Anton Tus

Biography

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 Defence Corps based in SR Croatia.

In 1985 he was promoted to the head of the Yugoslav Air Force and held that post until his defection in May 1991 amid the breakup of Yugoslavia. From September 1991 he was the first Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, until November 1992, when he opposed Minister of Defence Gojko Šušak's policy towards Bosnia and Herzegovina. 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 Defence 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 retirement in 2005.

Tus died in Zagreb on 4 September 2023, at the age of 91.