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Slobodan Miloševic (born 1941) is the former president of Serbia. During the Kosovo War he has been indicted of war crimes, and he is currently under trial at The Hague.
He was born in the Serbian city of Pozarevac.
Miloševic emerged in April 1987 as the leading force in the revival of Serbian nationalism, replacing Ivan Stambolic as party leader in the Serbian section of the ruling League of Communists of Yugoslavia in September.
He was elected president of Serbia by the national assembly in May 1989, and 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.
Miloševic's rise to power coincided with the growth of nationalism among all of Yugoslavia's 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 (subsequently styled the Former Yugoslav Republic 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 limited to two terms as Serbian president, in July 1997 Miloševic assumed the presidency of the Yugoslav Federation, now reduced 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 on June 28 to the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. His trial on charges of genocide in Bosnia and war crimes in Croatia and Kosovo began at The Hague on February 12, 2002 with Miloševic defending himself though refusing to recognise the court's jurisdiction and appoint defense council, cross-examining witnesses himself and mounting a bold defense which is often compared to that of Socrates, at least among Serbs. The prosecution case proved to be so weak and his skill in deconstructing false accusations so good that his popularity among Serbs rised sharply, with even those who were always opposing him admitting he makes his case. It is widely believed among Serbs, his opponents and supporters alike, that the trial is a farce designed to justify bombing during Kosovo War. The court in The Hague evades prosecuting crimes commited by NATO during the war.