Milorad Ulemek

Milorad Ulemek (; born 15 March 1968), also known as Milorad Luković and "Legija" , is a Serbian former commander of the Serbian police special unit, the Special Operations Unit (JSO) and a former paramilitary commander, who was convicted of the assassinations of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić and former Serbian President Ivan Stambolić. He was also convicted of conspiracy in the attempted murder of Serbian opposition leader Vuk Drašković.

Early life

Ulemek was born on 15 March 1968 in Belgrade. His father Milan was a sub-officer in the Yugoslav People's Army, while his mother Natalija was a housewife. Ulemek grew up in New Belgrade, near the Hotel Jugoslavija.

Although he was problematic in his early teens, he finished an auto mechanic program and medicine school in Belgrade. In 1984, he became friends with Kristijan Golubović and together the two committed their first "big" robbery. Ulemek was given the nickname "Cema" from "cement".

During his service and as sergeant, he did a tour in Yugoslavia as translator for the French Army. On his return, he did not come back from his leave and was considered as a deserter from the French Foreign Legion and went back into Yugoslavia when the Wars erupted in 1992.

Serb Volunteer Guard He joined the Serb Volunteer Guard in 1992 under the control of Serbian warlord Arkan.

Special Operations Unit

In 1996, following the dissolution of the Serb Volunteer Guard, on the request by head of the State Security Directorate Jovica Stanišić, Ulemek joined the re-structured Special Operations Unit. and became the official commander of "JSO SDB Serbia" in April 2001.

The Red Berets were used during Milošević's rule for special operations.

Zemun Clan connection and Đinđić assassination

On 12 March 2003, some members of JSO who were connected to the notorious Zemun Clan, organized the assassination of Zoran Đinđić, with Ulemek being named the main organizer. Following the assassination, Ulemek was named the prime suspect and after 14 months of hiding, he surrendered in May 2004. Ulemek claimed that he had been hiding in his house the entire time, which made lot of controversy in public.

Personal life He was married to journalist Maja Luković, with whom he had a daughter. Following that relationship, he met Aleksandra Ivanović, with whom he has had three more daughters.

Books While serving his prison sentence, Ulemek wrote 24 books.

Gvozdeni rov (2004) Legionar (2005) Momci iz Brazila (2006) Juda (2006) Kraj (2007) Čopor (2007) Magioničar (2008) Tajna moga srca (2008) Kroz vatru i vodu (2008) Za čast i slavu (2009) Ljubav suzama ne veruje (2010) Revolucija — između razuma i srca (2010) Krv, suze i znoj (2012) Staze poraza (2013) Poslednji konvoj (2013) Prah i pepeo I (2014) Prah i pepeo II (2015) Babo (2016) Prah i pepeo III (2017) U tigrovom gnezdu (2018) Dolina suza (2019) Purpurno srce (2020) Samuraj (2021) Poslednji bataljon (2022)