Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Serbia, 1945–1992. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It was a one-party socialist state and federation governed by the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, and had six constituent republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. Led by Josip Broz Tito, the new communist government sided with the Eastern Bloc at the beginning of the Cold War but pursued a policy of neutrality following the 1948 Tito-Stalin split. The federation dissolved along the borders of federated republics, hastened by the start of the Yugoslav Wars, and formally broke up on 27 April 1992.

Seat of power: Belgrade

Rulers

Josip Broz Tito

President of Yugoslavia, 1953–1980

Josip Broz, commonly known as Tito, led Yugoslavia as prime minister from 1943 to 1963 and as president from 1953 until his death in 1980. Under Tito's leadership, Yugoslavia became a communist state, known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia and thereafter as the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He was supreme commander of the Yugoslav Partisans during World War II and one of the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Portrait of Josip Broz Tito: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Milka Planinc

Prime Minister of Yugoslavia, 1982–1986

Milka Planinc served as Prime Minister of Yugoslavia from 1982 to 1986, and was the first and only woman to hold this office. On 15 May 1982 a joint session of the National Assembly's two houses named her head of the Federal Executive Council, and Planinc assembled a new cabinet of 29 members.

Ante Marković

Prime Minister of Yugoslavia, 1989–1991

Ante Marković was the last Prime Minister of Yugoslavia, serving from 1989 to 1991. He became prime minister in March 1989 following the resignation of Branko Mikulić. At the end of the year, Marković launched a new and ambitious program of unprecedented economic reforms, including the establishment of a fixed exchange rate, the privatization of failing social enterprises, as well as a program of trade liberalization.

Portrait of Ante Marković: European Commission, CC BY 4.0, file

Culture

Yugoslavia was a founding member of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
The country transitioned from a command economy to market-based socialism.
After Tito died on 4 May 1980, the Yugoslav economy began to collapse, which increased unemployment and inflation.

Picture

The Palace of Serbia, officially the Palace of the Federal Executive Council, was originally used by the Federal Executive Council of Yugoslavia.

Image: Michael Angelkovich, CC BY-SA 3.0, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.