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Slobodan Milosevic

1941 – 2006

About

Serbian President. He was the leader of what was left of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia consisting of only Serbia and tiny Montenegro. Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia , Bosnia and Herzegovina, fueled by nationalist forces had all departed via a domino chain of secessions. Milosevic presided over four Balkan overlapping regional wars in the 1990's that cost some 250,000 people their lifes. He died in his room in a detention center near the U.N. tribunal in the Hague, Netherlands, which was trying him on 66 counts of war crimes, including genocide. He was born in the industrial town of Pozarevac to parents Svetozar and Stanislava Milosevic both school teachers His father taught Russian and theology. After studying law in Belgrade, he rose quickly through the ranks of the Communist Part in postwar Yugoslavia. He served on the board of directors of the state run bank, Beobanka which took him to New York where he learned English with a surprising Southern American drawl. His childhood girlfriend and then wife Mirjana Markovic became a teacher of Marxism at the University of Belgrade. She was his chief advisor and said to have been a copartner in his ill-fated leadership. While serving as President of Serbia, Milosevic ascended to the leadership of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by virtue of a rotating Presidency among the various members of the Federation. It was simply Serbia's turn. His remains were returned to Belgrade where his coffin was displayed for several days allowing his supporters to pay their respects. It was taken to his home in Pozarevac where he grew up and had lived and was interred in the garden under an old Lindon tree where Milosevic asked Mira Markovic to become his wife. Priests of the Serbian Orthodox Church administered at the burial. One of many speakers was American detractor and former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, a longtime Milosevic supporter who spoke lovingly of the deceased. Legacy...Slovenia's departure in 1991 triggered a Ten-Day War ending in a disastrous defeat for federal forces. Croatia's departure brought on the bloody Croatian War which started in 1991 and ended after the Croatian Army retook all its lost territory after over running the Republic of Serbian Kranjina and sent the Federal Forces fleeing to Belgrade with almost the entire Croatian Serb population following the defeated army lugging but a few meager belongings. The war in Bosnia was fought by Bosnian Serbs with Yugoslavian help against the newly formed Bosnian Government after secession and were vanquished by NATO air strikes and a joint Croatian/Bosniak ground offensive. Kosovo an autonomous region along the Greek border dominated by Muslims was the scene of ethnic cleansing by Serbian Federal troops who were intent at annihilation or simply driving the Muslims from the region. They reluctantly withdrew after heavy NATO bombing of Belgrade. A rigged election kept him in power. However, thousands of disgruntled Serbs marched in protest pressuring him to recant. A new government was in place. Bowing to western pressure, an arrest warrant was issued and then Prime Minister Zoran Djindic turned Milosevic over to the U.N. tribunal. In a bit of trivia...Milosevic was a strong admirer of the late Yugoslav strongman Marshal Broz Tito who lies buried in the Serbian Capitol. He not only attempted to emulate him by taking over Tito's title of Yugoslav President for life but used his Mercedes limo for motorcades and getting around in Belgrade. After his inauguration, he moved into the White Palace with his family. The luxurious mansion was the home of former Serbian kings, as well as Tito which since the death of the Marshal had been maintained as a museum. In an attempt to kill him, NATO planes destroyed the residence during a bombing raid on the city. However, he was not at home and only the historic Palace and its furnishings were lost.