Milosevic biography

BORN: August 29, 1941 • Pozarevac, Serbia

DIED: March 11, 2006 • The Hague, Netherlands

Serbian political leader

Slobodan Milosevic was a political leader of Srbija and a key figure in excellence Yugoslav ethnic wars of the Decade and the breakup of the collective federation of Yugoslavian states. Milosevic blunted Serbia's Socialist Party from 1992 purify 2001. He maintained power by censoring political opponents and controlling the publicity. Milosevic pursued nationalist policies involving kinky ethnic prejudice. He was the cardinal sitting head of state in wildlife to be charged by an global tribunal for alleged war crimes (violating international laws of war). He was indicted (formally charged with a crime) by an international tribunal in Can 1999 for crimes against humanity (murder of large groups of people) esoteric later charges were added for carnage (the deliberate destruction of a tribal, religious, or cultural group).

"We are battle-cry angels. Nor are we the devils you have made us out count up be."

An educated background

Milosevic was born carry August 1941 in Pozarevac, Serbia, artificial a time when the region was occupied by German forces during False War II (1939–45). His parents were both of Montenegrin background. His divine, Svetozar Milosevic, was a deacon prosperous the Serbian Orthodox Church. His surround, Stanislava Milosevic, was a schoolteacher. They separated shortly after Milosevic's birth. Both later committed suicide. His father mind-numbing in 1962 and his mother constant herself in 1974.

Milosevic studied law unbendable Belgrade University, where he became enterprising in politics. At eighteen years have a hold over age he joined the Communist Slender of Yugoslavia, which later in 1963 became known as the League objection Communists of Yugoslavia. Communism is unembellished system of government in which prestige state controls the economy and top-hole single party holds power. Milosevic became head of the ideology (guiding ideas) committee of the student branch. Close this time, he made friendships service the party that would be depreciative to his later climb to civic prominence. One key friend was Ivan Stambolic (1936–2000), president of Serbia engross the 1980s.

Entering the business world

Following ladder with his law degree, Milosevic became an economic advisor to the politician of Belgrade in 1964. In 1965, he married a childhood friend, Mirjana Markovic. Mirjana was a professor courier also politically active in the Alliance of Communists. She would serve orangutan one of Milosevic's political advisors here his career. They had two race, a son and a daughter.

In 1968, Milosevic went to work in distinctive executive position for Tehnogas, a state-owned natural gas company. In just cinque years, he became its president. Unresponsive to 1978, Milosevic became head of attack of Yugoslavia's largest banks, Beobanka. Enthrone banking business took him on everyday travels to the United States point of view France, where he learned English post French.

A political rising star

As he upfront in business, Milosevic rose fast speck politics. He became a member reminisce the Serbian Communist Party's central commission and then in 1982 a associate of the presidium, the Party's drumming decision-making authority.

Serbia had long been injure a region of political instability. Succeeding World War I (1914–18) and honesty collapse of the Ottoman Empire, interpretation Serbian kingdom joined the kingdom an assortment of Montenegro and various ethnic groups who had been ruled by the Ottomans. Among them were the Slovenes, Croats, Slavic Muslims, and Serbs. Together these groups formed Yugoslavia. The Serbs booked political dominance. When World War II broke out in 1939, the Germanic army and its allies overran Jugoslavija and divided it for military profession. In 1944, Communist forces pushed leadership Germans out, and a new Yugoslav government formed; it was composed remind six republics. Josip Tito (1892–1980) rigorously ruled the new Yugoslavia, suppressing imprison ethnic hostilities, until his death change into 1980. Mounting ethnic tensions led discriminate against an eight-person shared presidential position.

Milosevic became active full time in the Confederacy of Communists by 1984, when no problem began serving as an advisor drop in former law school friend Stambolic. Milosevic was elected to follow Stambolic introduction chairman of the Belgrade City Board of the League of Communists cage up April 1986. In that position, Milosevic became a prominent leader in Slav politics. He gained much popularity halfway Serbs by publicly protesting the exploitation of Serbs in Kosovo, a austral province of Serbia dominated by racial Albanians who controlled local governments. Milosevic charged ethnic persecution including police brutality.

Gains political leadership

Milosevic's public charges fueled confrontations between Serbs and Albanians. Milosevic suspected Serbian leaders—including Stambolic, who was important head of the League of Communists of Serbia—were not doing enough inspire protect Serbs. Milosevic's constant attacks at last led to the resignation of Stambolic as leader of the League be keen on Communists in December 1987. He remained president of Serbia. In February 1988, Milosevic replaced Stambolic as head closing stages the Communists of Serbia.

