02. July 2008. 14:31     

Just six days before his 86th birthday academic, poet, writer, art historian Dejan Medakovic suddenly died yesterday. He was born in Zagreb on July 7th, 1922. A descendant of a prominent Serbian family, grandson of Bogdan Medakovic, president of the Croatian Assembly, he finished secondary school in Sremski Karlovci in 1941. He received his degree and PhD from the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, department of art history. Here he became a full time professor. He became a member of the European Academy in Salzburg in 1995 and a member of the Leibniz Society, and an honorary member of the Romanian Academy in 2001. He was secretary of the History Department of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts from 1981 to 1985, secretary general from 1985 to 1994 and president from 1999 to 2003. He was one of the founders of the Vuk Legate and chaired its Assembly from 1997. Besides a series of studies and papers, he published several volumes of poetry, and under the joint title Efemeris five books of autobiographical prose. He was the recipient of the July 7th life-time achievement award, the Austrian Gindelz prize and the Herder Award for 1990, awards of the National Library for the most read book in Serbia and many others.