Ljubčo Georgievski

Ljubčo Georgievski ( _mk. Љубчо Георгиевски, _bg. Любчо Георгиевски), (born January 17, 1966 in Štip, SR Macedonia, then Yugoslavia) is a bulgarophile Macedonian politician and poet and the former Prime Minister and Vice President of the country. In 1999 he was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as being the world's youngest Prime Minister. He was 32 years old when he took office.

Background

Georgievski is the founder of the right wing party VMRO-DPMNE (the present ruling party). When the wars of Yugoslav succession started and the region was heading in for independence, Georgievski emerged as one of the strongest voices of opposition to challenge the Communist ruling structure, and succeeded in gaining strong public support. During his time in government (1998-2002), his coalition introduced strong reforms within the State administration, introduced the VAT system, started denationalisation, and adopted the pension system law. The Government managed to achieve very good financial results; foreign currency reserves were almost doubled, and a large budget surplus was also gained. In 2001, in Luxembourg, Georgievski signed the EU backed Stabilization and Association Agreement.

His political agenda was nevertheless questioned during the short conflict ignited by the ethnic Albanian guerrillas and the Macedonian armed forces in 2001. The conflict ended with the signing of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, which pledged greater rights for the Albanian minority. Georgievski was accused of direct involvement in the conflict, to the point of having ignited it, for personal benefits. Shortly after he lost the elections in 2002 to the opposition party SDSM, accusations of corruption followed, thus considerably lowering his political profile.

He eventually broke off with the party he once founded, due to ideological incompatibility with his once Finance Minister ,now Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia, Nikola Gruevski, and founded VMRO-NP.

Move to Bulgaria

On July 14, 2006 it was announced that Ljubčo Georgievski applied for and was granted Bulgarian citizenship on the basis that he claimed his parents are Bulgarians and that he has a Bulgarian national identity. [ [http://www.aba.government.bg/admin-news.php?newsid=93 Агенция за българите в чужбина. Издаване на удостоверение за български произход.] ] This was confirmed by an official of the Bulgarian President's Office. [cite news | title = Former Macedonian Prime Minister received a Bulgarian passport | publisher = Trud | date = 2006-07-16 | accessdate = 2006-07-16 | language = Bulgarian ] [cite news | title = Former Prime Minister of Macedonia became Bulgarian | publisher = Monitor | date = 2006-07-16 | accessdate = 2006-07-16 | url = http://www.monitor.bg/article?sid=&aid=87934&cid=1&eid=775 | language = Bulgarian ] [cite news | title = Expremier-deputy of Macedonia Ljubcho Georgievski declared: "I'm Bulgarian" and received citizenship, passport and registration in Blagoevgrad, pulling down the pyramid of historical falsifications of Skopje | publisher = Struma | date = 2006-07-14 | accessdate = 2006-07-16 | url = http://www.struma.com/contents_def/home.html | language = Bulgarian ] In the summer of 2007 he began his participation in Bulgarian politics [cite news | title = Ljubčo Georgievski has activated himself in the Bulgarian politics | publisher = Macedonian A1 Television | url = http://www.a1.com.mk/vesti/default.asp?VestID=82424 | date = 2007-08-08 | accessdate = 2007-08-08 | language = Macedonian ] as a member of the initiator's committee for nomination of Kiril Pendev as candidate for mayor's post in the city of Blagoevgrad in Bulgarian part of Macedonia, supported by the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (known as GERB), a political movement led by Sofia's mayor Boyko Borisov. [cite news | title = Kiril Pendev is GERB's candidature for mayor of Blagoevgrad | publisher = FOCUS Information Agency | url = http://focus-news.net/?id=n762103 | date = 2007-08-13 | accessdate = 2007-08-13 | language = Bulgarian ]

Literary work

In 1988 Georgievski graduated from the University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, specializing in comparative literature. He is the author of two poetry books ("Apocalypse" and "City") and one collection of short stories ("Direct Interventions with Short Stories into the Anatomic Structure of History").In late summer of 2007 Georgievski published his book "С лице към истината" ("Facing the truth") in Bulgaria. In it he reveals his attitude to Macedonian identity and Bulgarian past in the Republic of Macedonia: "Why are we ashamed and flee from the truth that whole positive Macedonian revolutionary tradition comes exactly from exarchist part of Macedonian people. We shall not say a new truth if we mention the fact that everyone, Gotse Delchev, Dame Gruev, Gjorche Petrov, Pere Toshev - must I list and count all of them - were teachers of the Bulgarian Exarchate in Macedonia." ["Защо се срамуваме и бягаме от факта, че всичко това, което е позитивна македонска революционна традиция, произлиза тъкмо от екзархийския дял на македонския народ. Няма да кажем някаква нова истина, ако споменем факта, че и Гоце Делчев, и Даме Груев, и Гьорче Петров, и Пере Тошев - трябва ли да редя и броя всички - са били учители на Българската екзархия в Македония." cite news | title = Lyubcho Georgievski seeks the spirit of Gotse Delchev | publisher = Standart News | url = http://www.standartnews.com/bg/article.php?article=201326 | date = 2007-08-28 | accessdate = 2007-08-29 | language = Bulgarian ]

Professional and political biography

* 1990-2002 President of the VMRO-DPMNE
* 1991-Vice President of the Republic of Macedonia
* 1992-1995 Representative in the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia
* 1995-1998 Consulting in BS Consulting-Skopje
* 1998-2002 Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia
* 2002-2007 President of the VMRO People's Party

References