Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity | Mladic, Ratko

[MARCH 12, 1942–]

Commander of the Bosnian Serb Army

Fueled by a deep-seated animosity hearkening from the days of the Ottoman Empire's control of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the Croatian alliance with Nazi Germany, General Ratko Mladic rose through the ranks of the Bosnian Serb Army by appealing to Serbian nationalism. As Commander, Mladic left in his wake at least ten thousand dead and several hundred thousand forcibly transferred or internally displaced.

Born in Kalinovik, a small town in southern Bosnia, Mladic spent his early years training at the military academy in Belgrade for the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), in which he later served as an officer. Between the summers of 1991 and 1992 Mladic's military authority and popularity increased exponentially. In June 1991 he was appointed Commander of the 9th Corps of the JNA, and within a year he was promoted to General Lieutenant and Chief of Staff of the...