The president was the leader of the League of Communists of Serbia (LCS), the ruling party of the Socialist Republic of Serbia (SRS) in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Party rules stipulated that the LCS 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 SRS Presidency. To be eligible to serve, the president had to be a member of the Presidency of the LCS Central Committee. The 8th LCS Congress instituted a two-year term limits for officeholders.
| President of the League of Communists of Serbia | |
|---|---|
| Serbo-Croatian: Predsednik Saveza komunista Srbije | |
  Emblems of the LCY | |
| Type | Party leader |
| Member of | LCY Presidency and SRS Presidency |
| Appointer | LCS Central Committee |
| Term length | One year, renewable once (1982–1991) |
| Constituting instrument | LCY Charter & LCS Charter |
| Formation | 12 May 1945 |
| First holder | Blagoje Nešković |
| Final holder | Bogdan Trifunović |
| Abolished | 16 July 1990 |
The office traces its lineage back to the office of "Secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia in Serbia", established after the founding of the LCY in 1919. This body had no distinct rights and was under the jurisdiction of the Yugoslav Central Committee. On 8 May 1945, the LCY convened the founding congress of the Communist Party of Serbia. On 12 May, the Central Committee of the 1st Congress elected Blagoje Nešković as "Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Serbia". The LCY 6th Congress on 2–7 November 1952, renamed the party League of Communists, and the Serbian republican branch followed suit and changed its name to League of Communists of Serbia. 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 LCS Central Committee convened a meeting on 4 November 1966 that abolished the office of secretary and established the "President of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Serbia". The reforms passed by the LCY Central Committee plenum strengthened the powers of the republican branches and gave more powers to the Serbian party leader. The 9th LCS Congress introduced another set of reforms on 29 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 Serbia". This office was retained until 30 June 1990, when the party changed its name to the Socialist Party of Serbia on 17 July 1990.
Office history
| Title | Established | Abolished | Established by | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia for Serbia Serbo-Croatian: Секретар Покрајинског комитета Комунистичке партије Југославије за Србију | 23 April 1919 | 12 May 1945 | 1st Congress of the Socialist Labour Party of Yugoslavia (Communists) | [1] |
| Secretary of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Serbia Serbo-Croatian: Секретар Централног комитета Савеза комуниста Србије | 12 May 1945 | 4 November 1966 | 1st Congress of the Communist Party of Serbia | [1] |
| President of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Serbia Serbo-Croatian: Председник Централног комитета Савеза комуниста Србије | 4 November 1966 | 29 May 1982 | ? Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the 5th Congress | [2] |
| President of the Presidency of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Serbia Serbo-Croatian: Председник Председништва Централног комитета Савеза комуниста Србије | 29 May 1982 | 17 July 1990 | 9th Congress of the League of Communists of Serbia | [3] |
Officeholders
Provincial
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Tenure | Birth | PM | Death | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Blagoje Parović | November 1933 | 30 September 1934 | 333 days | 1903 | 1923 | 1937 | [4] |
| 2 |  | Trajko Stamenković | 30 September 1934 | November 1935 | 1 year, 32 days | 1909 | 1928 | 1942 | [5] |
