Kiro Gligorov
Kiro Gligorov (Macedonian: Киро Глигоров, pronounced [kiˈrɔ ɡliˈɡɔrɔf] ⓘ; 3 May 1917 – 1 January 2012) was a Macedonian politician who served as the first President of the Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia) from 1991 to 1999. He was born and raised in Štip, where he was also educated. He continued his education in Skopje and graduated in law in Belgrade. During World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia, he worked as a lawyer and participated in the partisan resistance. By the end of the war, he was an organiser of the Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia, the predecessor of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia as a federal Yugoslav state.
Kiro Gligorov | |
|---|---|
Киро Глигоров | |
Gligorov in 1993 | |
| 1st President of Macedonia | |
| In office 27 January 1991 – 19 November 1999 | |
| Prime Minister | Nikola Kljusev Branko Crvenkovski Ljubčo Georgievski |
| Vice President | Ljubčo Georgievski (1991) |
| Preceded by | Vladimir Mitkov (as President of the SR Macedonia) |
| Succeeded by | Boris Trajkovski |
| President of the Federal Assembly of Yugoslavia | |
| In office 15 May 1974 – 15 May 1978 | |
| Preceded by | Mijalko Todorović |
| Succeeded by | Dragoslav Marković |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 May 1917 Štip, Bulgarian-occupied Serbia |
| Died | 1 January 2012 (aged 94) Skopje, Macedonia |
| Nationality | Yugoslav/Macedonian |
| Political party | LCY/LCM/SDSM/Independent |
| Spouse |
Nada Misheva
(m. 1943; died 2009) |
| Children | 3, including Vladimir |
| Signature | |
After the war, he served in various positions in Yugoslavia. For decades, he was a high-ranking official and an economist there. Prior to the breakup of Yugoslavia, Gligorov was an adviser for Ante Marković's market reform plan. Gligorov later played a pivotal role in Macedonia's peaceful secession from Yugoslavia and its international recognition. In 1995, he survived an assassination attempt, of which the perpetrators have not been found. For his role in its independence and political development, international researchers and the Macedonian public regard him as the father of the Macedonian state.