General Anton Tus dies at the age of 92

General Tus was the first Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces and played a key role in Croatia's defense against the Serbian and Yugoslav People's Army war of aggression in the 1990's.

Retired General Anton Tus has died in Zagreb at the age of 92. General Tus was a Croatian general who served as head of the Yugoslav Air Force between 1985 and 1991 and was the first Chief of Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces from 1991 to 1992 during the Croatian War of Independence.

A graduate of the Yugoslav Air Force Academy, Tus spent most of his career serving in the Yugoslav Air Force. From 1968 to 1969 he was commander of the 204th Fighter Aviation Regiment stationed at Batajnica Air Base. After that he was commander of the 5th Air Force and Air Defense Corps based in the then Socialist Republic of Croatia.

In 1985 he was promoted to the head of the Yugoslav Air Force and held that post until his defection in May of 1991 as Croatia seceded from Yugoslavia and sought out independence. From September of 1991 until November of 1992 he served as the first Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces. He was succeeded in that post by General Janko Bobetko.

Between 1992 and 1995 he was President Franjo Tuđman's chief military advisor, before becoming head of Defense Ministry's Office for International Cooperation between 1995 and 2001. In 2001 he was appointed to the post of the chief of the Croatian Mission to NATO until his retirement in 2005.

Meanwhile, the former commander of the Croatian Navy, Vice-admiral Zdravko Kardum, passed away in Split at the age of 70. Admiral Kardum played a key role the defense of the coastal city of Split during the Homeland War.

Source: HRT