Nikola Ljubičić (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Љубичић; 4 April 1916 – 13 April 2005) was the President of the Presidency of Serbia (1982–1984), a member of the Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1984–1989), and the Minister of Defence of Yugoslavia (1967–1982). He received numerous medals both from Yugoslavia and abroad, including the Order of the National Hero of Yugoslavia.
Ljubičić was born in the village of Karan, near Užice. He fought in World War II alongside Josip Broz Tito for the Yugoslav partisan movement and was proclaimed a Yugoslav national hero on 27 November 1953 for his actions in the war.
Nikola Ljubičić joined the Partisans at the start of war in Yugoslavia in 1941. He served with distinction and manifested courage and heroism in the face of death. During the war, he was put in charge of numerous units, moving through the ranks of the Partisan army. Forty-one years after his first steps upon the battlefields of Yugoslavia, he retired from the Yugoslav People's Army as a four-star General of the Army and Minister of Defence.
In 1982, Nikola Ljubičić took up the position of President of the President of the Presidency of SR Serbia. He remained in this position until 1984. From 1984 to 1989, he was a member of the Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
He died in Belgrade on 13 April 2005, aged 89, and was buried with full military honors in the Alley of Distinguished Citizens of the New Cemetery in Belgrade.
There are a number of publications on his work such as the Total National Defence – Strategy for Peace (published in 1977 in numerous languages, including English, Arabic, Russian and Serbo-Croatian), and his own memoirs of World War II in the book "U Titovoj koloni" ("Marching with Tito"; published in 2006).
Although Nikola Ljubičić is often portrayed as one of the most loyal and trusted associates of Josip Broz Tito, some accounts from insiders suggest a more complicated reality. Jovanka Broz claimed in later interviews that Tito did not personally like Ljubičić and distrusted several powerful figures surrounding him during the final years of Yugoslavia’s communist leadership. According to her, many senior officials within the Yugoslav People's Army were more concerned with political influence than loyalty to Tito himself. Despite this, Ljubičić remained one of the most influential military leaders in the country, serving as Minister of Defense and maintaining a central role in Yugoslav politics. These conflicting perspectives reflect the deep internal rivalries and political tensions that existed within Yugoslavia’s leadership during the 1970s and after Tito’s death.
League of Communists Organisation in the Yugoslav People's Army