Early life Apostolski was born as
Mihail Mitev Apostolov in
Novo Selo, in the
Kosovo vilayet of the Ottoman Empire (now
North Macedonia) on November 8, 1906, into a
Bulgarian Exarchist family, to Mite Apostolov and Vasa Apostolova. He attended primary and secondary school in
Štip. Shortly after, his father, a
First World War Bulgarian army veteran, petitioned the
Bulgarian
Minister of Defense to help release Apostolski. After being released from prison, Apostolski received a certificate that he was a "Bulgarian" on June 23, 1941. On November 18, he filed an application for appointment in the Bulgarian army. He was offered the rank of captain, however he refused. On December 15, General
Konstantin Lukash, interceded for him, looking for a job in the
Bulgarian State Railways' system, but without success. Afterwards, Apostolski entered the
Sofia University under a fake name, where he conducted underground work. In April 1942, he became a member of the
Communist Party of Yugoslavia, and in June the same year he was appointed as commander of the
General Staff of the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Macedonia. On October 1, 1944, he was promoted to
Lieutenant General. He was accused by Bulgarian academics of systematically
falsifying history and using
hate speech against
Bulgaria and the
Bulgarian people. He was actively involved in the formation of the
Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, of which he was member of since its creation. He was also its president from 1976 to 1983. He was also a member of: •
Serbian Academy of Sciences, •
Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (now:
Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts), •
Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and •
Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo. On June 14, 1982, he became
doctor of
military science. He died on August 7, 1987, in
Dojran,
SR Macedonia, SFR Yugoslavia. == Legacy ==