Kiro Gligorov
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kiro Gligorov Киро Глигоров |
|
 Kiro Gligorov, Official Signed Portrait |
|
|
|
|
|---|---|
| In office January 27, 1991 – November 19, 1999 |
|
| Preceded by | Himself as a President of SRM (Jan 27, 1991-Jun 7 1991)[1][2] |
| Succeeded by | Boris Trajkovski |
|
|
|
| Born | May 3, 1917 Štip, Kingdom of Serbia |
| Nationality | Macedonian |
| Religion | Macedonian Orthodox |
Kiro Gligorov (Macedonian: Киро Глигоров), born May 3, 1917 in Štip, Kingdom of Serbia, was the first democratically elected president of the Republic of Macedonia.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
He graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Belgrade[2] and was a participant in the Anti-fascist struggle of the ethnic Macedonians from 1941[2]. He was a participant in the formation of the state of Socialist Republic of Macedonia (now Republic of Macedonia)[3] as a secretary of the Initiative committee[4] for the organization of the Antifascist Assembly of the National Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM) and a finance commissioner in the Presidium of ASNOM[2].
He held various high positions in the political establishment of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia[2], including a secretary of State for finance in the Federal executive Council[2], a member of the Yugoslav Presidency[2] as well as President of the Assembly[2] of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
[edit] Pluralism
After the promotion of parliamentary democracy in the country in 1990, he became the first democratically elected president of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia on January 27, 1991. On April 16, 1991 the parliament adopted the constitutional amendment for removing the "Socialist" adjective from the official name of the country, and on June 7 the same year, the new name Republic of Macedonia was officially established, hence Gligorov continued his presidency as a President of the Republic of Macedonia. [1]
[edit] President of independent state
He served for two terms, from January 27 1991 to November 19, 1999. He was re-elected for his second term in office on November 19, 1994. He led his country to independence proclaimed after the referendum held on September 8, 1991 and tried to keep it out of the Yugoslav wars, a task made difficult by disputes with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria and Greece who all faced separate issues with the country.
[edit] Assassination attempt
On October 3, 1995, Gligorov was the target of a car bomb assassination attempt in Skopje. The vehicle carrying Gligorov was damaged by an explosion from another vehicle parked alongside the road which served as a regular route by which he travelled from his residence to his office. Gligorov was injured and his face was badly scarred, with a major gash above his right eye.
There have been no suspects brought to light and no progress made on the case. There have only been short-lived speculations as to the culprits. Briefly, just after the attempt the Minister of Internal Affairs of Republic of Macedonia Ljubomir Frčkovski publicly claimed that "a powerful multinational company from a neighboring country" was behind the assassination attempt of Kiro Gligorov on 3 October 1995,[5] with the Macedonian media pointing at the Bulgarian Multigroup as a suspect.[5] After a meeting of Multigroup head Iliya Pavlov and Gligorov in Ohrid, Pavlov assured the then President of the Republic of Macedonia that this was false.[5] All investigations were futile.[5]
Gligorov was incapacitated until November 17, 1995. He is now permanently blind in one eye as a result. Stojan Andov was acting president during Gligorov's recuperation.
The election for Gligorov's successor took place only a few days before the end of his term, and because of disputed results the winner, Boris Trajkovski, did not take office until the following month.
[edit] Trivia
The 2000 Guinness World Records lists Kiro Gligorov as the oldest ever president of a country, staying in power until he was 82 years old.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Gligorov became president on January 27 1991, when the official name of the country was still SR Macedonia -On This Day - Macedonian Information Agency, see: 1991: The official change of the state's name (Macedonian)
- ^ a b c d e f g h Biography of Kiro Gligorov at the Official website of the President of the Republic of Macedonia
- ^ The list of ASNOM participants, "Nova Makedonija" daily newspaper, issue 20254, August 3, 2004
- ^ Interview, "Utrinski vesnik" daily newspaper, issue 1497, August 31, 2006 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
- ^ a b c d 11th anniversary of assassination attempt on Gligorov, perpetrators unknown. MRT (2006-10-03). Retrieved on 2006-10-22.
[edit] External links
- Biography of Kiro Gligorov on the official website of the President of the Republic of Macedonia
- Biography of Kiro Gligorov
| Preceded by Kiro Gligorov as President of the SR Macedonia |
post created President of the Republic of Macedonia 1991–1999 |
Succeeded by Boris Trajkovski |
