Who is Božidar Delić

Božidar Delić was a retired Serbian major general and politician, known for commanding the 549th Motorized Brigade of the Army of Yugoslavia during the war in Kosovo and Metohija in 1998–1999, as well as for a long political career that included the position of Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia. He was born on January 8, 1956, in the village of Petrovac, near Đakovica, and died on August 23, 2022, in Moscow, following a long battle with serious illness.Over the course of his military career, he rose from the youngest second lieutenant to a general of the Army of Yugoslavia, and took part in the wars in the territory of the former SFRY during the 1990s. After retiring, he devoted himself to politics, where he was a member of several parties and movements, a member of parliament across several convocations of the National Assembly, and, on two occasions, Deputy Speaker of Serbia's parliament.

Early Life and Childhood

Božidar Delić was born on January 8, 1956, in the village of Petrovac, in the municipality of Đakovica, in Kosovo and Metohija. According to available information, his family originally came from Herzegovina, from the area around Nevesinje. During the First World War, Delić's grandfather was mobilized into the Austro-Hungarian army and sent to the Eastern Front, where he was captured by the Russian imperial army. After his captivity, he joined the Serbian Volunteer Division, which was later transferred to the Salonika Front.After the end of the First World War, Delić's grandfather received land in Metohija, not far from Đakovica, from King Alexander I Karađorđević, and brought his four sons from the Herzegovina region to settle there. Together with other settlers, the family founded the village of Petrovac, where General Delić himself was later born.As he later noted in public statements, his choice of a military vocation was influenced by family tradition, but also by the proximity of a military barracks in his home village, where as a boy he spent time with soldiers doing their military service. Growing up in an environment where, in his words, interethnic tensions existed between the Serbian and Albanian populations, left its mark on his later decision to pursue a military career.

Education

Božidar Delić trained to become an officer of the Army of Yugoslavia. He enrolled in the Land Forces Military Academy in Belgrade, completing his studies in Sarajevo in 1977. After finishing the academy, as an infantry second lieutenant, he was assigned to serve in Bileća, in what was then the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.Over the course of his military career, Delić continued his professional development through the regular system of military education and advancement within the Yugoslav People's Army, and later the Army of Yugoslavia, where he was regarded as one of the youngest officers to reach higher ranks — he was the youngest second lieutenant, the youngest colonel, and later a general within this army.

Beginning of His Career

After finishing the Military Academy in 1977, Božidar Delić began his military career in Bileća, later serving in Prizren and Leskovac as well. Delić saw his first combat action during the war in Croatia in 1991–1992, when he was deployed to several battlefronts, most often mentioned in connection with the Dubrovnik front.During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he served as Chief of Staff of the 715th Motorized Brigade of the Army of Republika Srpska. This experience marked a significant turning point in his military career and prepared him for the far more prominent command positions he would later hold during the conflict in Kosovo and Metohija.

Rise to Prominence

General Božidar Delić achieved his greatest public recognition in 1997, when he took command of the 549th Motorized Brigade of the Army of Yugoslavia, headquartered in Prizren. This brigade, formed back in 1968 as a territorial unit, was declared the best regiment-brigade-level unit of the Yugoslav People's Army in 1988.Under General Delić's command, the brigade was on the front line of the conflict with the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) from 1998, and during the NATO campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999, it took part in defending the territory along the border with Albania. The brigade also included a group of Russian volunteers, the best known of whom were Anatoly Lebed and Albert Andiyev.

The Battle of Paštrik

General Delić's most significant military engagement is tied to the so-called Battle of Paštrik, also known as "Operation Strela," a combined offensive by the KLA, units of the Albanian Army, and NATO forces. According to part of the public and military sources, members of the 549th Brigade halted this joint ground assault on Mount Paštrik starting May 26, 1999 — a battle some military officers referred to as the "Serbian Thermopylae."For its role in these combat operations, the 549th Motorized Brigade was awarded the Order of the National Hero on June 16, 1999, and then-President Slobodan Milošević also gave the brigade the "Hero of the Nation" recognition. According to media reports, the last soldier to leave Prizren, following the signing of the Kumanovo Agreement on June 14, 1999, was General Delić himself.

