September the 4th, 2023 – Retired Croatian General Anton Tus has passed away aged 93, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.
Born on the 22nd of November 1931 in Bribir (near Novi Vinodolski and Crikvenica) Anton Tus was a decorated general in the Croatian Army (HV). He played an important role during Croatia’s fight for independence during the Homeland War serving as the Armed Force’s Chief of Staff from 1991 to 1992.
After having graduated from the Yugoslav Air Force Academy, Anton Tus spent most of his active career in the Yugoslav Air Force. He served as the commander of the 204th Fighter Aviation Regiment, and after that role, he was appointed as the commander of the 5th Air Force and Air Defence Corps, based in what was then the former Socialist Republic of Croatia.
By the time 1985 rolled around, his career propelled him to become the head of the Yugoslav Air Force. He remained in that position until May 1991, where he stepped down as Yugoslavia began to collapse and unrest erupted in the countries which once made up the that quasi-state. His defection showed where his loyalties lay, and later that year (more specifically from September onwards), he served as the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces.
Croatian General Anton Tus remained in that position until he could continue no more in November 1992. He was succeeded by Janko Bobetko after his public opposition of Gojko Susak’s Bosnia and Herzegovina policy saw him unable to continue in his role as Chief of Staff.
The war rolled on, and during the crucial years of 1992 and 1995, Croatian General Anton Tus served as Dr. Franjo Tudjman’s top military adviser. His war career continued on an upward trajectory owing to his closeness with Croatia’s first president, seeing him appointed head of the Defence Ministry’s International Cooperation Office in 1995, a position he held until just after the turn of the 20th century, more precisely until 2001.
Despite Croatian independence and international recognition having already been won at that point, and in spite of Yugoslavia being no more, that didn’t mark the end of Croatian General Anton Tus’ military career. He was appointed to the post of the chief of the Croatian Mission to NATO in the same year he stepped down from the Defence Ministry. He formally retired several years later, in 2005.