| 3 | .jpg) | Aleksandar Ranković | May 1937 | 11 September 1941 | 4 years, 133 days | 1909 | 1928 | 1983 | [6] |
| 4 |  | Blagoje Nešković | 11 September 1941 | 12 May 1945 | 3 years, 243 days | 1907 | 1935 | 1984 | [7] |
Republican
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Tenure | Term of office | Birth | PM | Death | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Blagoje Nešković | 12 May 1945 | 21 January 1949 | 3 years, 254 days | 1st (1945–1949) | 1907 | 1935 | 1984 | [7] |
| 2 |  | Petar Stambolić | 21 January 1949 | 29 April 1957 | 5 years, 98 days | 2nd–3rd (1949–1959) | 1912 | 1935 | 2007 | [8] |
| 3 |  | Jovan Veselinov | 30 March 1957 | 4 November 1966 | 9 years, 219 days | 3rd–5th (1959–1968) | 1906 | 1923 | 1982 | [9] |
| 4 |  | Dobrivoje Radosavljević | 4 November 1966 | 19 January 1968 | 1 year, 76 days | 5th (1965–1968) | 1915 | 1933 | 1984 | [10] |
| 2 | | Petar Stambolić | 19 January 1968 | 23 November 1968 | 309 days | 5th (1965–1968) | 1912 | 1935 | 2007 | [11] |
| 5 | .jpg) | Marko Nikezić | 23 November 1968 | 25 October 1972 | 3 years, 337 days | 6th (1968–1974) | 1921 | 1940 | 1991 | [12] |
| 6 | | Tihomir Vlaškalić | 26 October 1972 | 29 May 1982 | 9 years, 215 days | 6th–8th (1968–1982) | 1923 | 1945 | 1993 | [13] |
| 7 | _(cropped).jpg) | Dušan Čkrebić | 29 May 1982 | 17 May 1984 | 1 year, 354 days | 9th (1982–1986) | 1927 | 1945 | 2022 | [14] |
| 8 | .jpg) | Ivan Stambolić | 17 May 1984 | 28 May 1986 | 2 years, 11 days | 9th (1982–1986) | 1936 | 1954 | 2000 | [15] |
| 9 |  | Slobodan Milošević | 28 May 1986 | 24 May 1989 | 2 years, 361 days | 10th (1986–1990) | 1941 | 1959 | 2006 | [16] |
| 10 |  | Bogdan Trifunović | 24 May 1989 | 17 July 1990 | 1 year, 54 days | 10th (1986–1990) | 1933 | ? | 2007 | [17] |
References
Bibliography
- Hronologija radničkog pokreta i SKJ 1919–1979: tom — I — 1919–1941 [Chronology of the labor movement and SKJ 1919–1979: Volume — I — 1919–1941] (in Serbo-Croatian). Beograd: Narodna knjiga; Institut za savremenu istoriju. 1980. COBISS 1539739342
- Hronologija radničkog pokreta i SKJ 1919–1979: tom — II — 1941–1945 [Chronology of the labor movement and SKJ 1919–1979: Volume — II — 1941–1945] (in Serbo-Croatian). Beograd: Narodna knjiga; Institut za savremenu istoriju. 1980. COBISS 49272583
- Hronologija radničkog pokreta i SKJ 1919–1979. tom — III — 1945–1979 [Chronology of the labor movement and SKJ 1919–1979: Volume — III — 1945–1979] (in Serbo-Croatian). Beograd: Narodna knjiga; Institut za savremenu istoriju. 1980. COBISS 1539739598
- Lewytzkyj, Borys; Stroynowski, Juliusz, eds. (1978). Who's Who in the Socialist Countries. K. G. Saur Verlag. ISBN 3-7940-3017-6.
- Pirjevec, Jože (2018). Tito and His Comrades. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 9780299317706.
- Staff writer, ed. (1953). VI kongres Komunističke partije Jugoslavije: 2-7 novembra 1952: stenografske beleške [VI Congress of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia] (in Serbo-Croatian). Kultura.
- Stroynowski, Juliusz, ed. (1989a). Who's Who in the Socialist Countries of Europe: A–H. K. G. Saur Verlag. ISBN 3-598-10719-6.
- Stroynowski, Juliusz, ed. (1989b). Who's Who in the Socialist Countries of Europe: I–O. K. G. Saur Verlag. ISBN 3-598-10719-6.
- Stroynowski, Juliusz, ed. (1989c). Who's Who in the Socialist Countries of Europe: P–Z. K. G. Saur Verlag. ISBN 3-598-10719-6.
- Tadić, Aleksandar (1968). Pali za lepša svitanja: Majke heroja pričaju [Lights For More Beautiful dawns: Mothers of Heroes Talk] (in Serbo-Croatian). Međunarodna štampa-Interpress.
- Zalar, Charles, ed. (1961). Yugoslav Communism: A Critical Study. United States Government Printing Office. Archived from the original on 11 June 2023.