Dušan Simović

Dušan Simović
18th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia
In office 27 March 1941 – 12 January 1942
Monarch	Peter II Prince Paul (Regent, 1941)
Preceded by	Dragiša Cvetković
Succeeded by	Slobodan Jovanović
Personal details
Born	October 28, 1882 Kragujevac, Kingdom of Serbia
Died	August 26, 1962 (aged 79) Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Citizenship	Yugoslav
Occupation	Soldier, politician
Military service
Allegiance	Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Service/branch	Royal Yugoslav Army
Years of service	1900–1943
Rank	General
Commands	Royal Yugoslav Air Force Chief of the General Staff

Dušan Simović (Serbian: Душан Симовић; 28 October 1882 – 26 August 1962) was a Serbian general who served as Chief of the General Staff of the Royal Yugoslav Army and as the Prime Minister of Yugoslavia.

Life and career

Simović was born on 28 October 1882 in Kragujevac. He attended elementary school and two years of high school in his hometown. Even as a high school student he had quite an interest in military and the military profession. Because of his interest in military matters, he left high school and entered the military academy in Belgrade. He completed Military Academy in 1900, when he was promoted to second lieutenant of artillery. Higher School of Military Academy completed in 1905, and pivotal preparation in 1912. In the Balkan Wars (1912-13) and during the First World War (1914-18), he proved to be an excellent officer, and was promoted in 1913, and again in 1915, to Lieutenant Colonel.

At Salonika, he was the commander of the 7th Infantry Regiment. But even in Thessalonica, Simović was interested in the Air Force and air defense. Every day, he became more and more interested in the works of flight pioneer Mihailo Petrović, reading Petrović's reports in the Balkan Wars, as well as his studies on aviation. So he decided to dedicate his life to aviation. In 1918, he was named to the delegates of the Serbian government and the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs in Zagreb. Up to the onset of WWII he devoted himself exclusively to aviation.

From May 1938 until 1940, he served as Chief of General Staff, in which position he replaced General Milutin Nedić. He joined other officers in a coup against the government of Dragiša Cvetković. After the coup, Simović became the new Prime Minister. He did not have much time to prepare for the coming war. On the wedding day of his daughter, the Germans invaded Yugoslavia on 6 April 1941.^[1]

Simović fled the country with his family. After the end of World War II in Yugoslavia and after the formation of Tito's second Yugoslavia, he returned to Belgrade in 1952 and went on to author a number of books on military issues. He died in Belgrade in 1962.^[2]

References

1. Germany and the 2nd World War Volume III: The Mediterranean, south-east Europe, and north Africa, 1939-1941, Gerhard Schreiber, Bernd Stegemann, Detlef Vogel, 1995, p. 484
2. Obituary, New York Times (28 August 1962); "Gen. Simovic Dies; Yugoslav Leader; Headed Royal Government When Nazis Invaded in '41."