Praljak drew public attention in September 1991 when he voluntarily joined the newly formed Croatian Armed Forces after the outbreak of the Croatian War of Independence. He formed a unit composed of the Zagreb artists and intellectuals with whom he held positions in Sunja. After the Sarajevo Agreement, by 3 April 1992, he was made major general, received a number of responsibilities in the Ministry of Defence, and became one of the 14 members of the Croatian National Defence Council and a member of the Croatian State Commission for Relations with United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR). He was the High Representative of the Ministry of Defence, and since 13 May 1993, representative of the Ministry of Defence in the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia and Croatian Defence Council (HVO). Praljak petitioned Alija Izetbegović to unblock Sarajevo but his propositions were rejected. From 24 July to 8 November 1993, Praljak was the Chief of Staff of the Croatian Defence Council. In spite of the Croat-Muslim conflict in the Croat–Bosniak War, he sent a truck full of weapons to besieged Sarajevo to help Bosniaks. He also allowed the UNHCR's humanitarian convoy through to Mostar, which was stopped in Čitluk.