Corps, in 1943. Gošnjak was appointed as deputycommander-in-chief at the end of the war, a post which he held until 1950.
In 1946, Tito wanted to send him to complete his military studies at the SovietVoroshilov Military Academy, but Gošnjak asked him for permission to stay inBelgrade and work in theCentral Committee. Tito agreed and later appointed him as deputy Defence Minister (1950–1953). At the Fifth Yugoslav CP congress Gošnjak was elected a member of thePolitburo and later was made a member of the Executive Committee (the new name for the Politburo), elected at the sixth (1952), seventh (1958), and eighth (1964) party congresses.In 1953 Gošnjak became Defence Minister, a post which he held until 1967 when he was replaced byGeneral of the ArmyNikola Ljubičić. In 1963, he was considered for promotion to the rank ofgeneral but was never promoted.
General Ivan Gošnjak retired from active military service in 1974, and was later appointed to serve on the Council of Federation, an advisory body to President Tito.[1] He is buried in theAlley of Distinguished Citizens inBelgrade,Serbia.
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Federal Secretary of People's Defence of Yugoslavia 14 January 1953 – 18 May 1967 | Succeeded by |
Partisans | |
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Chetniks | |
Germany | |
Italy | |
Albania.svg) | |
Independent State of Croatia | |
German-occupied territory of Serbia | |
Italian governorate of Montenegro | |
Province of Ljubljana | |
Members of thePresidency of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia | |||||
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| 5th term (1948–1952) |  | ||||
| 6th term (1952–1958) | |||||
| 7th term (1958–1964) | |||||
| 8th term (1964–1969) |
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| 9th term (1969–1974) | |||||
| 10th term (1974–1978) |
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| 11th term (1978–1982) |
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| 12th term (1982–1986) |
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| 13th term (1986–1990) |
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| International | |
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| National | |
