Dragomir Jovanovic
Encyclopedia
Dragomir Dragi Jovanović (July 27, 1902 in Požarevac
– July 17, 1946 in Belgrade
) was a Serbian politician and Axis collaborator.
Jovanović finished a law degree at the University of Belgrade
's Law School
. He received a job as a police officer in the city. When he later uncovered an alleged Croatian
plot against King Alexander I of Yugoslavia
during his visit to Zagreb
, he was made chief of police of Belgrade. After Alexander declared a dictatorship, Jovanović moved to an anti-communist unit. He remained in the police force up until the Second World War.
After the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
's dissolution, Jovanović was declared mayor of Belgrade by Serbia
's Axis-collaborating regime
. For a period of time he was also in charge of the Serbian Gendarmarie
.
When the Yugoslav Partisan resistance threatened the Serbian regime in 1944, Jovanović fled the nation to Karlsbad
. OZNA
agents later discovered him there and returned him to the new communist Yugoslavia in 1945. He was tried as part of the Belgrade Process. He was found guilty of liquidating members of the People’s Liberation Movement, operating the Banjica concentration camp
, German collaboration, holding talks with Draža Mihailović
and organizing a meeting between Mihailović and Serbian leader Milan Nedić
.
He was hanged in Belgrade on July 17, 1946.
Požarevac
Požarevac is a city and municipality in eastern Serbia. It is the administrative center of the Braničevo District of Serbia...
– July 17, 1946 in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
) was a Serbian politician and Axis collaborator.
Jovanović finished a law degree at the University of Belgrade
University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...
's Law School
University of Belgrade Faculty of Law
The University of Belgrade Faculty of Law , also known as the Belgrade Law School, is one of the first-tier educational institutions of the University of Belgrade, Serbia...
. He received a job as a police officer in the city. When he later uncovered an alleged Croatian
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
plot against King Alexander I of Yugoslavia
Alexander I of Yugoslavia
Alexander I , also known as Alexander the Unifier was the first king of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as well as the last king of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes .-Childhood:...
during his visit to Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, he was made chief of police of Belgrade. After Alexander declared a dictatorship, Jovanović moved to an anti-communist unit. He remained in the police force up until the Second World War.
After the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
's dissolution, Jovanović was declared mayor of Belgrade by Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
's Axis-collaborating regime
Nedic's Serbia
Serbia under German occupation refers to an administrative area in occupied Yugoslavia established by Nazi Germany following the invasion and dismantling of Yugoslavia in April of 1941...
. For a period of time he was also in charge of the Serbian Gendarmarie
Gendarmerie (Serbia)
The Žandarmerija is the gendarmery of Serbia, Dissolved at the end of World War II, it was reestablished on 28 June 2001, by the Interior Minister Dušan Mihailović. The Special Operations Unit and Special Police Unit were later attached to the Gendarmery...
.
When the Yugoslav Partisan resistance threatened the Serbian regime in 1944, Jovanović fled the nation to Karlsbad
Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary is a spa city situated in western Bohemia, Czech Republic, on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá, approximately west of Prague . It is named after King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who founded the city in 1370...
. OZNA
OZNA
The Department for the Protection of the People was a security agency of the FPR Yugoslavia.-Founding:...
agents later discovered him there and returned him to the new communist Yugoslavia in 1945. He was tried as part of the Belgrade Process. He was found guilty of liquidating members of the People’s Liberation Movement, operating the Banjica concentration camp
Banjica concentration camp
Banjica concentration camp was a quisling and Nazi German concentration camp in occupied Serbia from June 1941 to September 1944 in World War II, located in the eponymous suburb of Belgrade. It started as a center for holding hostages, but later included Jews, Serbs, Roma, captured partisans, and...
, German collaboration, holding talks with Draža Mihailović
Draža Mihailovic
Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović was a Yugoslav Serbian general during World War II...
and organizing a meeting between Mihailović and Serbian leader Milan Nedić
Milan Nedic
Milan Nedić was a Serbian general and politician, he was the chief of the general staff of the Yugoslav Army, minister of war in the Royal Yugoslav Government and the prime minister of a Nazi-backed Serbian puppet government during World War II.After the war, Yugoslav communist authorities...
.
He was hanged in Belgrade on July 17, 1946.