# President of North Macedonia

The president of the Republic of North Macedonia (Macedonian: Претседател на Република Северна Македонија, romanized: Pretsedatel na Republika Severna Makedonija; Albanian: Presidenti i Republikës së Maqedonisë së Veriut) is the head of state of North Macedonia.
The office was first established a few months before the declaration of independence on 8 September 1991. The first president was Kiro Gligorov, the oldest Macedonian political official, until his resignation in 1999. Although largely a ceremonial position, with most of the legislative power being vested in the prime minister and the Assembly, the president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the first body for performing foreign affairs.
Presidential rights and obligations are determined by the Constitution and laws. The president must be a citizen of North Macedonia, be over 40 years of age and have lived in North Macedonia for at least ten of the previous fifteen years before election.

## Electoral system

The president of North Macedonia is elected using a modified two-round system; a candidate can only be elected in the first round of voting if they receive the equivalent of over 50% of the vote from all registered voters. In the second round, voter turnout must be at least 40% for the result to be deemed valid.
Before 2009, the constitution required a 50% turnout in the second round. The XXXI amendment to the constitution, voted on 9 January 2009 by all 86 present deputies, lowered it to the current 40%, as the government feared the tendency of ever lower election turnout would make presidential elections frequently invalidated. In the 2009 Macedonian presidential election that followed, the turnout in the second round ended up being 42.6%.

## History

During the period of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, there was a collective presidency which was abolished in 1991. Its first president was Metodija Andonov Čento, elected at the first plenary session of ASNOM, when the modern state was formed, while the last one was Vladimir Mitkov.
Following the transition from socialist system to parliamentary democracy in 1990, the Socialist Republic of Macedonia changed the collective leadership with a single-president post in 1991, few months before independence. Kiro Gligorov became the first president of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia on 27 January 1991. On 16 April 1991 the parliament adopted a constitutional amendment removing the term "Socialist" from the official name of the country, and on 7 June of the same year, the new name Republic of Macedonia was officially established. Hence Gligorov continued his function as President of the Republic of Macedonia.
After the process of dissolution of Yugoslavia began, the Republic of Macedonia proclaimed full independence following a referendum held on 8 September 1991. Kiro Gligorov was incapacitated after an assassination attempt in 1995. Stojan Andov served as acting president for 98 days during Gligorov's recovery. On completing his second term as head of the independent state, Gligorov was succeeded by Boris Trajkovski in 1999. Following Trajkovski's death in 2004, he was succeeded by Branko Crvenkovski. Gjorge Ivanov won the 2009 presidential election and took office on 12 May 2009. He was re-elected in 2014.
The position initially had some considerable powers, as Macedonia functioned within the framework of a de facto semi-presidential republic. The president had control over the military and was the primary actor when it came to setting the foreign policy agenda. As such, both Gligorov and Trajkovski were the primary representatives of the fledgling republic abroad. The 2001 Ohrid Agreement, brokered by President Trajkovski in an effort to reduce interethnic tensions in the country, led to the adoption of constitutional amendments on November 16, 2001, which, in addition to granting representational rights to the Albanian-speaking minority, also stripped the president of any executive authority he previously had. President Trajkovski respected this arrangement for the remainder of his term, with authority over foreign policy passing first to Prime Minister Ljupco Georgievski and then to Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski.
After Trajkovski's tragic death in 2004, Crvenkovski was elected as the next president, and it was widely expected that he would remain in de facto control of the government. Owing to his popularity in the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, Crvenkovski maintained some level of control over foreign affairs during the premiership of Hari Kostov, but with the election of Vlado Buckovski, the new leader of the Social Democratic Union, as prime minister, Crvenkovski largely refrained from interfering with the government and limited his activities to ceremonial matters. While Crvenkovski was opposed to Nikola Gruevski after the latter's election as prime minister, there was little that he could have done, as by that time the presidency had very little authority.
In 2009, Crvenkovski was replaced as president by Gjorge Ivanov, an ally of Gruevski. After Greuvski resigned in 2016, an interim government led by Emil Dimitriev was inaugurated, but President Gjorge Ivanov largely took de facto lead over governance and halted judicial inquiries into Gruevski administration officials implicated in the wiretapping scandal. This caused massive protests, including calls for Ivanov's impeachment.
With the inauguration of Zoran Zaev executive authority returned to the government. In 2019, Ivanov was succeeded by Zaev ally Stevo Pendarovski as president. In 2020, Zaev briefly resigned as prime minister and was replaced by Oliver Spasovski. During Spasovski's interim premiership, President Pendarovski came to the fore as the country's leader, most notably in first declaring and then ending the country's State of Emergency in the fight against COVID-19. Pendarovski largely gave up his increased executive authority when Zaev returned as prime minister at the end of the year. In 2022, Zaev was replaced as prime minister by Dimitar Kovacevski. Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova is the incumbent president and she took office on 12 May 2024.

