1963 : TITO IS MADE PRESIDENT FOR LIFE:
On April 7, 1963, a new Yugoslav constitution proclaims Tito the
president for life of the newly named Socialist Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia.
Formerly known as Josip Broz, Tito was born to a large peasant family
in Croatia in 1892. At that time, Croatia was part of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire, and in 1913 Broz was drafted into the
Austro-Hungarian army. After the outbreak of World War I, he fought
against Serbia and in 1915 was sent to the Russian front, where he was
captured. In the prisoner-of-war camp, he converted to Bolshevism and
in 1917 participated in the Russian Revolution. He fought in the Red
Guard during the Russian Civil War and in 1920 returned to Croatia,
which had been incorporated into the multinational but Serb-dominated
kingdom of Yugoslavia.
He joined the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (CPY) and was an effective
organizer before his arrest as a political agitator in 1928. Released
from prison in 1934, he rapidly rose in the ranks of the CPY and took
the name Tito, which was a pseudonym he used in underground Party
work. He went to the USSR to work with Comintern--the Soviet-led
international Communist organization--and in 1937-38 survived Soviet
leader Joseph Stalin's purge of the CPY leadership. In 1939, Tito
became secretary-general of the CPY.
In 1941, Axis forces invaded and occupied Yugoslavia, and Tito and his
communist partisans emerged as the leaders of the anti-Nazi
resistance. In 1944, Soviet forces liberated Yugoslavia, and in March
1945 Marshal Tito was installed as head of a new federal Yugoslav
government. Non-communists were purged from the government, and in
November 1945 Tito was elected Yugoslav premier in an election limited
to candidates from the communist-dominated National Liberation Front.
The same month, the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia,
comprising the Balkan republics of Serbia, Croatia,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia, and Macedonia, was
proclaimed under a new constitution.
Although the Yugoslav republics were granted autonomy over some of
their affairs, Tito held the ultimate power and ruled dictatorially,
suppressing opposition to his rule. He soon came into conflict with
Moscow, which disapproved of his independent style, especially in
foreign affairs, and in early 1948 Joseph Stalin attempted to purge
the Yugoslav leadership. Tito maintained control, and later in 1948
the CPY was expelled from Cominform, the confederation of Eastern
European communist parties. Isolated from the USSR and its satellites,
Yugoslavia was courted by the West, which offered aid and military
assistance, including an informal association with NATO. After
Stalin's death in 1953, Yugoslav-Soviet relations gradually improved,
but Tito was critical of the Soviet invasions of Hungary and
Czechoslovakia, and attempted to develop common policies with
countries unaligned with the United States or the USSR, such as Egypt
and India.
In 1953, Tito was elected Yugoslav president and was repeatedly
re-elected until 1963, when his term was made unlimited. Although he
used his secret police to purge political opponents, the average
Yugoslavian enjoyed more freedoms than the inhabitants of any other
communist country in Eastern Europe. Tito died in May 1980, just a few
days before his 88th birthday.
After the collapse of communism in 1989, ethnic tensions resurfaced,
and in 1991 the Yugoslav federation broke apart, leaving only Serbia
and Montenegro remaining in the Socialist Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia. In 1992, civil war erupted over Serbian President Slobodan
Milosevic's attempts to keep ethnically Serbian areas in other
republics under Yugoslav rule. In March 1999, NATO began airstrikes
against the Milosevic regime in an attempt to end genocide in Kosovo
and enforce the area's autonomy. In October 2000, Milosevic was ousted
in a popular revolution. He was then arrested and charged with crimes
against humanity and genocide. He died on March 11, 2006, in prison in
the Hague, before his trial ended.
history.com/tdih.do
president for life of the newly named Socialist Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia.
Formerly known as Josip Broz, Tito was born to a large peasant family
in Croatia in 1892. At that time, Croatia was part of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire, and in 1913 Broz was drafted into the
Austro-Hungarian army. After the outbreak of World War I, he fought
against Serbia and in 1915 was sent to the Russian front, where he was
captured. In the prisoner-of-war camp, he converted to Bolshevism and
in 1917 participated in the Russian Revolution. He fought in the Red
Guard during the Russian Civil War and in 1920 returned to Croatia,
which had been incorporated into the multinational but Serb-dominated
kingdom of Yugoslavia.
He joined the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (CPY) and was an effective
organizer before his arrest as a political agitator in 1928. Released
from prison in 1934, he rapidly rose in the ranks of the CPY and took
the name Tito, which was a pseudonym he used in underground Party
work. He went to the USSR to work with Comintern--the Soviet-led
international Communist organization--and in 1937-38 survived Soviet
leader Joseph Stalin's purge of the CPY leadership. In 1939, Tito
became secretary-general of the CPY.
In 1941, Axis forces invaded and occupied Yugoslavia, and Tito and his
communist partisans emerged as the leaders of the anti-Nazi
resistance. In 1944, Soviet forces liberated Yugoslavia, and in March
1945 Marshal Tito was installed as head of a new federal Yugoslav
government. Non-communists were purged from the government, and in
November 1945 Tito was elected Yugoslav premier in an election limited
to candidates from the communist-dominated National Liberation Front.
The same month, the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia,
comprising the Balkan republics of Serbia, Croatia,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia, and Macedonia, was
proclaimed under a new constitution.
Although the Yugoslav republics were granted autonomy over some of
their affairs, Tito held the ultimate power and ruled dictatorially,
suppressing opposition to his rule. He soon came into conflict with
Moscow, which disapproved of his independent style, especially in
foreign affairs, and in early 1948 Joseph Stalin attempted to purge
the Yugoslav leadership. Tito maintained control, and later in 1948
the CPY was expelled from Cominform, the confederation of Eastern
European communist parties. Isolated from the USSR and its satellites,
Yugoslavia was courted by the West, which offered aid and military
assistance, including an informal association with NATO. After
Stalin's death in 1953, Yugoslav-Soviet relations gradually improved,
but Tito was critical of the Soviet invasions of Hungary and
Czechoslovakia, and attempted to develop common policies with
countries unaligned with the United States or the USSR, such as Egypt
and India.
In 1953, Tito was elected Yugoslav president and was repeatedly
re-elected until 1963, when his term was made unlimited. Although he
used his secret police to purge political opponents, the average
Yugoslavian enjoyed more freedoms than the inhabitants of any other
communist country in Eastern Europe. Tito died in May 1980, just a few
days before his 88th birthday.
After the collapse of communism in 1989, ethnic tensions resurfaced,
and in 1991 the Yugoslav federation broke apart, leaving only Serbia
and Montenegro remaining in the Socialist Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia. In 1992, civil war erupted over Serbian President Slobodan
Milosevic's attempts to keep ethnically Serbian areas in other
republics under Yugoslav rule. In March 1999, NATO began airstrikes
against the Milosevic regime in an attempt to end genocide in Kosovo
and enforce the area's autonomy. In October 2000, Milosevic was ousted
in a popular revolution. He was then arrested and charged with crimes
against humanity and genocide. He died on March 11, 2006, in prison in
the Hague, before his trial ended.
history.com/tdih.do
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