# Presidency of Yugoslavia

The Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the collective head of state of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It was established in 1971 according to amendments to the 1963 Constitution and reorganized by the 1974 Constitution. Up to 1974, the Presidency had 23 members – three from each republic, two from each autonomous province and President Josip Broz Tito. In 1974 the Presidency was reduced to 9 members – one from each republic and autonomous province and, until 1988, President of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia ex officio.

## Constitutional powers

According to the 1974 Constitution, the Presidency had following powers:
* representing the federation both inside and outside the country
* commanding the Yugoslav People's Army, deciding on using the army both in war and in peace
* protecting equality of Yugoslav nationalities
* protecting the constitutional order
* proposing a candidate for the federal prime minister
* proposing candidates for federal constitutional judges
* appointing the ambassadors and generals and admirals
* appointing the National Defense Council and, if needed, also other agencies (one of such was Federal Council for Protection of the Constitutional Order)
* giving quarters and awarding state decorations
The Presidency had eight members elected by parliaments of each republic and autonomous province and proclaimed by the Federal Assembly of the SFRY, the ninth member was president of the Presidency of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia. This ex officio membership of the LCY leader was abolished by the constitutional changes in autumn 1988. The mandate of the Presidency lasted five years so the nine-member Presidency was elected in total four times – in 1974, 1979, 1984 and 1989.
Until 1980 most of powers of the Presidency (and control over the country in general) were in fact exercised by Josip Broz Tito, who was president of the republic for life. After his death in May 1980, his office stayed vacant and the Presidency began to function according to the constitution.
Sometimes, the Presidency held its sessions in an extended composition. Besides the members of the actual Presidency, in such sessions the following officials took part: chairman of the Federal Assembly, chairman and vice-chairman of the Federal Executive Council (the government), federal secretaries (ministers) of defense, interior and foreign affairs, chairman of the Federal Conference of the Socialist Alliance of Working People and chairmen of the presidencies of the Yugoslav republics and autonomous provinces. The extended Presidency wasn't grounded in the Constitution and couldn't itself adopt any decisions.

## Post-Tito period

Tito, as a president of the republic, was ex officio chairman of the Presidency. After his death a new chairman of the Presidency was elected every year. The order of rotating of the members on the leading position was agreed in advance, so this annual election was a pure formality. The rotating system jammed only in May 1991 –Stipe Mesić, representative of Franjo Tuđman's new Croatian government in the Presidency, was about to become the chairman but wasn't elected due to opposition of a half of the Presidency controlled by Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević. The top state office of the disintegrating federation remained vacant until 1 July when Mesić was finally elected.
Only one year after Tito's death, Yugoslav leaders had to face violent riots in Kosovo. On 2 April 1981 the Presidency under chairmanship of Cvijetin Mijatović declared a state of emergency in Priština and Kosovska Mitrovica, which lasted one week. The Presidency declared a state of emergency again, that time on the whole territory of Kosovo, on 27 February 1989 under chairmanship of Raif Dizdarević, when even more serious disorders in Kosovo broke out. For the third time in post-Tito Yugoslavia, a state of emergency in Kosovo was imposed by the Presidency in February 1990.
The composition of the last Presidency elected in May 1989 reflected both approach of political pluralism in some parts of the federation and the beginning of agony in Yugoslavia:
* Janez Drnovšek from Slovenia and Bogić Bogićević from Bosnia and Herzegovina were elected in direct elections held in their republics
* representatives of Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Vojvodina, i.e. half of the Presidency, were acting under de facto control of Slobodan Milošević
* Stipe Šuvar, Croat representative of strongly pro-Yugoslav opinions, was in October 1990 replaced by Stipe Mesić nominated by Croatian government.
In summer 1991 Mesić and Drnovšek, regarding their republics independent, ceased to attend sessions of the Presidency. They were followed by Bogićević and Vasil Tupurkovski from Macedonia, so that the Presidency de facto ceased to exist, although the members from Serbia, her provinces (Kosovo and Vojvodina) and Montenegro continued to hold sessions until 1992.

