09.10.2018.
Opening of Exhibition on 140 Years of Military Diplomacy in the Military Museum
This year, the Republic of Serbia marks 140 years of military diplomatic representation, that is, appointment of the first defence attaché. The jubilee was marked today by opening an exhibition in the Military Museum in Kalemegdan set up by the Military Intelligence Agency.
Opening the exhibition, Director of the Military Intelligence Agency Brigadier General Zoran Stojković reminded that since 1878 until the present there had been some 500 officers who discharged the duty of defence attaché. At this moment, the Republic of Serbia has 23 defence attachés offices.
- It is a great honour for an officer to represent his country and his armed forces. Today as well, numerous members of the Ministry of Defence and Serbian Armed Forces discharge this challenging, responsible and honourable military duty. Their task is to spread the truth about Serbia and its position of military neutrality, the orientation that allows us to cooperate with all the countries and all military alliances if that is in mutual interest. Defence Attachés provide support to state diplomacy and execute tasks of foreign and defence policy of the country, which has been created by the state and military leadership of Serbia. They are the promoters of the interests of our system, the diplomats in uniforms who advance friendly relations and develop international military cooperation - said general Stojković and pointed out that in the year of military diplomacy jubilee, the Military Intelligence Agency had opened an office of defence attaché in Belarus, and that they planned opening a defence attaché’s office in Iran by the end of the year.Defence Attaché of the Republic of Austria Colonel Thomas Ahammer, the Dean of the Military Diplomatic Corps in Serbia, congratulated the jubilee to his colleagues and presented the Director of MIA with the documents from Austrian archives relating to some of our first attachés in Austria.
Actor Nebojša Milovanović read parts of reports of military attachés from the end of the 19th century.The exhibition contains the hand written reports of military attachés from the end of the 19th century, and their memoirs, examples of document which governed the work of military attachés in our military and armed forces of other countries, promotional albums with photographs from YPA, original telegrams, and there are also parts of uniforms of our defence attachés from the 19th century until the present.
The first office of defence attaché was opened in Vienna late in 1878, and the first officer who had the honour to represent our military abroad was artillery major Konstantin Milovanivić Koka, an officer educated in country and abroad, and who was also a famous designer of light weapons.
