# President of the League of Communists of Macedonia

The president was the leader of the League of Communists of Macedonia (SKM), the ruling party of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia (SRM) in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Party rules stipulated that the SKM Central Committee elected the president. Moreover, the Central Committee was empowered to remove the president. The president served ex officio as a member of the Presidency of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY) and of the SRM Presidency. To be eligible to serve, the president had to be a member of the Presidency of the SKM Central Committee. The 8th SKM Congress instituted a two-year term limits for officeholders.
The office traces its lineage back to the office of "Secretary of the Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia in Macedonia", established on 8 September 1939. This body had no distinct rights and was under the jurisdiction of the Yugoslav Central Committee. On 19 March 1943, the Regional Committee transformed itself into the Communist Party of Macedonia and elected Lazar Koliševski as "Secretary of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Macedonia". The LCY 6th Congress on 2–7 November 1952, renamed the party League of Communists, and the Macedonian republican branch followed suit and changed its name to League of Communists of Macedonia. On 4 October 1966, the 5th Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the LCY 8th Congress abolished the office of General Secretary at the national level and replaced with the office of President. The SKM Central Committee convened a meeting in 1966 that abolished the office of secretary and established the "President of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Macedonia". The reforms passed by the LCY Central Committee plenum strengthened the powers of the republican branches and gave more powers to the Macedonian party leader. The 8th SKM Congress introduced another set of reforms on 8 May 1982, which abolished the existing office and replaced it with the "President of the Presidency of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Macedonia". This office was retained until 20 April 1991, when the party changed its name to the "Social Democratic Union of Macedonia" on 20 April 1991.

## Office history

| Title | Established | Abolished | Established by |
| Secretary of the Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia in Macedonia Macedonian: Секретар на Регионалниот комитет на КПЈ во Македонија | 8 September 1939 | 19 March 1943 | Central Committee of the 4th Congress of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia |
| Secretary of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Macedonia Macedonian: Секретар на ЦК на Сојузот на комунистите на Македонија | 19 March 1943 | 12 November 1966 | 1st Congress of the Communist Party of Macedonia |
| President of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Macedonia Macedonian: Претседател на Централниот комитет на Сојузот на комунистите на Македонија | 12 November 1966 | 8 May 1982 | ? Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the 4th Congress |
| President of the Presidency of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Macedonia Macedonian: Претседател на Претседателството на Централниот комитет на Сојузот на комунистите на Македонија | 8 May 1982 | 20 April 1991 | 8th Congress of the League of Communists of Macedonia |

## Officeholders
### Predecessor

Secretaries of the Regional Committee of Communists in Macedonia :
| No. | Name | Took office | Left office | Tenure | Birth | PM | Death |
| 1 | Blažo Orlandić | 8 September 1939 | March 1940 | 175 days | 1914 | 1933 | 1943 |
| 2 | Metodi Shatorov | March 1940 | August 1941 | 1 year, 153 days | 1897 | 1940 | 1944 |
| 3 | Lazar Koliševski | August 1941 | November 1941 | 92 days | 1914 | 1935 | 2000 |
| 4 | Bane Andreev | November 1941 | May 1942 | 181 days | 1905 | 1923 | 1980 |
| 5 | Cvetko Uzunovski | June 1942 | September 1942 | 2 years, 92 days | 1912 | 1937 | 1994 |
| 6 | Kuzman Josifovski Pitu | September 1942 | 19 March 1943 | 199 days | 1915 | 1938 | 1944 |

### Presidents

Presidents of the League of Communists of Macedonia :
| No. | Name | Took office | Left office | Tenure | Term of office | Birth | PM | Death |
| 1 | Lazar Koliševski | 19 March 1943 | 3 July 1963 | 20 years, 106 days | 1st–3rd (1948–1965) | 1914 | 1935 | 2000 |
| 2 | Krste Crvenkovski | 3 July 1963 | 20 March 1969 | 5 years, 260 days | 3rd–5th (1959–1974) | 1921 | 1939 | 2001 |
| 3 | Angel Čemerski | 20 March 1969 | 8 May 1982 | 13 years, 49 days | 5th–7th (1968–1982) | 1923 | 1942 | 2003 |
| 4 | Krste Markovski | 8 May 1982 | 5 May 1984 | 1 year, 363 days | 8th (1982–1986) | 1925 | 1941 | Alive |
| 5 | Milan Pančevski | 5 May 1984 | 10 May 1986 | 2 years, 5 days | 8th (1982–1986) | 1935 | 1957 | 2019 |
| 6 | Jakov Lazaroski | 10 May 1986 | 28 November 1989 | 3 years, 202 days | 9th (1986–1989) | 1936 | 1958 | 2021 |
| 7 | Petar Gošev | 28 November 1989 | 20 April 1991 | 1 year, 143 days | 10th (1989–1991) | 1948 | 1971 | Alive |