Greatest Achievements

After the withdrawal of the Army of Yugoslavia from Kosovo and Metohija, Božidar Delić continued his military career in senior command positions. He served as commander of the Belgrade Corps, and later as deputy head of the operations directorate of the General Staff of the Army of Yugoslavia. He was promoted to the rank of general in 1999.Delić was retired in 2005, at the age of 49, a decision he himself considered unlawful. The Supreme Court of Serbia later did in fact rule that the decision to retire him had been unlawful.In the political sphere, General Delić's greatest achievement was his election as Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, a position he first held in the 2008–2012 convocation, and again after the 2022 parliamentary elections, when, as the lead candidate on the electoral list of the NADA coalition (which included the Democratic Party of Serbia, the Movement for the Renewal of the Kingdom of Serbia, and a movement he himself had founded), he won a parliamentary seat.

Private Life

Božidar Delić was married to his wife, Zorica, who also worked for the Army of Serbia, and had three daughters — Nataša, Svetlana, and Jovana. The family lived for a long time in Belgrade, in an apartment the general received from the army.Delić is remembered as the only general who was seen publicly crying in front of journalists in the lobby of the National Assembly — not over a military defeat, but over his political split from the Serbian Radical Party in 2008. This moment drew great public attention, and by his own account, it also surprised his family, who watched the event unfold on television.In 2010, Delić was diagnosed with colon cancer and underwent surgery for it. Over the following twelve years, according to available information, the disease returned multiple times, and the general underwent eleven surgeries. During this period, the cancer metastasized to his lymph nodes, liver, lungs, and pancreas. Treatment was also attempted in Russia, but the disease had progressed too far, and travel was made more difficult by the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. General Božidar Delić died on August 23, 2022, in a hospital in Moscow, after a long and difficult illness. He was buried in the family plot at Orlovača Cemetery in Belgrade.Delić also testified in trials before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, giving evidence in the proceedings against former Serbian President Slobodan Milošević, General Vladimir Lazarević, and former Serbian President Milan Milutinović, and had also stated that he was prepared to testify for the defense of Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav Šešelj.

Allegations Related to the War in Kosovo

During his 2022 appointment as Deputy Speaker of the Serbian Assembly, General Delić's name was again linked to allegations of war crimes committed in the area of responsibility of the 549th Motorized Brigade during 1998 and 1999. The "Đakovica 98-99" association filed three criminal complaints against General Delić with the Special Prosecutor's Office of Kosovo for war crimes. The Humanitarian Law Center had previously published documentation according to which more than 2,100 Albanian civilians were killed in the area of responsibility of the Army of Yugoslavia, within which the brigade Delić commanded operated. In the village of Trnje, in the municipality of Suva Reka, according to witness accounts, Serbian forces killed 46 Albanian civilians on March 25, 1999. Delić himself was never finally convicted of war crimes, and he declined to comment publicly on these allegations. For the sake of full accuracy and legal responsibility, this information is presented solely as allegations made by victims' associations and human rights organizations, without a final determination of guilt, since no final court judgment against General Delić on this basis is known to exist.

Political Career

After retiring from the military, Božidar Delić actively devoted himself to politics. From 2006, he was a member of the Serbian Radical Party, on whose list he was first elected to parliament in 2007. Following the split within the SRS in 2008, when part of the membership, led by Tomislav Nikolić, founded the Serbian Progressive Party, Delić moved to the newly formed party. It was on this very occasion, when leaving the SRS, that the general publicly cried in front of journalists at the National Assembly.In the 2008–2012 parliamentary convocation, Delić served as Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and was a member of the Committee on Defense and Security, as well as the Committee on Kosovo and Metohija. Due to disagreements with the policies of the Serbian Progressive Party, he returned to the Serbian Radical Party in February 2011, remaining there until 2020.After the 2016 parliamentary elections, Delić was again elected to parliament on the list of the Serbian Radical Party. When the SRS failed to clear the electoral threshold in the June 2020 elections, Delić, together with then-Deputy Party President Nemanja Šarović, split from Radical Party leader Vojislav Šešelj. In September 2020, Delić and Šarović founded the movement "Ljubav, vera, nada" ("Love, Faith, Hope"), in which Šarović served as president and Delić as deputy president.In early 2022, Delić announced that he was leaving this movement to found a new one, called "Nema nazad – iza je Srbija" ("No Turning Back – Serbia Is Behind Us"), a name taken from the slogan of his former 549th Motorized Brigade. With this movement, Delić joined the NADA coalition, which, alongside his movement, included the Democratic Party of Serbia and the Movement for the Renewal of the Kingdom of Serbia. In the parliamentary elections of April 3, 2022, Delić was the lead candidate on the NADA coalition's electoral list, which won 15 parliamentary seats. After the new parliamentary convocation was constituted, Delić was once again elected Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, a position he held at the time of his death.

