December 1877 – 11 January 1878) that led to the capture of Niš. After this success, Lešjanin was entrusted with the joint command of the Morava and Timok Corps to take over Pristina. He failed to accomplish this task due to unsuccessful assault on Turkish–Albanian positions near Samokovo. In February 1878 he was a special envoy of the Prince Milan Obernović to the Russian headquarters in San Stefano (modern Yeşilköy) for the negotiations that led to the Treaty of San Stefano, unfavorable for Serbia. Upon his return from San Stefano, Lešjanin was promoted to the rank of general. He commanded the Timok Corps, and in 1879–1880 and 1882–1885 he was Chief of the Serbian General Staff, and in 1883–1884 he was also the commander of the active army. In the Serbo-Bulgarian War in November 1885, General Lešjanin commanded the Timok Army during the unsuccessful siege of Vidin. After the war, Lešjanin took over the leadership of the General Staff for the third time, in 1886–1888; afterwards, he left the Royal Serbian Army and entered politics. In 1888 he replaced Đorđe Simić as president of The Red Cross of Serbia. His tenure lasted from 1888 to 1896 when he was succeeded by General Jovan Mišković. Political career Lešjanin became Minister of Army for the first time in 1873, when he entered the Liberal government headed by Jovan Ristić. From 1880 to 1882 he held the same position in the Progressive government of Milan Piroćanac. After his dismissal, he participated in the drafting of the Constitution of 1888 and in the work of the Parliament (representing the Liberal Party) in the early 1890s. References Sources Chief of the General Staff: 1876–2000, Ivetić Velimir, Belgrade 2000. |- |- |- |- |- |- 1830 births 1896 deaths People from Paraćin People from the Principality of Serbia People from the Kingdom of Serbia Serbian military personnel Serbian generals Chiefs of the Serbian General Staff Royal Serbian Army soldiers Serbian–Turkish Wars (1876–1878) People of the Serbo-Bulgarian War Government ministers of Serbia Liberal Party (Kingdom of Serbia) politicians Defence ministers of Serbia