Kiro Gligorov (, ; 3 May 1917 – 1 January 2012) was a Macedonian politician who served as the first President of the Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia) from 1991 to 1999. He was born and raised in Štip, where he was also educated. He continued his education in Skopje and Belgrade, where he graduated in law. After World War II, he served in various important positions in Yugoslavia. Gligorov later played a pivotal role in Macedonia's peaceful secession from Yugoslavia and its international recognition. In 1995, he survived an assassination attempt, which has remained unresolved. For his role in its independence and political development, he has been regarded as the father of the Macedonian state.

Early life 
Kiro Gligorov was born in Štip on 3 May 1917, then in the Bulgarian occupation zone of Serbia during World War I, where he received his initial education. Gligorov completed his secondary education in Skopje and later graduated from the University of Belgrade's Law School. Before World War II, he participated in the Macedonian communist student movement. When he was twenty, he was arrested by the Royal Yugoslav authorities for his political opposition to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, but was released afterwards. After the defeat of Yugoslavia in 1941, he returned to Skopje (then annexed by Bulgaria), where Gligorov worked as a lawyer until 1943. In 1942, Gligorov was arrested by the Bulgarian police on the accusation that he was a pro-Serbian communist. He was released on the orders of Skopje Mayor Spiro Kitinchev, who guaranteed that he was a trustworthy Bulgarian. During World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia, he joined the partisans and participated in the resistance. Afterwards he became a member of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY), Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia (AVNOJ) and Antifascist Assembly of the National Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM). In ASNOM, he served as a secretary of the Initiative committee for its organisation and a finance commissioner in its Presidium. Along with some other communist activists, he saw the solution of the Macedonian Question through a "federation of the Balkan peoples". On 2 August 1944, he took part in the first session of ASNOM as a delegate.

Politics 
After World War II, he moved to Belgrade. Between 1945 and 1947 he was appointed Assistant Secretary General of the Presidency of the Government of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia and then served as Assistant Minister of Finance from 1947 to 1952. After this year he held several positions: Assistant Chairman of the Economic Council of the Government of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (1952–1953), Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Economic Planning (1953–1955), Secretary of Economy - Coordinator in the Federal Government (1956). In the 1960s, he had the reputation of being a liberal economist and politician, who wanted to implement market-oriented reforms. From 1965 to 1967, he served as the Finance Minister of Yugoslavia from 1962 to 1967. In 1965, he was the co-creator of a marketisation program which was never implemented. He held various other high positions in the political establishment of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including as a member of the Yugoslav Presidency, as well as President of the Assembly of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 15 May 1974 to 15 May 1978. In the late 1980s, he was an adviser for Ante Marković's economic reform plan.

He returned to Skopje in 1989.  In February 1990, he joined the Macedonian Forum for Preparation of a Macedonian National Program. Gligorov actively participated in the work of this forum, along with his son Vladimir Gligorov, which discussed the status of the Yugoslav Federation and the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. Following the promulgation of the Declaration of Sovereignty of the State on 25 January 1991 and an initiative by a group of prominent liberal politicians and intellectuals called "Young Lions", Gligorov was elected as the president of SR Macedonia by a large majority in the Macedonian Assembly on 27 January, succeeding Vladimir Mitkov. On 7 March, he entrusted the mandate to Nikola Kljusev to form the first government. In the same year, Gligorov along with Alija Izetbegović put forward the idea of a "Yugoslav confederation" (which was strongly supported by the international community), but it was rejected by the other states of Yugoslavia. When it became clear that Yugoslavia was being torn apart, Gligorov and the other leaders decided to initiate a referendum for independence on 8 September 1991. Many citizens ended up opting for independence. Under his rule, Macedonia became the only state which seceded from Yugoslavia peacefully. After independence, he became the first President of the independent and sovereign Republic of Macedonia. Afterwards, Gligorov worked towards gaining international recognition of Macedonia. Domestically Gligorov faced the challenge of finding a balance between two opposing political forces - the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) and the Party for Democratic Prosperity (PDP). Gligorov was of the opinion that Albanians would always have a share in the governing of Macedonia.

In response to Macedonian political and diaspora organizations' claims of direct descent to Alexander the Great, Gligorov stated several times that the ethnic Macedonians are unrelated to the ancient Macedonians, as well as that they are a South Slavic people. In an interview with the Toronto Star on 15 March 1992, he said: "We are Macedonians but we are Slav Macedonians. That's who we are! We have no connection to Alexander the Great and his Macedonia. The ancient Macedonians no longer exist, they had disappeared from history long time ago. Our ancestors came here in the 5th and 6th century (AD)." In the same year, he successfully negotiated the withdrawal of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) from Macedonian soil. Due to concerns of the Yugoslav Wars spilling over into Macedonia, he requested the presence of UN peacekeepers, which were deployed later.

