Zivan Knezevic

Career

Knežević and his fellow plotters declared the 17-year-old Prince Peter to be of age and brought to power a government of national unity led by Air Force General Dušan Simović. The coup resulted in the German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia during which the armed forces of Yugoslavia were defeated within 11 days. Fleeing the country by air, Knežević was based in Alexandria for a period, where he briefly commanded a battalion of Yugoslav Royal Guards formed with British assistance.

He remained in the United States after the war and died in 1984.

Achievements

• He subsequently served as a military liaison officer between the Chetniks of Draža Mihailović and the Yugoslav government-in-exile then after promotion to lieutenant colonel he served as a military attaché in the United States until the end of the war, by which time he had achieved the rank of colonel.