Mladic, Ratko

Mladić, Ratko

(rät`kō mläd`ĭch), 1942–, Bosnian Serb military leader. Raised in TitoTito, Josip Broz
, 1892–1980, Yugoslav Communist leader, marshal of Yugoslavia. He was originally Josip Broz. Rise to Power

The son of a blacksmith in a Croatian village, Tito fought in Russia with the Austro-Hungarian army in World War I and was captured by
..... Click the link for more information.
's Yugoslavia, he joined the army, rising through the officer corps to become a lieutenant general. In 1992, as YugoslaviaYugoslavia
, Serbo-Croatian Jugoslavija, former country of SE Europe, in the Balkan Peninsula. Belgrade was the capital and by far the largest city. Yugoslavs (i.e.
..... Click the link for more information.
 splintered and Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina
, Serbo-Croatian Bosna i Hercegovina, country (2015 est. pop. 3,536,000), 19,741 sq mi (51,129 sq km), on the Balkan peninsula, S Europe. It is bounded by Croatia on the west and north, Serbia on the northeast, and Montenegro on the southeast.
..... Click the link for more information.
 declared independence, Bosnian Serbs established the Serb Republic, and Mladić was appointed commander of the Bosnian Serb army. His forces seized about 70% of Bosnia, mounted a siege of SarajevoSarajevo
, city (2013 pop. 438,443), capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the Miljacka River. An important industrial and railway center, its industries include food and tobacco processing and furniture manufacturing. Lignite and iron ore are mined nearby.
..... Click the link for more information.
 (1992–96) in which some 10,000 died, and killed some 8,000 unarmed Bosian Muslims after the siege of SrebrenicaSrebrenica
, town, E central Bosnia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Serb Republic of Bosnia Herzegovina. Lead has been mined here and nearby since Roman times, and silver and mercury deposits are in the vicinity.
..... Click the link for more information.
 in the worst massacre in Europe since World War II. A hero to many Serbs, Mladić lived openly in Belgrade after the war. He went into hiding in 2001 after Serbia's President MiloševićMilošević, Slobodan
, 1941–2006, Yugoslav and Serbian political leader, president of Serbia (1989–97) and of Yugoslavia (1997–2000), b. Požarevac, Serbia.
..... Click the link for more information.
 was ousted and arrested, and was not captured until May, 2011. Extradited from Serbia to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague, he was tried and convicted (2017) of genocide and crimes against humanity.