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:: BIOGRAPHY ::...
 Kiro
Gligorov stayed on the function president of the Republic of Macedonia (1991-1999), who was elected
when the republic was part of Yugoslavia, and led the republic to independence
in 1991.
Kiro Gligorov was born in
tip, on May 3rd
1917. He originates from an urban family, actively involved in the
national liberation movement in Macedonia in the past and the beginning of this
century. Gligorov completed secondary education in
the Skopje, and graduated at the Law Faculty from the University of Belgrade in
1938. During the period of his studies, actively
participated in the students movement in Belgrade, where he was
arrested in 1937, as a political activist by the Royal Yugoslav government.
After graduation, he returned to Skopje, where he worked as an attorney in a
private bank. In 1941 he joined the Communist-led
Partisans, resistance fighters to the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia during part
Second World War. Gligorov actively took part in the anti-fascist and
people's liberation movement in Macedonia. A member of the People's Liberation
Struggle (Narodno Osloboditelna Borba) from 1941. Member of ASNOM (Anti-fascist
Assembly of the National Liberation Movement of Macedonia). In the period
1944-1945 he is appointed in charge of finances of the Presidium of ASNOM, at
the time of the proclamation of the Macedonian State. Member of AVNOJ
(Anti-fascist Assembly of the National Liberation Movement of Yugoslavia).
The group's founding leader, Josip Broz-Tito, became the ruler of Yugoslavia at
the end of the war.
Gligorov joined the
Communist party in 1944. . Following the end of the Second World War and
the proclamation of the People's Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Federativna
Narodna Republika Jugoslavija), he is sent by the leadership of the people's
Republic of Macedonia to Belgrade (then the
Communist-ruled federation of Macedonia and five other republics).
He worked in state politics and Communist party organizations, earning a
reputation as a "reform-Communist" and an expert in finance and economics.
From 1945 to the beginning of the 70s, Kiro Gligorov holds specialized executive
functions in the spheres of economy and finance: Assistant General Secretary in
the Government of the People's Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1945-1947);
Assistant Minister of Finance in the Ministry of Finance of the People's Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia (1952-1953); Deputy Director of the Federal Institute for
Economic Planning (1953-1955); Federal minister of finance
from (1962-1967); Vice-President of the federal government from (1967-1969); and
a member of the Communist party's central committee from 1964, Gligorov was one
of the principal architects of Yugoslavia's liberal, pro-market economic reforms
of that period. He is
one of the leading economist supporting the advancement of market economy in
Yugoslavia. Becomes the Head of the Federal Government team that conceptualized
and carried out the first market based economic reform in Yugoslavia, in the
60s. It was the first such economic reform in the them "socialist world".
Unfortunately, due to well known political reason, reforms were suspended. In
the upcoming period, however, he is active in conducting theoretical research
and socio-economic studies pertaining to the market economy. Throughout this
period he was involved as: member of the Council of the Institute for
International Politics and Economy President of Institute for Social Sciences
participant in numerous specialized conferences in Yugoslavia and the world and
published numerous articles in specialized publications. At the beginning of the
70s he was elected: member of the Presidency of the Socialist Federal republic
of Yugoslavia (1974-1978) President of the Parliament of the Socialist Federal
republic of Yugoslavia Immediately following his function as President of the
Parliament of the SFR of Yugoslavia, he is practically removed from the
political life in Yugoslavia. However, throughout this period he is active in
pursuing theoretical and expert research. Almost 15 years later, in the late
1980s, he is once again incorporated in the Government team of Ante Marković for
the implementation of a new market economy in Yugoslavia.
