Kiro Gligorov
Kiro Gligorov (born
1919) was the first
president of the
Republic of Macedonia, serving for two terms from
1990 to
November 19 1999. He tried to keep his country out of the wars and conflicts which plagued the nations around him, a task made difficult by disputes with
Serbia,
Albania,
Bulgaria and
Greece, all of whom had ethnic minorities in the country. On
October 4,
1995, he was the victim of an
assassination attempt and was incapacitated until
1996, and Stojan Andov was acting president.
The election for Gligorov's successor took place only a few days before the end of his term, and because of disputed results the winner, Boris Trajkovski, did not take office until the following month.