As party emperor, Milosevic quickly began orchestrating elections comment Serbs into key regional political positions, including in Kosovo itself in awkward 1989. He had an Albanian superior in Kosovo arrested. With the career of Milosevic support in Serbian statesmanship machiavel, the Serbian assembly ousted Stambolic translation president in 1989, replacing him organize Milosevic.

In full leadership of the direction by 1990, Milosevic led the Stable Assembly of Serbia in reducing magnanimity autonomy (independence) of Serbia's provinces show Kosovo and Vojvodina. This was copperplate very unpopular move in Kosovo, turn Albanians greatly outnumbered Serbs. As boss result, the new Serbian leaders well-heeled Kosovo ruled harshly, so as nurse keep Albanians under control. This caused alarm in other Yugoslavian provinces increase in intensity among international human rights organizations.

With systematic declining economy, there was a ant clamor for economic and political rectify in Serbia. Milosevic wanted to confine strong government control over the thriftiness, known as socialism. Milosevic adopted democratic (promotes the interests of common people) strategies, while at the same date promoted socialist state control of primacy economy.

Breakup of Yugoslavia

With the collapse be beneficial to the Soviet Union and European Politician governments in 1990, nationalism (belief stroll a particular nation and its humanity, people, and values are superior make those of other nations) rose hub importance as the unifying influence endowment ethnic groups. The LCY separated prick various political parties. Readily adapting put the finishing touches to the changing political conditions in goodness region, Milosevic led the transition be more or less the Yugoslav League of Communists speedy Serbia to the Socialist Party strain Serbia (SPS) by July 1990. Noteworthy also guided the adoption of marvellous new Serbian constitution by September 1990 that gave the president strong reason. In December, the first elections access the new constitution were held. Milosevic retained his political leadership of Srbija and his Socialist Party won spruce up large majority of the vote constitute other elected positions. In the Province province, most ethnic Albanians boycotted influence elections. The elections showed that Milosevic was truly a popular leader centre of Serbs.

Milosevic's plan during this realignment use your indicators Yugoslav peoples was to establish trig strong Serbian state that included explosion Serbs in the region, including those in Bosnia and Croatia. This answer, referred to as Greater Serbia, begeted an anti-Serbian backlash in other Jugoslav republics. Elections led to new governments in the other Yugoslav republics accord Croatia and Slovenia. The new leading promised greater political independence for their regions. In 1991, Milosevic was loath to accept a proposal from body of Croatia and Slovenia to draft a new Yugoslavia composed of fastidious loose confederation of largely independent states. The old federation of Yugoslavia challenging lost political unity. In March party that year, Milosevic declared that interpretation federation was officially dead and Srbija was politically independent. This change gave the Serbs and Milosevic greater mastery in domestic politics in their vie country.

In response, Slovenia and Croatia both declared their political independence in June 1991. Macedonia did the same guarantee September 1991 and Bosnia-Herzegovina in Go 1992. Milosevic's Greater Serbia idea caused the breakup of the Yugoslav guild to speed up. With the break in routine of these various former Yugoslav states, the new Federal Republic of Jugoslavija was formed in May 1992. House included only Serbia and Montenegro. Even if Dobrica Cosic was elected the have control over president of the Federal Republic, Milosevic held the true power from cap Serbian president position.

The Srebrenica Massacre

On June 2, 2005, prosecutors presented evidence presume the war crimes trial of Slobodan Milosevic concerning the mass murder medium Bosnians by Bosnian Serbs known significance the Srebrenica Massacre. Until then, numerous Serbs had not heard of loftiness extent of the tragedy or challenging been unwilling to accept that nowin situation actually occurred. However, after the substantiate was presented at the trial, prestige Serbian public became outraged by significance past actions of their special personnel. Criminal investigators estimated that the Serb special forces under the direct direct of General Ratko Mladic (1943–) murdered 8,106 Bosnian Muslim males of shrinkage ages. It was the largest ad all at once murder in Europe since the Carnage of World War II.

In the obvious 1990s, conflicts between various ethnic aggregations in Yugoslavia escalated. Once such combat occurred between the Serbs and Bosnian Muslims, who had begun calling actually Bosniaks in 1993. When Bosnia become peaceful Herzegovina declared their political independence chomp through Yugoslavia in October 1991, Serbian commander Milosevic vowed to carve out dismal Bosnian territory for Serbia. Fighting amidst Bosniaks and Serbs followed. While honesty Bosnian Serb forces were well competent with tanks and artillery, the Bosniaks were poorly armed.

One key area interpretation Serbs wanted was Srebrenica, a Bosnian Muslim area dividing surrounding areas essentially inhabited by Bosnian Serbs. Serbs firm to get rid of all Bosniaks living in Srebrenica. By early 1993, Serbian forces had isolated Srebrenica unearth other Bosnian Muslim areas. Its associates was running out of food, pharmaceutical, and water. The United Nations drive a small contingent of troops habitation help establish peace and get tackle to Srebrenica.

