Jovan Divjak, a retired general of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the first recipient of the highest French order 'Legion of Honor' from BiH, died in Sarajevo on Thursday at the age of 84.

Divjak was born on March 11, 1937, in Belgrade. From 1966 he lived and worked in Sarajevo. He and his wife Vera had two sons Zelimir and Vladimir.

After graduating from the Military Academy in Belgrade, Divjak was educated in France. He worked as a lecturer at the ‘Marshal Tito’ barracks in Sarajevo.

From 1984 he was the Commander of the Territorial Defense of Mostar, and on April 8, 1992, he became the Deputy Commander of the Territorial Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the war, he became one of the deputy commanders of the Army of RBiH and the commander of the Sarajevo Territorial District. In 1993, he was awarded the rank of brigadier general.

In 1994 he founded the Association ‘Education Builds BiH’, which helps the education of children who lost their parents in the war. In July 2001, he was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor.