Ante Marković
Ante Marković | |
---|---|
27th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia President of the Federal Executive Council | |
In office 16 March 1989 – 20 December 1991 | |
President |
|
Deputy |
|
Preceded by | Branko Mikulić |
Succeeded by |
|
President of the Presidency of the Socialist Republic of Croatia | |
In office 10 May 1986 – 10 May 1988 | |
Prime Minister | Antun Milović |
Preceded by | Ema Derossi-Bjelajac |
Succeeded by | Ivo Latin |
President of the Executive Council of the Socialist Republic of Croatia | |
In office 10 May 1982 – 10 May 1986 | |
President |
|
Preceded by | Petar Fleković |
Succeeded by | Antun Milović |
Personal details | |
Born | Konjic, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (now Bosnia and Herzegovina) | 25 November 1924
Died | 28 November 2011 Zagreb, Croatia | (aged 87)
Nationality | Croat |
Political party |
|
Alma mater | University of Zagreb |
Ante Marković (pronounced [ǎːnte mǎːrkoʋit͡ɕ]; 25 November 1924 – 28 November 2011)[1][2] was a Croatian and Yugoslav politician, businessman and engineer. He is most notable for having served as the last Prime Minister of Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1991.[3]
Early life
Marković, was a
Political career
President of Croatia
In 1986, he became president of the Presidency of
Prime Minister of Yugoslavia
He became prime minister in March 1989 following the
Marković was the most popular politician in
When the
This decision was not well received. Borisav Jović, then the President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia, commented
The general conclusion is that Ante Markovic is no longer acceptable or reliable to us. No one has any doubts in their mind any longer that he's the extended arm of the United States in terms of overthrowing anyone who ever thinks of socialism, and it is through our votes that we appointed him Prime Minister in the Assembly. He is playing the most dangerous game of treason.[8]
Jović concluded that Marković
was no doubt the most active creator of the destruction of our economy, and to a large extent a significant participant in the break-up of Yugoslavia. Others, when boasted of having broken up Yugoslavia wanted to take this infamous role upon themselves but in all these respects they never came close to what Marković did, who had declared himself as the protagonist of Yugoslavia's survival[8]
Later, his programme was sabotaged by Slobodan Milošević who
had virtually sealed Markovic's failure by December 1990 by secretly securing an illegal loan worth $1.7 billion from Serbia's main bank to ease his reelection that month. The loan undermined Markovic's economic austerity program, undoing the progress that had been made toward controlling the country's inflation rate.[9]
Christopher Bennet, in Yugoslavia's Bloody Collapse, stated:[10]
Quite simply, the bank printed whatever money Milošević felt he needed to get himself reelected and the size of the 'loan' became clear a few weeks later when inflation took off again throughout the country. As the economy resumed its downward slide, Marković knew his enterprise had failed [...]
The authority of the federal government was further diminished by secessionist moves in
The line has been clearly established [between the Serbian government, the army and Serb politicians in Bosnia]. I know because I heard Slobodan Milošević give the order to Radovan Karadžić to get in contact with General Uzelac and to order, following the decisions of the meeting of the military hierarchy, that arms should be distributed and that the TO of Krajina and Bosnia be armed and utilized in the realization of the RAM plan.[12]
Before he resigned in December 1991, Markovic endorsed the Carrington Plan to transform Yugoslavia into a loose confederation of states as a means to prevent a further escalation of the Yugoslav Wars. In the end, all his efforts failed to stop the violent disintegration of Yugoslavia.
Assassination attempt
Approximately at noon of 7 October 1991, Marković met with
Life after 1991
Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, Marković disappeared from the public eye and decided to work in Austria as an economic adviser. In 1993, he was rumoured to be Tuđman's choice for Croatian prime minister, apparently due to his economic expertise. The post ultimately fell to Nikica Valentić, who established many of the same economic reforms that Marković did while prime minister.[14]
In the early 2000s, he worked as an economic advisor to the
Marković also dedicated himself to a business career and spent most of his time in Sarajevo, building luxury apartment buildings and small hydropower plants.[14]
He appeared as a witness at the
Marković died in the early hours of 28 November 2011 after a short illness, aged 87.
References
- ^ "Ante Markovic obituary". The Guardian. 15 December 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
- ^ "Umro Ante Marković" (in Croatian). Croatian Radiotelevision. 28 November 2011. Archived from the original on 3 May 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
- S2CID 251002509.
- ^ Goran Fejic (2011). "Ante Marković: the last Yugoslav leader".
- ^ Kristijan Zimmer (2004). "Dodijeljene Zlatne diplome i priznanja "Josip Lončar"" (in Croatian).
- ^ Facts on File, 27 January 1989
- ^ Misha Glenny, "The Massacre of Yugoslavia," New York Review of Books, 30 January 1992
- ^ a b "Testimony of Borisav Jović". Prosecutor v. Slobodan Milošević. ICTY. 20 November 2003. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-313-29918-6.
- ISBN 978-1-85065-232-8.
- ^ Judah, Tim (1997). The Serbs: History, Myth and the Destruction of Yugoslavia. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
- ^ Magazine Vreme, No. 48, 23 September 1991
- ^ a b "Yugoslav Planes Attack Croatian Presidential Palace". The New York Times. 8 October 1991. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
- ^ a b c "Odlazak Markovića: Bio uvjeren da će dogovorima sačuvati SFRJ". Večernji list (in Croatian). 28 November 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ "Report on Marković's testimony on ICTY". Croatian News Agency. 2003. Archived from the original on 27 October 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2006.
- ^ "Odlazak Markovića: Bio uvjeren da će dogovorima sačuvati SFRJ". Večernji list (in Croatian). 28 November 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ "Ante Markovic, Last Premier of Yugoslavia, Dies at 87 – The New York Times".
External links
- Media related to Ante Marković at Wikimedia Commons