Yugoslav partisan-diplomat whom Stalin named a British spy to break off correspondence
Stalin wrote in his March 27, 1948 letter: 'We do not understand why the British spy Velebit continues to remain in the Yugoslav Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the First Deputy Minister.'
A Yugoslav lawyer turned Partisan general and diplomat who served as the Partisans' liaison to Allied military missions during the war and as First Deputy Foreign Minister afterward, negotiating with the Western powers. In his March 27, 1948 letter Stalin singled out Velebit as a 'British spy' and used his continued presence in the foreign ministry as justification for breaking off frank diplomatic correspondence, making the accusation one of the triggers of the Tito-Stalin split. Forced to resign, he was later rehabilitated, serving as ambassador to Rome and London and as Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe, embodying Yugoslavia's independent course through the Cold War.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1933PhD in law, University of Zagreb
- 1939Met Tito in Istanbul, joined the KPJ
- 1942–1943Liaison to Allied military missions, Partisan Supreme Command
- 1945–1948First Deputy Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia
- 1951–1952Yugoslav Ambassador to Italy
- 1952–1956Yugoslav Ambassador to the United Kingdom
- 1960–1967Executive Secretary, UN Economic Commission for Europe
Related historical events
- 1941–1945The Yugoslav Partisan WarLiaison to Allied military missionsIn 1942–1943, he served at Partisan Supreme Command as liaison to Allied military missions.
- 1948–1955The Tito-Stalin SplitTarget of Stalin’s British-spy accusationOn March 27, 1948, Stalin called him a “British spy” and used his continued presence to justify breaking off frank correspondence.
Prisoner exchanges and negotiations with German forces, 1942–1943
As a member of the Partisan Supreme Headquarters, Velebit handled contacts and prisoner exchanges with German forces. On 17 November 1942, he and Marijan Stilinović negotiated with the German Hans Ott, completing a second prisoner exchange. The Partisans also described themselves as an independent armed force with military discipline and proposed applying international law to prisoners and wounded and arranging regular exchanges. During the Axis offensive Operation Weiss in March 1943, Supreme Headquarters opened ceasefire and prisoner-exchange talks to gain time to cross the Neretva River. Velebit joined Milovan Đilas and Koča Popović at the negotiations that began at Gornji Vakuf on 11 March, using the name Vladimir Petrović. The Partisan delegation proposed exchanging prisoners and halting hostilities, and identified the Chetniks as its principal enemy. Velebit and Đilas later passed through German lines to Zagreb to continue the talks, stating that the Partisan proposals were not an offer to surrender but concerned recognition as a belligerent and the cessation of hostilities. Velebit separately carried orders to Partisan commanders in Slavonia and eastern Bosnia to suspend attacks on German forces and rail communications and to release prisoners. Remaining in Zagreb, he also arranged the release of Herta Haas, a detained Slovenian communist. The German leadership prohibited further contact in late March, and the informal ceasefire, which had lasted about six weeks, ended on Hitler's orders. The talks helped the Partisans cross the Neretva and preserve their forces in the short term, but that advantage was lost with the Axis Operation Schwarz offensive in mid-May.