Native name Borivoјe Mirkoviћ Service/branch Air Force Name Borivoje Mirkovic | Nickname(s) Bora Rank Brigadier General | |
Died 21 August 1969(1969-08-21) (aged 84)
London, United Kingdom Allegiance Serbia (1907–18)
Yugoslavia (1918–42) | ||
Dodeljene nagrade Borivoje Mirković studentima FPN
Borivoje Mirkovic (Serbian Cyrillic: Borivoјe Mirkoviћ; 23 September 1884 – 21 August 1969) was a brigadier general in the Royal Yugoslav Air Force.
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Early life
Borivoje Mirkovic was born to Jovan and Smiljana Mirkovic on 23 September 1884 in Valjevo, Kingdom of Serbia. He entered the Serbian Army in 1907. In 1930, he married a woman named Mira. She died in 1937.
World War II
Mirkovic led and organised the Yugoslav coup d'etat of 27 March 1941 that deposed the regency of Prince Paul, Dr. Radenko Stankovic and Dr. Ivo Perovic, as well as the government of Prime Minister Dragisa Cvetkovic. Mirkovic 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 Dusan Simovic. The coup was carried out at British instigation and involved British intelligence operatives. Mirkovic and the other plotters were all funded by the British. The coup resulted in the German-led invasion of Yugoslavia during which the armed forces of Yugoslavia were defeated within 11 days. On 14 April 1941, Mirkovic handed command of the air force to Colonel Petar Vukcevic, the commander of the 4th Bomber Brigade. On 16 April, he was fleeing the country by air when the aircraft he was travelling in was hit by Greek anti-aircraft fire near Preveza, and crashed. Mirkovic was seriously injured. He was based in Cairo for a period, where he was involved with a faction of the Yugoslav government-in-exile that was supported by British intelligence in Egypt. He died in London on 21 August 1969.