He was the son of Višnja and Obren Martinović from the village of Brusnica. As a famous cattle trader and a renowned person, he participated in the First Serbian Uprising from the very first moment. In 1804, he became the commander and the duke of Rudnik, Požega and Užice administrative unit (“nahija”), as well as the counsellor in the Government (“Praviteljstvujušći sovjet”) in 1809. Starting from 1810, he became a Serbian delegate in Russian headquarters in Bucharest, where he died the same year. He will stay remembered as a person who “gave” his surname to the youngest Serbian Dynasty – Obrenović, and his name to the youngest town of the liberated Serbia – Gornji Milanovac.

The monument on the grass surface in front of the Prefecture Building is a work of art of the academic sculptor Nebojša Savović Nes from 1995.