Slobodan Milosevic

From Philosopedia

Slobodan Milosevic (29 August 1941 - 11 March 2006)

Slobodan Milošević was born in Pozarevac, Serbia, when it was occupied by the Axis. Soon after the war, his father, Svetozar Milosevic, committed suicide in 1962. His mother, Stanislava Milosevic (née Koljensic), also committed suicide in 1974.

Milosevic, atheist, joined the Communist Party when he was 18. In 1964, he received a law degree from the University of Belgrade. The following year he married Mirjana Markovic, and they had a daughter and a son. For a time he was a successful businessman and banker.

In 1987 he took over as head of the Serbian Communist Party and as leader challenged the federal government, championing Serbian control of the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina.

In 1989 in Serbia's first democratic elections since World War I, Milosevic became President and in 1997 became President of Yugoslavia.

Described by journalists as blustery, charming, and secretive, he made attacks on ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, leading in 1999 to a military struggle with the forces of NATO. NATO planes bombed the Serb army.

In 2000, he was defeated by Vojislav Kostunica in a general election for president of Serbia.

In 2001 the deposed President of Yugoslavia was taken to The Hague to be tried for war crimes allegedly committed during his rule. His trial, in which some called him "Butcher of the Balkans," was interrupted repeatedly because of his heart troubles and high blood pressure.

He died in a prison cell at a U.N. detention center near The Hague.

The Guardian (13 March 2006) printed a severe obituary.