As a result of the Macedonia naming dispute, the Republic of Macedonia was admitted into the United Nations under the reference "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia". He delivered his first speech before the General Assembly of the United Nations on 7 April 1993. In the general election, he was re-elected President of the Republic by a majority of votes, on 16 October 1994. On 12 September 1995, he signed the Interim Accord for the normalization of relations with Greece at the United Nations Headquarters. On 2 October, in Belgrade, he signed a recognition agreement with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In Helsinki, a solemn statement by Gligorov confirmed the accession of the Republic of Macedonia to the CSCE Final Document, on 29 May 1996. The election for Gligorov's successor took place only a few days before the end of his term. He served as the president until November 1999 and was succeeded by Boris Trajkovski. Following his presidency, he retired from politics. In 2001, he dismissed the Albanian demands for greater rights and supported a military solution to the insurgency in Macedonia.

Assassination attempt 

On 3 October 1995, Gligorov was the target of a car bomb assassination attempt in Skopje. While en route from his residence to his office, the vehicle carrying Gligorov was blown up by an explosion from a parked vehicle, killing his driver and a passer-by, as well as injuring several other passers-by and his security officer. Gligorov was seriously injured and was immediately conveyed to the hospital. The parked car contained an explosive which was activated remotely. Two persons in their mid-twenties were arrested immediately after the incident.

Since the incident, there have been no suspects brought to book and no progress has been made in the investigation of the case. However, there have been short-lived speculations as to who could be the culprits. Shortly after the bombing, the Minister of Internal Affairs Ljubomir Frčkovski publicly claimed that "a powerful multinational company from a neighbouring country" was behind the assassination attempt, with the Macedonian media pointing at the Bulgarian Multigroup and the Yugoslav KOS as possible suspects. During a meeting between Multigroup head Iliya Pavlov and Gligorov in Ohrid, Pavlov assured Gligorov that his organisation was not involved. 

Gligorov was incapacitated until 17 November 1995. He got permanently blind in one eye and was facially scarred as a result. Stojan Andov was acting president during Gligorov's recuperation. After several months of treatment, on 10 January 1996, Gligorov returned to his presidency.

Personal life and death 

Gligorov has won numerous international awards and recognitions for his successful, constructive management and regulation of the international relations of the Macedonian state. Following a speech at the University of Pittsburgh in the United States, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University on 21 September 1997. He was awarded the Mediterranean Peace Prize on 5 January 1998 in Naples. In 2005, he became the first person to be awarded with Republic of Macedonia's highest honour - Order of the Republic of Macedonia. In 2011, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the United Macedonian Diaspora. After his retirement from politics, he authored several memoirs and founded the Kiro Gligorov Foundation.

In October 1943, Gligorov married Nada Misheva, who died in 2009. They had one son and two daughters. His son, Vladimir Gligorov, was one of the founders of the Democratic Party in Serbia.

Kiro Gligorov was the oldest Macedonian political official. On 17 November 1999, when his second presidential term ended, he was 82 years old, and in 2000, the Guinness Book of World Records listed Gligorov as the world's oldest president.

Gligorov died at the age of 94 in the early hours of 1 January 2012, in his sleep. At his own request, the funeral was private with only his closest family in attendance. Some politicians and academics came to pay their respects beforehand. He was buried in Butel Municipality, Skopje. In 2017, he was posthumously honoured with the Order "Saint Nicholas" (St. Nikola) by the Municipality of Štip.

Memoirs 
Македонија е сè што имаме (Makedonija e se što imame; ; 2000)
Атентат - ден потоа (Atentat - den potoa; ; 2002)
Виорни времиња, Република Македонија – реалност на Балканот (Viorni vreminja, Republika Makedonija – realnost na Balkanot; ; 2004)
Сите југословенски (стопански) реформи (Site jugoslovenski (stopanski) reformi; ; 2006)

Honours 
   Order of the Yugoslav Star with Sash
   Order of Brotherhood and Unity with golden wreath
   Order of Labours with red flag
   Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver with Sash of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (1968)
   Order of the Republic of Macedonia
    Jubilee Medal "65 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945

Notes

References

External links 

 Biography of Kiro Gligorov on the official website of the President of the Republic of Macedonia
 Biography of Kiro Gligorov

1917 births
2012 deaths
People from Štip
University of Belgrade Faculty of Law alumni
Yugoslav communists
Presidents of North Macedonia
Finance ministers of Yugoslavia
Government ministers of Yugoslavia
League of Communists of Macedonia politicians
Social Democratic Union of Macedonia politicians
Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia members