Biljana Plavšić
Biljana Plavšić (Serbian Cyrillic: Биљана Плавшић; born 7 July 1930) is a Bosnian Serb former politician, university professor and scientist who served as President of Republika Srpska and was later convicted of crimes against humanity for her role in the Bosnian War.
Prof. Dr. Biljana Plavšić | |
|---|---|
Биљана Плавшић | |
Plavšić in 1996 | |
| 2nd President of Republika Srpska | |
| In office 19 July 1996 – 4 November 1998 | |
| Vice President | Nikola Koljević Dragoljub Mirjanić |
| Preceded by | Radovan Karadžić |
| Succeeded by | Nikola Poplašen |
| Vice President of Republika Srpska | |
| In office December 1992 – 19 July 1996 Serving with Nikola Koljević | |
| President | Radovan Karadžić |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Dragoljub Mirjanić |
| Serb Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
| In office 20 December 1990 – 9 April 1992 Serving with Nikola Koljević | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Nenad Kecmanović |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 July 1930 Tuzla, Kingdom of Yugoslavia |
| Political party | Serb National Alliance (1997–2006) Serb Democratic Party (1990–1997) |
| Alma mater | University of Zagreb |
| Nickname(s) | Serb Iron Lady Serb Empress (by Željko Ražnatović Arkan) |
Plavšić was indicted in 2001 by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for war crimes committed during the Bosnian War. She plea-bargained with the ICTY and was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2003, to be served in a Swedish prison.
She was released on 27 October 2009 after serving two-thirds of her sentence. Plavšić is, together with Radovan Karadžić, the highest ranking Bosnian Serb politician to be sentenced. Before entering politics, she taught biology at the University of Sarajevo.