## List of presidents
### Socialist Republic of Macedonia
#### Parties

KPM/SKM  Independent

#### Status

| No. | Name (Birth-Death) | Term of office | Term of office | Political party |
| President of Initiatory Committee for the Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM) 1943–1944 ||||||
| 1 | Metodija Andonov-Čento (1902–1957) | 1 October 1943 | 2 August 1944 | KPM |
| 1 | Chairman of the Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM) 1944–1945 | Chairman of the Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM) 1944–1945 | Chairman of the Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM) 1944–1945 | Chairman of the Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM) 1944–1945 |
| 1 | Metodija Andonov-Čento (1902–1957) | 2 August 1944 | 1 January 1945 | KPM |
| 1 | Presidents of the Presidium of the People's Assembly 1945–1953 | Presidents of the Presidium of the People's Assembly 1945–1953 | Presidents of the Presidium of the People's Assembly 1945–1953 | Presidents of the Presidium of the People's Assembly 1945–1953 |
| 1 | Metodija Andonov-Čento (1902–1957) | 1 January 1945 | 15 March 1946 | KPM |
| — | Dimitar Nestorov (1890–1968) | 16 March 1946 | 30 December 1946 | KPM |
| 2 | Blagoja Fotev (1900–1993) | 1947 | 4 January 1951 | KPM |
| — | Vidoe Smilevski (1915–1979) | 4 January 1951 | 1953 | KPM |
| Presidents of the People's Assembly 1953–1974 ||||||
| 3 | Dimče Stojanov (1910–1991) | 1953 | 19 December 1953 | SKM |
| 4 | Lazar Koliševski (1914–2000) | 19 December 1953 | 26 June 1962 | SKM |
| 5 | Ljupčo Arsov (1910–1986) | 26 June 1962 | 24 June 1963 | SKM |
| 6 | Vidoe Smilevski (1915–1979) | 25 June 1963 | 12 May 1967 | SKM |
| 7 | Mito Hadživasilev (1921–1968) | 12 May 1967 | 1 August 1968 | SKM |
| 8 | Nikola Minčev (1915–1997) | 23 December 1968 | 6 May 1974 | SKM |
| Presidents of the Presidency 1974–1991 ||||||
| 9 | Vidoe Smilevski (1915–1979) | 6 May 1974 | 31 October 1979 | SKM |
| 10 | Ljupčo Arsov (1910–1986) | 31 October 1979 | 29 April 1982 | SKM |
| 11 | Angel Čemerski (1923–2005) | 29 April 1982 | 29 April 1983 | SKM |
| 12 | Blagoja Taleski (1924–2001) | 29 April 1983 | 29 April 1984 | SKM |
| 13 | Tome Bukleski (1921–2018) | 29 April 1984 | 26 April 1985 | SKM |
| 14 | Vančo Apostolski (1925–2008) | 26 April 1985 | 28 April 1986 | SKM |
| — | Mateja Matevski (1929–2018) | 28 April 1986 | 30 April 1986 | SKM |
| 15 | Dragoljub Stavrev (1932–2003) | 30 April 1986 | May 1988 | SKM |
| 16 | Jezdimir Bogdanski (1930–2007) | May 1988 | 28 April 1990 | SKM |
| 17 | Vladimir Mitkov (1931–2024) | 28 April 1990 | 27 January 1991 | SKM |
| 18 | Kiro Gligorov (1917–2012) | 27 January 1991 | 18 September 1991 | Independent |

### Republic of Macedonia / North Macedonia
#### Parties

LPM  DA  VMRO-DPMNE  SDSM  Independent

#### Status

| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth-Death) | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Political party | Election |
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth-Death) | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Political party | Election |
| 1 | | Kiro Gligorov (1917–2012) | 18 September 1991 | 4 October 1995 | 4 years, 16 days | SDSM | 1994 |
| – | | Stojan Andov (1935–2024) Acting | 4 October 1995 | 10 January 1996 | 98 days | LPM | — |
| (1) | | Kiro Gligorov (1917–2012) | 10 January 1996 | 19 November 1999 | 3 years, 313 days | SDSM | – |
| – | | Savo Klimovski (born 1947) Acting | 19 November 1999 | 15 December 1999 | 26 days | DA | — |
| 2 | | Boris Trajkovski (1956–2004) | 15 December 1999 | 26 February 2004 † | 4 years, 73 days | VMRO-DPMNE | 1999 |
| – | | Ljupčo Jordanovski (1953–2010) Acting | 26 February 2004 | 12 May 2004 | 76 days | SDSM | — |
| 3 | | Branko Crvenkovski (born 1962) | 12 May 2004 | 12 May 2009 | 5 years | SDSM | 2004 |
| 4 | | Gjorge Ivanov (born 1960) | 12 May 2009 | 12 May 2019 | 10 years | VMRO-DPMNE | 2009 2014 |
| 5 | | Stevo Pendarovski (born 1963) | 12 May 2019 | 12 May 2024 | 5 years | SDSM | 2019 |
| 6 | | Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova (born 1953) | 12 May 2024 | Incumbent | 305 days | VMRO-DPMNE | 2024 |

## Latest election

| Candidate | Candidate | Party | First round | First round | Second round | Second round |
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Votes | % |
| | Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova | VMRO-DPMNE | 363,085 | 41.21 | 561,000 | 69.01 |
| | Stevo Pendarovski | Social Democratic Union of Macedonia | 180,499 | 20.49 | 251,899 | 30.99 |
| | Bujar Osmani | Democratic Union for Integration | 120,811 | 13.71 | | |
| | Maksim Dimitrievski | For Our Macedonia | 83,855 | 9.52 | | |
| | Arben Taravari | Alliance for Albanians | 83,337 | 9.46 | | |
| | Biljana Vankovska [mk] | Independent | 41,331 | 4.69 | | |
| | Stevčo Jakimovski | Citizen Option for Macedonia | 8,121 | 0.92 | | |
| Total | Total | Total | 881,039 | 100.00 | 812,899 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 881,039 | 97.29 | 812,899 | 94.39 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 24,560 | 2.71 | 48,289 | 5.61 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 905,599 | 100.00 | 861,188 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 1,814,317 | 49.91 | 1,814,317 | 47.47 |
| Source: State Election Commission Round 1, State Election Commission Round 2 |||||||