## Composition (1971–1992)

Presidency 1971–1974 :
| Name | Term of chairmanship | Representing |
| Josip Broz Tito | 30 June 1971 – 15 May 1974 | President of the Republic, President of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia |
| Vidoje Žarković Veljko Mićunović Dobroslav Ćulafić | | SR Montenegro |
| Josif Rajačić Replaced by Sreten Kovačević Maćaš Keleman Replaced by Mrs. Ida Sabo | | SAP Vojvodina |
| Ilaz Kurteshi Veli Deva | | SAP Kosovo |
| Nikola Minčev Krste Crvenkovski Kiro Gligorov Replaced by Lazar Koliševski | | SR Macedonia |
| Hamdija Pozderac Ratomir Dugonjić Augustin Papić | | SR Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Sergej Kraigher Marko Bulc Mitja Ribičič | | SR Slovenia |
| Dragoslav Marković Dobrivoje Vidić Koča Popović Replaced by Dragi Stamenković | | SR Serbia |
| Jakov Blažević Đuro Kladarin Miko Tripalo Replaced by Milan Mišković | | SR Croatia |
| Presidency 1974–1979 |||
| Josip Broz Tito | 15 May 1974 – 15 May 1979 | President of the Republic, President of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia |
| Vidoje Žarković | | SR Montenegro |
| Stevan Doronjski | | SAP Vojvodina |
| Fadil Hoxha | | SAP Kosovo |
| Lazar Koliševski | | SR Macedonia |
| Cvijetin Mijatović | | SR Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Edvard Kardelj$^1$ 1979 Sergej Kraigher | | SR Slovenia |
| Petar Stambolić | | SR Serbia |
| Vladimir Bakarić | | SR Croatia |
| Presidency 1979–1984 |||
| Josip Broz Tito$^1$ | 15 May 1979 – 4 May 1980 | President of the Republic, President of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia |
| Vidoje Žarković | | SR Montenegro |
| Stevan Doronjski$^1$ 1981 Radovan Vlajković | | SAP Vojvodina |
| Fadil Hoxha | | SAP Kosovo |
| Lazar Koliševski | 4 May 1980 – 15 May 1980 | SR Macedonia |
| Cvijetin Mijatović | 15 May 1980 – 15 May 1981 | SR Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Sergej Kraigher | 15 May 1981 – 15 May 1982 | SR Slovenia |
| Petar Stambolić | 15 May 1982 – 15 May 1983 | SR Serbia |
| Vladimir Bakarić$^1$ 1983 Mika Špiljak | 15 May 1983 – 15 May 1984 | SR Croatia |
| 1980 Stevan Doronjski 1980 Lazar Mojsov 1981 Dušan Dragosavac 1982 Mitja Ribičič 1983 Dragoslav Marković | | League of Communists of Yugoslavia |
| Presidency 1984–1989 |||
| Veselin Đuranović | 15 May 1984 – 15 May 1985 | SR Montenegro |
| Radovan Vlajković | 15 May 1985 – 15 May 1986 | SAP Vojvodina |
| Sinan Hasani | 15 May 1986 – 15 May 1987 | SAP Kosovo |
| Lazar Mojsov | 15 May 1987 – 15 May 1988 | SR Macedonia |
| Branko Mikulić$^2$ 1986 Hamdija Pozderac$^3$ 1987 Raif Dizdarević | 15 May 1988 – 15 May 1989 | SR Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Stane Dolanc | | SR Slovenia |
| Nikola Ljubičić | | SR Serbia |
| Josip Vrhovec | | SR Croatia |
| 1984 Ali Shukri 1985 Vidoje Žarković 1986 Milanko Renovica 1987 Boško Krunić 1988 Stipe Šuvar (until November 1988) | | League of Communists of Yugoslavia |
| Presidency 1989–1992 |||
| Dragutin Zelenović$^5$ 1990 Jugoslav Kostić | | SAP Vojvodina |
| Riza Sapunxhiu$^6$ 1991 Sejdo Bajramović | | SAP Kosovo |
| Vasil Tupurkovski | | SR Macedonia / Republic of Macedonia |
| Bogić Bogićević | | SR Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Janez Drnovšek | 15 May 1989 – 15 May 1990 | SR Slovenia / Republic of Slovenia |
| Borisav Jović | 15 May 1990 – 15 May 1991 | SR Serbia / Republic of Serbia |
| Stipe Šuvar$^4$ 1990 Stipe Mesić | 1 July 1991 – 3 October 1991 | SR Croatia / Republic of Croatia |
| Nenad Bućin$^7$ 1991 Branko Kostić | 6 December 1991 – 15 June 1992 (acting) | SR Montenegro |