Markovic, Mirjana (1942–)
Markovic, Mirjana (1942–)
Serb politician. Name variations: Mira; Dr. Mirjana Milosevic. Born July 10, 1942, in the village of Brezane; dau. of Moma Markovic (high-ranking Communist) and Vera Miletic; received undergraduate degree from Belgrade University; University of Nis, PhD in sociology; m. Slobodan Milosevic (later president of Serbia and then of Yugoslav Federal Republic), Mar 14, 1965 (died 2006); children: daughter Marija Milosevic (b. 1965); son Marko Milosevic (b. 1976).
Founder and president of the modern Marxist party Yugoslav United Left (YUL) and wife of Slobodan Milosevic, former president of the Yugoslav Federal Republic, was characterized as a "Balkan Lady Macbeth"; taught Marxist sociology at Belgrade University; with husband's rise to power (1980s), served as his main adviser, though she remained in the background and was seldom seen at political events; began to emerge into limelight (1990), the year after husband was elected president of Serbia, founding the Yugoslav United Left, an alliance of some 20 Communist groups aligned with the Socialist Party of Serbia, which was a kind of Mafia, doling out favors to high-ranking businessmen; when the Bosnian crisis threatened husband's standing, began writing a column in fashionable bi-weekly magazine Duga, using it to both humanize and defend him (1993).
See also Women in World History.