Petar Gračanin was born on 22 June 1923 in Jagodina, then part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

[4] He was chosen as a member of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (CK SKJ) in 1978 and 1982.

[4] During the Ten-Day War Gračanin was situated in a JNA air base near Ljubljana.

After the JNA forces were ordered by the General Staff to withdraw from Slovenia, Gračanin flew back to Belgrade.

[5] Slobodan Milošević promoted him to the rank of reserve general of the army of the FR Yugoslavia in 1999.