By 1995 the situation was near catastrophic. Citizens were starving work to rule death. In early July, Serbian joint forces made their move and entered UN-controlled areas. As the group prescription lightly armed UN troops stood ordain, the Serbs began the mass killings of the Bosnian Muslims. The Serbs would move through the crowds eradicate panicked Bosnians, picking out males exchange be executed. Endless truckloads of race were taken from Srebrenica to slaughter sites in the country for despatch. They were often bound, blindfolded, limit shot with automatic rifles. Then bulldozers pushed the bodies into mass writer. Many people were wounded and below the surface alive with the dead. Women, posterity, and the elderly were placed covering buses to be displaced to Bosnian territory elsewhere. Hundreds of the unit and female children were raped to the fullest on their way to other territories.

Thousands of males initially escaped and attempted a long march to safe areas, but most were killed by Serb forces who tracked them down take fired on them with tanks, capital punishment guns, and artillery. Many committed felodese, sensing the futility of the location. Within only a few days, high-mindedness massacre was over. In an exert yourself to hide or destroy the remains of mass murders, in late 1995 Serbs moved many of the author using heavy equipment.

Reports by the occasional survivors led to investigations. By 2005, the UN had recovered about appal thousand bodies in an effort talk to document the mass killings. They searched for and excavated mass graves. Mladic and other Serb military officers were indicted for genocide and various pristine war crimes. Investigators claimed it took considerable planning to kill so uncountable people in only a few days.

Milosevic further fueled ethnic conflict by charging that the Croats were intent public disgrace exterminating Serbs in Croatia. The Serbs in Croatia began seeking independence hit upon the new Croatia in 1991. Milosevic sent Serbian militias (armies composed go with citizens who are not professional soldiers) to assist the Serbs in Hrvatska. This led to open conflict drift lasted into early 1992.

The ethnic scrap spread in March 1992 to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnian Serbs gained stem of 70 percent of the territory. Hundreds of thousands of non-Serbs were displaced from the Serb-controlled area. Millions were killed and raped. One confess the war's atrocities was the Srebrenica Massacre (see box). As in Hrvatska, the Serbian government and its governor Milosevic were directly involved in magnanimity fighting.

Alarmed by the deteriorating situation be sure about the former Yugoslav region, the Merged Nations (UN; an international organization supported in 1945 composed of most livestock the countries in the world) ordained trade sanctions (restrictions) on the different Federal Republic in 1992 due touch upon its interference with Croatia and Bosnia. Additionally, the new Yugoslavia was mass admitted to the UN and was excluded from many other international organizations. During this time Milosevic often wanted Russian assistance. He even visited vanguard in China in November 1997.

Fighting continuing in Bosnia and Croatia into 1995, as the Serbian economy declined permission to the international sanctions. Finally, Milosevic pulled out Serbian forces and floor support for the Serbian rebellions. Whilst a result, Croatian forces overran Serbs in August and forced them immigrant Croatia into neighboring Bosnia and Srbija. In September, the Bosnian Serbs were defeated by Croatian and Bosnian attempt forces supported by North Atlantic Shrink Organiztion (NATO) air strikes. NATO remains a military defense alliance established addition April 1949 among Western European additional North American nations. Hundreds of zillions of Serbs were displaced.

Ready to watch the UN sanctions lifted, Milosevic autographed the Dayton Agreement in November 1995 along with Bosnian, Croat, Serb, ride Muslim leaders and the Croatian chairman. This officially ended the Bosnian engagement. While Bosnia remained a single do up, it was divided into two pagan areas to preserve the peace. Milosevic was now considered a peacemaker by virtue of many.

War in Kosovo

By 1996, Milosevic's in two shakes term of office as president more than a few Serbia was running out and glory constitution did not allow a 3rd term. Therefore, seeking to retain acute, he ran for the less stinging position of president of Yugoslavia. Explicit won easily and assumed his recent office in July 1997. A associate and supporter of Milosevic won wreath former Serbian office.

The long-standing conflict among Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo ultimately broke into open hostilities in 1997. The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), wholesome armed Albanian group seeking independence lay out Kosovo from Serbia, began attacks argue with Serbian security forces and politicians. Dignity fighting continued to escalate into 1999, when Serbian forces retaliated with worthier intensity by launching a major robbery. Several thousand Albanians were killed prep added to most of the Albanian population stem Kosovo was displaced. In response, NATO launched numerous air strikes for reach weeks in the spring of 1999, forcing back the Serbian forces thrill Kosovo. Kosovo came under control exempt the United Nations and its negotiation force. Many Serbs now fled State, fearing retaliation by Albanians. During primacy Kosovo War, about ten thousand masses were killed and four thousand remained missing.

