Lazar Koliševski

Infobox President
name = Lazar Koliševski
Лазар Колишевски


caption = Lazar Koliševski
office = President of SFR Yugoslavia
order = 3rd
term_start = May 4, 1980
term_end = May 15, 1980
predecessor = Josip Broz Tito
successor = Cvijetin Mijatović
office2 = President of SR Macedonia
order2 = 6th
term_start2 = December 19, 1953
term_end2 = June 26, 1962
predecessor2 = Dimce Stojanov
successor2 = Ljupco Arsov
office3 = Prime Minister of SR Macedonia
order3 = 1st
term_start3 = May 4, 1980
term_end3 = December 19, 1953
predecessor3 = "Office established"
successor3 = Ljupco Arsov
birth_date = birth date|1914|2|12|mf=yes
birth_place = Sveti Nikole, Serbia
nationality = )
religion = "None" (Atheist)
death_date = death date and age|2000|7|6|1914|2|12|mf=y
death_place = Skopje, Macedonia
party = League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ)
allegiance = Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
branch = Ground Forces (KoV)
serviceyears = 1941-1980
rank = Major General
commands = Yugoslav Partisans
Yugoslav People's Army
battles = World War II
awards = Order of the National Hero of Yugoslavia|

Lazar Koliševski ( _mk. Лазар Колишевски, audio-IPA|Mk-Lazar_Kolishevski.ogg‎| [ˈlazar ˈkɔliʃɛfski] ) (12 February 1914 – 6 July 2000) was a Communist political leader in Socialist Republic of Macedonia and briefly the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia closely allied with Tito.

Early years

Lazar was born in Sveti Nikole in 1914. His family were poor farmers. At a young age Lazar began to follow politics and learn the ways of Communism. He supported a Macedonia as a part of Yugoslavia, but not under the Serbian kingdom.

Career

World War II

As Nazi forces entered Belgrade in April 1941, Bulgaria, the German ally in the war, occupied a part of Vardar Macedonia, with the western towns of Tetovo, Gostivar and Debar going to Albania. Lazar, now 27 joined up with the Macedonian Partisans in the struggle against Bulgaria and its adherents. After the Bulgarians had taken control of the eastern part of Macedonia, the leader of the local faction of CPY, Metodi Shatorov had defected to the Bulgarian Communist Party. This event left Yugoslavian resistance against the Bulgarians weak. Macedonia soon became a field of competition between different small Macedonian Partisan detachments. Later in fall of 1941 Koliševski had become the Secretary of the local Committee of the Communist Party of Macedonia. In late 1941 Lazar Kolisevski was arrested and sentenced to death from the Bulgarian military court. For the court he declared Bulgarian ethnicity, stating that he is son of Bulgarians, and he himself feels Bulgarian, in a pledge to Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria for cancellation of his death penalty. His sentence was changed to prison for life.

In late 1944, Kolishevski was liberated from the new Bulgarian communist government. When the war began to come to a close Koliševski became the President of the Presidium of the People's Assembly. He also became Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Macedonia on April 16, 1945. For his efforts in the war, Koliševski was one of the many Macedonians who were awarded with the People's Hero of Yugoslavia medal.

Macedonia & Yugoslavia

After the end of the Second World War, Koliševski became the most powerful person in Vardar Macedonia and one of the most powerful in all of Yugoslavia. In Socialist Republic of Macedonia he began massive economic and social reforms. It is easy to say that Koliševski had finally brought the Industrial Revolution to Yugoslavian part of Macedonia.Fact|date=September 2008. By 1955 the capital city of Skopje had become one of the fastest growing cities in Eastern Europe and had also become the third largest city in Yugoslavia. Because of Koliševski's reforms in Macedonia, the small republic that in 1945 was the poorest area of Yugoslavia was now one of the fastest growing. After the Second Five Year Economic Plan, Macedonia had grown economically the fastest of all the Yugoslav Republics.

In the middle of the 1950s, Koliševski had moved away from the political offices in Macedonia. He was still the most powerful person in the Republic because of his high power in the Yugoslav Communist Party. With his slow removal from politics in Macedonia he began travelling to other nations as a Yugoslav Diplomat. He made many major trips in the late 1950s and early 1960s to nations like Egypt, India, Indonesia and other nations that would later help form the Non-Aligned Nations. These diplomatic travels showed that Koliševski was very trusted by the Yugoslav leader Tito. Even after Tito had fall outs with some of his most trusted allies, Koliševski still remained.

After the Yugoslav Constitution of 1974 was passed, Koliševski grew much higher in the Yugoslav Political World. The new constitution called for a rotating Yugoslav Vice-Presidency. Koliševski was picked from the Macedonian leadership to be the Macedonian representative to the Presidency. On May 15, 1979 Koliševski was voted by the other Presidency members to become President of the Presidency and Vice President of Yugoslavia. On New Years Day 1980 President Tito was taken to the hospital for an illness that would eventually take his life. During this time Koliševski became the leader of Yugoslavia, even though Tito was still President. On May 4, 1980 President Tito had died. Koliševski became the first President of Yugoslavia after Tito. He showed great leadership for his little time as President during Tito's funeral. Many people in the West and in Yugoslavia had believed now since Tito was dead that Yugoslavia would fall back into the Soviet Bloc, however Koliševski showed powerful leadership during the funeral, saying in front of over 100 international leaders (Brezhnev of the Soviet Union being on of them) that Yugoslavs are "prepared to defend every foot of their soil." Koliševski left the office of President of Yugoslavia on May 15, 1980, just 11 days after officially taking power. Koliševski held rank of reserve Major General (JNA).

After Yugoslavia

As Yugoslavia began to break apart in the early 1990s, Yugoslavian part of Macedonia was able to gain independence in 1991. Koliševski had been retired from politics for about seven years and was living in Skopje. The Party of Macedonian Nationalists, the VMRO-DPMNE, tried to take Koliševski and other leading Macedonian politicians in Yugoslavia to sue them for reasons differing from imprisoning pro-Stalinist Macedonians in the late 1940s and early 1950s to not trying to gain more power for the Macedonian Republic during Yugoslav times. All these efforts failed and Koliševski was able to live in peace in Skopje till his death in the summer of 2000.

See also

* Titoism
* Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
* Republic of Macedonia

External links

* [http://macedonian.atspace.com/knigi/lk_amp.htm Аспекти на македонското прашање] , Лазар Колишевски.
* [http://www.titoville.com/images/tito-milka-kosta.jpgPicture] – From left to right, Lazar Koliševski (in Glasses), Josip Broz Tito, Milka Planinc, Azem Vllasi and General Kosta Nadj
* [http://www.soros.org.mk/archive/G07/images/Sg5507.jpgLetter by Koliševski on the Macedonian Partisan forces in Pirin Macedonia]