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| Born in 1941 in the Serbian city of Pozarevac, <b>Slobodan Miloševic</b> emerged from April 1987 as the leading force in the revival of Serb nationalist feeling, replacing Ivan Stambolic as party leader in the Serbian section of the ruling League of Communists of Yugoslavia in September. | |||
| <b>Slobodan Milosevic</b> became president of ] under the communist government of the former ]. After the collapse of ] in ] he reestablished himself as a Serb nationalist. He led the Serbs as they fought civil wars in ] in 1991, ] from 1992 to 1995, and in the ] in 1999. He lost power in 2000 and was later handed over to the ] by the new government. | |||
| Elected president of Serbia by the national assembly in May 1989, he presided over the transformation of the League of Communists of Serbia into the Socialist Party of Serbia (July 1990) and the adoption of a new Serbian constitution (September 1990) providing for a direct election of a president with increased powers. Miloševic won direct election as president of Serbia in December 1990 and December 1992. | |||
| He has been charged with ] in Bosnia and war crimes in ] and ] and is expected to stand trial at the ] in ] starting in February 2002. | |||
| Milosevic's rise to power coincided with the growth of nationalism among Yugoslavia's other republics following the collapse of communist governments throughout eastern Europe. In June 1991 ] and ] seceded from the federation, followed by the republics of ] in September 1991 and ] in March 1992. The presence of large Serb minorities in Croatia (540,000) and Bosnia (1.6 million) led to wars in each, in which Serb secessionists seeking union with Serbia proper were supported by the Yugoslav government and army. | |||
| Constitutionally linited to two terms as Serbian president, in July 1997 Miloševic assumed the presidency of the Yugoslav Federation, now reduced in practice to Serbia and her smaller neighbour ]. Armed actions by ] separatist groups and Serbian military counter-action in Serbia's autonomous (and mostly Albanian-populated) province of ] culminated in escalating warfare in 1998, NATO air strikes against Serbia and her armed forces in March-June 1999, and Serbia's subsequent military withdrawal from the province. | |||
| Miloševic's rejection of claims of a first-round opposition victory in new elections for the Federal presidency in September 2000 led to mass demonstrations in Belgrade on October 5 and the collapse of the regime's authority. Opposition leader Vojislav Kostunica took office as Yugoslav president on October 6. | |||
| Arrested on April 1, 2001 on charges of abuse of power and corruption, Miloševic was handed over by the Serbian government June 28 to the UN ]. His trial on charges of ] in Bosnia and war crimes in ] and ] is expected to begin at ] in February 2002. | |||
Revision as of 01:09, 17 December 2001
Born in 1941 in the Serbian city of Pozarevac, Slobodan Miloševic emerged from April 1987 as the leading force in the revival of Serb nationalist feeling, replacing Ivan Stambolic as party leader in the Serbian section of the ruling League of Communists of Yugoslavia in September.
Elected president of Serbia by the national assembly in May 1989, he presided over the transformation of the League of Communists of Serbia into the Socialist Party of Serbia (July 1990) and the adoption of a new Serbian constitution (September 1990) providing for a direct election of a president with increased powers. Miloševic won direct election as president of Serbia in December 1990 and December 1992.
Milosevic's rise to power coincided with the growth of nationalism among Yugoslavia's other republics following the collapse of communist governments throughout eastern Europe. In June 1991 Slovenia and Croatia seceded from the federation, followed by the republics of Macedonia in September 1991 and Bosnia and Herzegovina in March 1992. The presence of large Serb minorities in Croatia (540,000) and Bosnia (1.6 million) led to wars in each, in which Serb secessionists seeking union with Serbia proper were supported by the Yugoslav government and army.
Constitutionally linited to two terms as Serbian president, in July 1997 Miloševic assumed the presidency of the Yugoslav Federation, now reduced in practice to Serbia and her smaller neighbour Montenegro. Armed actions by Albanian separatist groups and Serbian military counter-action in Serbia's autonomous (and mostly Albanian-populated) province of Kosovo culminated in escalating warfare in 1998, NATO air strikes against Serbia and her armed forces in March-June 1999, and Serbia's subsequent military withdrawal from the province.
Miloševic's rejection of claims of a first-round opposition victory in new elections for the Federal presidency in September 2000 led to mass demonstrations in Belgrade on October 5 and the collapse of the regime's authority. Opposition leader Vojislav Kostunica took office as Yugoslav president on October 6.
Arrested on April 1, 2001 on charges of abuse of power and corruption, Miloševic was handed over by the Serbian government June 28 to the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. His trial on charges of genocide in Bosnia and war crimes in Croatia and Kosovo is expected to begin at The Hague in February 2002.