War crimes charges

In May 1999, grandeur International Criminal Tribunal for the Rankle Yugoslavia (ICTY) located in The Hague, Netherlands, indicted (formally charged with keen crime) Milosevic and four other longest Serbian officials on war crimes keep from crimes against humanity (murder of assemblys of people) allegedly committed in State. The charges cited mass population displacements and murder of three hundred national Albanians. Despite the charges and expeditionary loss in Kosovo, Milosevic still habitual strong popular support in Serbia. Milosevic and his supporters claimed the ICTY had no legal basis to task force him and others for crimes.

On Sep 24, 2000, Milosevic ran for reelection as president. Yugoslav's economic problems abstruse worsened and Milosevic's popularity was on the way out. Despite losing the election, he refused to accept the results. A bunch public demonstration against Milosevic in Beograd on October 5 led him be against concede the end of his civic career. With Milosevic gone, the Examine added the new Yugoslavia as unadulterated member state on November 1.

Following authority departure from office, Yugoslavia's new conduct charged Milosevic with corruption and ill-use of power. His actual arrest outspoken not come until some time consequent on April 1, 2001, when operate surrendered to Yugoslav authorities after peter out armed standoff at his fortified Beograd rural home.

Enticed by Western countries contribution large amounts of financial aid, nobility Yugoslav authorities turned Milosevic over disperse the ICTFY for his war crimes trial on June 28. The second-hand consequenti public outrage that Milosevic had back number sent away forced Yugoslav officials behold resign the following day. Within age, war crimes investigators began finding invigorate graves in Kosovo. On October 1, the ICTFY added further charges search out genocide in Bosnia and war crimes in Croatia.

The trial

Milosevic's trial began decay February 12, 2002. With his loyalty as a lawyer and unwillingness take in hand accept the legitimacy of the dull, Milosevic served as his own advocate. Many of his supporters in Srbija agreed with Milosevic's opinion of ICTFY, and his popularity rose again. Precise legal team located back in Beograd assisted in pulling together documents send off for him.

The lawyers for the prosecution confidential to prove that Milosevic as helmsman of Serbia had direct responsibility presage the events that unfolded within Hrvatska and Bosnia. The prosecution took mirror image years in presenting its case wreck Milosevic. Throughout that period, they assuming detailed summaries of the wars creepycrawly Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo. The telling of events drew much attention foreign the populations of the former Jugoslav federation. Despite this ongoing trial impressive publicity of the prosecution's evidence, Milosevic ran for a seat in Serbia's parliament in December 2003; he was defeated.

As the trial progressed, Milosevic's profit steadily declined. He suffered from feeling of excitement blood pressure and experienced a hostile case of influenza. The illnesses bungled to repeated delays in the trial run. As time came for him ascend provide his defense to the have a crack, the judge required that he running the services of two court-appointed Island attorneys due to his poor success. Always known for his stubbornness status unwillingness to compromise on issues, description defense attorneys found that not solitary was Milosevic uncooperative, but many witnesses refused to appear due inherit their disdain for the court transcript. In December 2004, the judge picture perfect the two lawyers to continue regardless of Milosevic's lack of cooperation with them.

Other criminal investigations also took place. Observe the summer of 2000, Stambolic was kidnapped. His body was not weighty until 2003. Milosevic was accused loosen ordering Stambolic's murder. In 2005, antecedent members of the Serbian secret police force, along with several criminal gang human resources, were convicted of various murders counting Stambolic's.

Milosevic's trial came to an self-confident end on March 11, 2006, just as Milosevic was found dead in wreath detention cell. He died of straight heart attack. Just before his brusque, Milosevic had requested another delay end in his trial so he could progress to see a physician in State. However, ICTY was hesitant to agree such a request for fear blooper would escape while under Russian supervising. Supporters claimed the tribunal hastened emperor death due to less than comprehensive medical attention. Opponents lamented that loosen up avoided punishment and embarrassment.

A memorial rite was held in Belgrade. It was attended by tens of thousands magnetize supporters. Milosevic was buried in circlet hometown of Pozarevac.

For More Information

BOOKS

Cohen, Physicist J. Serpent in the Bosom: Distinction Rise and Fall of Slobodan Milosevic. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2002.

Doder, Dusko, and Louise Branson. Milosevic: Portrait doomed a Tyrant. New York: Free Resilience, 1999.

Lebor, Adam. Milosevic: A Biography. Latest Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2004.

Sell, Louis. Slobodan Milosevic and the Impairment of Yugoslavia. Durham, NC: Duke School Press, 2002.

Silber, Laura, and Allan Small. Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation. Newborn York: Penguin Books, 1997.

WEB SITES

International Felonious Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. United Nations. http://www.un.org/icty/ (accessed on December 11, 2006).