AUTHOR’S SHORT BIOGRAPHY

AUTHOR’S SHORT BIOGRAPHY

General Pande Petrovski was born on December 26, 1943 in the village Zhivoino, in Bitola Region. He was a native of a village family. His grandfather Petre was a participant in the Ilinden Uprising and the First World War. His father Alekso participated in NOB (National Liberation Army) from 1943 and was twice wounded. After finishing high school in 1962, Pande enrolled at the Military Academy in Belgrade, and in 1965 graduated with honours. Immediately after finishing school he was appointed Second Lieutenant in the Armoured Mechanized units.

Pande started his military career as a second lieutenant in the Fourth Armoured Brigade in Iastrebarsko, near Zagreb, where he performed his duties first as a platoon commander, then as a commander of a regiment, and then as deputy commander of a battalion and eventually as commander of an armoured battalion. In the meantime, for a period of one year, he completed his armoured mechanized unit training in the OMI Centre in Banja Luka. In 1974 he attended the Higher Military Academy for land forces in Belgrade.

After Pande completed his studies in Belgrade, in 1976 he was appointed Chief of Operations and training of the armoured regiment garrisoned in Prilep. In 1980 he was given command of the garrison in Veles and made Chief of Staff of the 212th Mechanized Brigade. In 1985 he was sent back to school to upgrade his skills at the School of National Defense in Belgrade (VA - KoV). After completing his training there, in 1986 he was appointed Commander of the 15th Mechanized Brigade in Prishtina.

In 1990 Pande was appointed assistant to the commander of the 3rd Army District in Skopje where he was affected by the dissolution of the Yugoslav National Army. After the dissolution, in March 1992, he was appointed Commander of the Second Army Corps in Bitola, which he formed in the composition of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia.

In 1996 he was appointed commander of military readiness for ARM in Skopje, and in 1999, in addition to those duties, he also performed the duty of Deputy Chief of Staff at General

Headquarters. In 2000 he was prematurely retired by order of the President of the Republic Macedonia. In March 2001 Pande was reactivated and appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of General Headquarters. In June of 2001 he was appointed Chief of Staff of General Headquarters. In September 2001 he was appointed Adviser for the Promotion and Utilization of ARM. In 2002 Pande again retired but continued to work as an Adviser for the Promotion and Utilization of ARM at the Ministry of Defense. In his early career in the military, Pande progressed up the ranks from captain first class, to Major, to Colonel. In 1993 Pande was promoted to Major General and Corps Commander, and in 1997 he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General, and in 2001 he was promoted to the rank of Chief of Staff of General Headquarters.

EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK REVIEW - TESTIMONIES 2001

By Professor Dr. Vlado Popovski

The notes provided by General Pande Petrovski about the events that took place in the Republic of Macedonia, during the time when he was Commander of military operations, fighting against the so-called NLA, are an original source of meaningful testimony of the more significant aspects of the 2001 crisis and conflict. His labour represents a necessary part of the mosaic of these events. In it one can clearly see the roles and positions of the respective actors in the crisis, without which it would be very difficult or impossible to see what actually happened in 2001, what kind of a war it was and what its purpose was. Because of the fact that General Pande Petrovski was one of the key figures in the events in 2001, his notes, observations and testimonies are key parts of the documentation of those events.

The text itself in this valuable book: the General’s own statements about the 2001 events and the parts relating to the military aspects are presented concisely, chronologically and meticulously. The author has produced something unexpected from such a position in these events. This is a very important text because of the notes and first hand testimony offered, without which it would be very complex and almost impossible to analyze the many important events that took place in 2001 in the development of the Republic of Macedonia.

Through the General’s position and role in the 2001 war, the roles or parts of the roles of other individuals become visible, including those of the most responsible people in the state leadership, which makes this book a very valuable piece of information in regards to the politics led during the peak of the armed conflict and their effects relative to our fundamental state interests. It is of course understandable that in this aspect nothing has been exhausted and the most significant part of the top state leadership’s role, in terms of the war and their functions, has been touched.

This is a very important book and I recommend it to all audiences. It should be printed and made available to the Macedonian people and to a much wider audience.

Professor Dr. Vlado Popovski