Slobodan Milosevic

Guide Note:

Slobodan Milosevic was the President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. Brought up on war crimes charges by the International Criminal Court, Milosevic died before the conclusion of his trial.

Fast Facts:

1. Born: August 20, 1941
2. Died: March 11, 2006 of a heart attack
3. Alma Mater: Belgrade University
4. Spouse: Mirjana Markovic
5. President of Serbia: May 8, 1989 to July 23, 1997
6. President of Yugoslavia: July 23, 1997 to October 5, 2000
7. He served as his own defense in the International Criminal Court
8. Charged with genocide during the Kosovo war and war crimes in Croatia
9. Both parents committed suicide

Born in Axis-occupied Serbia during World War II, Milosevic studied law at Belgrade University and joined the Communist Party. After a successful career running one of Belgrade's largest banks, Milosevic began ascending in Yugoslavian politics in the 1980s by espousing a vocal brand of Serbian nationalism.

Milosevic became President of Serbia in 1989, just as Yugoslavia was beginning to disintegrate into its constituent provinces. Milosevic tried to stem the tide of this disintegration. After Croatia declared its independence in 1991, Milosevic refused to recognize the new republic, and the two former Yugoslav provinces went to war. In 1992, Bosnian Serbs, with the backing of Milosevic, seized power in the province, refusing to allow it to become independent. In later years, Milosevic would be accused of condoning "ethnic cleansing" campaigns which occurred in the province during this period.

In 1997, Kosovo began rebelling against Serbian rule and Milosevic, now President of the Yugoslav Federation, ruthlessly moved to crush the rebellion. In 1999, after full-scale war broke out, leaving hundreds of thousands homeless, and thousands dead, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) brought Milosevic up on war crimes charges. In 2001, he was arrested and removed from power, and transferred to the ICTY. The trial began in 2002; Milosevic died of a heart attack while in custody, and without the trial having been completed, in 2006.