When Yugoslavia plunged into economic crisis in the 1980s, Gligorov headed a
high-level commission that drafted market reforms, but these reforms were never
implemented. At the onset of the crises in Yugoslavia (1989-1990) he
makes a come back in the political life of Macedonia, promoting multi-party
elections and the introduction of a market economy. These activities resulted in
his election as President of the Republic of Macedonia, on the first free, multi
party elections held on January 27, 1991. While in office as President of the
Republic of Macedonia, the Republic of Macedonia has: Proclaimed its
independence on a general referendum on September 8th, 1991. Through
this act, the Republic of Macedonia became the only Republic of the former SFR
Yugoslavia to attain its independence though a peaceful and legitimate manner
Declared its new Constitution on November 17th, 1991 - the document
establishing the foundations of a civil society, legal state, parliamentary
democracy and market economy. Succeeded in having the Yugoslav National Army
(JNA) leave its territory though agreement (spring 1992, thus making the
Republic of Macedonia the only one of the Republic which did not participate in
the war in the former Yugoslav region. Fulfilled its centuries old ideal for
attaining an equal place in the international family of nations. On April 13th,
1993, the Republic of Macedonia became a member of the Organization of the
United Nations. On the first general presidential elections in the Republic of
Macedonia held in October, 1994, Kiro Gligorov was re-elected President of the
Republic of Macedonia with a five year term. The difficulties that President
Gligorov faced in the period leading up to the outbreak of full-scale war
between Serbs and Croats in June 1991 were especially acute. He understood that
in the event of a violent collapse of Yugoslavia, Macedonia would come under the
greatest pressure and, in all probability, be the central theater of war.
Obviously Bosnia was the most vulnerable because it formed a wedge between the
two main belligerents - Serbs and Croats, neither of whom disguised their
territorial claims on the republic. But Macedonia is still threatened for the
same reasons. Macedonia succeeded, during the time of President Gligorov, to
leave the Yugoslav federation without bloodshed. President Gligorov also
negotiated the voluntary withdrawal of the Yugoslav People's Army by the end of
April 1992 (this, of course, coincided with the beginning of major offensives in
Bosnia-Herzegovina). On the level of representation in government, President
Gligorov has worked hard to integrate the main Albanian political parties into
the Macedonian state.
In 1991 Gligorov's
government became involved in a dispute with Greece over the republic's use of
the name Macedonia, a symbol on its new flag (the Star of Vergina), and articles
of the Macedonian constitution that Greece believed implied territorial claims
to the Greek province of Macedonia. Gligorov also faced domestic unrest, as the
republic's large Albanian minority began pressing for greater cultural and
political autonomy. In 1995 his government signed an accord with Greece in which
it agreed to remove the Star of Vergina from it's flag and to revise some
articles of the constitution.
"The president Kiro Gligorov before and
after the attempt for assassination" |
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:: THE ATTEMPT FOR ASSASSINATION ::...
On October 3rd 1995, two days
after talks and a handshake between
Yugoslav
president Slobodan Milosević
and Macedonian president Kiro Gligorov, Gligorov
was
seriously injured by a bomb, around
9:45 AM, as his vehicle was on it's way to the Presidential office
in the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia. The bomb was
planted in a car, Citroen Ami 8 (registration plates KU-240-MB), parked on the street "Macedonia",
in the Macedonian capital, near the old railway
station. Several citizens were injured and considerable damage was
done to the buildings in the vicinity. The President's
chauffeur was
killed in the attack, while the President was immediately conveyed to hospital.
The police had closed off the country's borders.
"The
detonation was terrible. When I came to, I saw fire and I thought a gas
tank had exploded. Then I saw the president's car and a man on the ground.
I ran up and saw the man was dead. His brains were blown apart and there
was blood all around him. A lot of blood. I covered him. Only a madman
could have done that. Only a madman." - An
eyewitness.
A
photo robot had been made of the suspect driving the car. The
case remained open. The bomb was possibly work of a group
of we can call them anti-Macedonians, Multinational Organization from a
neighboring country (Zemunski Klan, Bulgarian National Octopus), who wanted to
ruin the Government of the Social-Democrats. Gligorov survived after several
operations in the hospital and lost one eye to the blast,
which is now replaced.
"The meeting with Slobodan Milosević (October 1st 1995)
and his
vehicle blown in the explosion at 9:45 AM (October 3rd 1995)" President Gligorov returned to his presidential duties at the beginning of
1996, after appearing for the first time in the public after the attempted
assassination on Orthodox Christmas mass in the Archbishopric Church of St.
Clement (Kliment) of Ohrid, in Skopje, Macedonia.
During a visit to the United States in June 1997, Gligorov personally pleaded
with US President Bill Clinton for continued deployment of United Nations (UN)
troops in the republic to maintain regional stability. |
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