Veljko Ražnatović

Veljko Ražnatović (; May 20, 1920 – June 17, 1986) was a Montenegrin Serb Colonel in the Yugoslav Air Force.

He is perhaps most remembered as the father of the mobster Željko "Arkan" Ražnatović, a paramilitary commander and head of the Serb paramilitary force called the Serb Volunteer Guard during the Yugoslav Wars.

Biography He was born on May 20, 1920 in Rijeka Crnojevića, near Cetinje in present-day Montenegro.

As a young man, he joined the youth revolutionary movement and in 1939 he became a member of the League of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia. He became a member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia in May 1941.

He was awarded the Commemorative Medal of the Partisans of 1941 and other Yugoslav decorations, including the Order of Brotherhood and Unity of the First Degree, the Order of the Partisan Star of the Second Degree, the Order of Merit for the People of the Second Degree, the Order of Bravery and the Order of the Partisan Star of the Third Degree.

Personal life He was married to Slavka (née Josifović; 1925–2012) with whom he had three daughters named Mirjana, Jasna and Biljana and a son, Željko. Ražnatović died on June 17, 1986 in Belgrade, aged 66.