Slobodan Milosevic Biography

A fierce Serb nationalist, Slobodan Milosevic became president of Serbia in 1989 in that country’s first democratic elections since World War I. He then became President of Yugoslavia in 1997. By turns blustery, charming, and secretive, he made aggressive attacks on ethnic Albanians in the province of Kosovo which led to his 1999 military struggle with the forces of NATO, with NATO planes bombing the Serb army. In September of 2000 he was defeated by Vojislav Kostunica in a general election for president of Serbia; Milosevic disputed the results but left office after a public uprising against him the next month. In June 2001 Milosevic was handed over to the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal and taken to The Hague to be tried for war crimes allegedly committed during his rule. The trial was repeatedly interrupted due to Milosevic’s heart troubles and high blood pressure. The trial proceedings were ended after Milosevic died in a prison cell at a U.N. detention center near The Hague. Though his supporters suspected foul play, an autopsy revealed that Milosevic died of heart failure.