Trivia

Božidar Delić was the youngest second lieutenant, the youngest colonel, and the youngest general in the history of the Army of Yugoslavia. He is remembered as the only general to have been seen publicly crying on camera at Serbia's National Assembly. His grandfather was a Salonika Front volunteer, and his family originally came from the area around Nevesinje in Herzegovina. The name of his final political movement, "Nema nazad – iza je Srbija," was taken from the slogan of the 549th Motorized Brigade, which he commanded during the war in Kosovo. Russian volunteers also fought within his brigade during the war in Kosovo, the best known of whom were Anatoly Lebed and Albert Andiyev. He died in Moscow, where he had gone to continue cancer treatment, during a period when travel was made difficult by the crisis in Ukraine.

Awards and Recognition

For its service in combat operations during the war in Kosovo and Metohija, the 549th Motorized Brigade, commanded by General Delić, was awarded the Order of the National Hero on June 16, 1999. Then-President Slobodan Milošević also gave the brigade the "Hero of the Nation" recognition. Although these honors were given to the unit he commanded, they are often publicly associated with General Delić's personal contribution to the defense of positions at Paštrik as well. More detailed information about any personal military decorations General Delić may have received is not publicly available, and is therefore not included in this text, so as not to present unconfirmed claims.

Legacy and Influence

Božidar Delić remains in the public memory as one of the symbols of the defense of Kosovo and Metohija during the NATO campaign of 1999, particularly because of his role in the Battle of Paštrik, which part of the public described using the term "Serbian Thermopylae." His political career, marked by frequent changes of party affiliation, made him a recognizable figure in Serbian politics in the period from 2007 to 2022.At the same time, his name also remains linked to allegations concerning the deaths of Albanian civilians in the area of responsibility of the unit he commanded, an issue that continues to be debated publicly between those who see him as a defender of the territory and those who point to the allegations of human rights organizations. His funeral, with military honors, at Orlovača Cemetery in Belgrade, and farewell messages from prominent political figures such as Miloš Jovanović, confirmed the place General Delić held in contemporary Serbian public life.

Biography — Frequently Asked Questions

When was Božidar Delić born? Božidar Delić was born on January 8, 1956, in the village of Petrovac, near Đakovica, in Kosovo and Metohija.When and where did General Delić die? General Božidar Delić died on August 23, 2022, in a hospital in Moscow, after a long battle with colon cancer.What is Božidar Delić best known for? He is best known for commanding the 549th Motorized Brigade of the Army of Yugoslavia during the war in Kosovo in 1998–1999, particularly at the Battle of Paštrik, as well as for serving as Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia.What political positions did Božidar Delić hold? He was a member of parliament across several convocations of the Serbian Assembly and was twice elected Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia — in the 2008–2012 convocation and again from 2022.Which parties did General Delić belong to? He was a member of the Serbian Radical Party (2006–2008 and 2011–2020) and the Serbian Progressive Party (2008–2011), and later founded the movements "Ljubav, vera, nada" and "Nema nazad – iza je Srbija."Did General Delić testify before the Hague Tribunal? Yes, he testified in the proceedings against Slobodan Milošević, General Vladimir Lazarević, and Milan Milutinović.Was General Delić accused of war crimes? The "Đakovica 98-99" association filed three criminal complaints against him with the Special Prosecutor's Office of Kosovo in 2022, and his name has been linked by human rights organizations to allegations concerning civilian deaths in the area of responsibility of his brigade. No final court judgment against him on this basis is known to have been issued.Did Božidar Delić have a family? Yes, he was married to his wife, Zorica, and had three daughters — Nataša, Svetlana, and Jovana.Where is General Delić buried? He was buried in the family plot at Orlovača Cemetery in Belgrade.What education did General Delić receive? He completed the Land Forces Military Academy, enrolled in Belgrade and completed in Sarajevo in 1977.

Conclusion

Božidar Delić was one of the more recognizable military and political figures of contemporary Serbia. As commander of the 549th Motorized Brigade, he played a defining role in the defense of Paštrik during the war in Kosovo and Metohija in 1999, and after retiring he built a long political career in which he twice served as Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia. His life, marked by military discipline, frequent party changes, and a long battle with serious illness, remained a subject of public interest right up until his death in August 2022, and his legacy continues to draw different interpretations among the Serbian and Albanian public today.