Years of service 1952-1993 Battles/wars Yugoslav wars | Rank Colonel General Name Zivota Panic | |
Died 19 November 2003(2003-11-19) (aged 70)
Belgrade, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Allegiance Yugoslavia
FR Yugoslavia Service/branch Yugoslav People's Army (to 1992)
Yugoslav Army (to 1993) | ||
TV Novi Sad - Vesti, 1. avgust 1992.
Zivota Panic (Serbian Cyrillic: ZHivota Paniћ) (3 November 1933, Gornja Crnisava, Kingdom of Yugoslavia – 19 November 2003, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro) was the last acting minister of defense and army chief of staff in the Yugoslav government.
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Panic held the rank of General, he was in charge of the Yugoslav people's army after the resignation of general Blagoje Adzic in 1992. Panic was in office from 1992 until 1993 (in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) through the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In 1993, he was sacked for scandals relating to his son, Goran, who was supplying the army at supposed inflated prices.
Panic graduated from Yugoslavian military school as a tank commander and gradually rose through the ranks of the Yugoslav People's Army through the 1970s and 1980s. He was given authority over the 1st Army District (Belgrade) and was the senior officer in charge of the units which fought in the battle of Vukovar. With the dissolution of Yugoslavia, on 27 April 1992 Panic was offered a position of chief of staff in the new Yugoslav Army. Panic began to re-align the Yugoslav army in 1993 with new battle-plans and strategies, but was not prepared for the political power struggles that were occurring in Belgrade at the time and retired.
Death
Panic died in Belgrade on 19 November 2003, shortly after his 70th birthday.