Aleksandar Ranković
| Aleksandar Ranković | |
|---|---|
| Александар Ранковић | |
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| 1st Vice President of Yugoslavia | |
|
In office 1963 – 1 July 1966 |
|
| President | Josip Broz Tito |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Koča Popović |
| Minister of the Internal Affairs of Yugoslavia | |
|
In office January 1946 – 1953 |
|
| President | Josip Broz Tito |
| Preceded by | Vlada Zečević |
| Succeeded by | Svetislav Stefanović |
| Chief of OZNA | |
|
In office 13 May 1944 – March 1946 |
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| Vice President of the People's Assembly of the PR Serbia | |
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In office November 1944 – January 1946 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
28 November 1909 Draževac, Kingdom of Serbia |
| Died | 20 August 1983 (aged 73) Dubrovnik, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia |
| Resting place | Belgrade, Serbia |
| Nationality | Serb |
| Political party | Communist Party of Yugoslavia |
| Spouse(s) | Anđa Ranković |
| Occupation | Politician, soldier, worker |
| Awards | Order of the People's Hero Order of the Hero of Socialist Labour Order of National Liberation |
| Military service | |
| Nickname(s) | Marko, Leka |
| Allegiance |
 Yugoslavia
|
| Service/branch | Yugoslav Partisans |
| Years of service | 1941–1945 |
| Rank | Colonel general |
| Battles/wars | World War II in Yugoslavia |
Aleksandar Ranković (nom de guerre Leka; Serbian Cyrillic: Александар Ранковић Лека; 28 November 1909 – 20 August 1983) was a Yugoslav communist of Serb origin, considered to be the third most powerful man in Yugoslavia after Josip Broz Tito and Edvard Kardelj. Ranković was a proponent of a centralized Yugoslavia and opposed efforts that promoted decentralization that he deemed to be against the interests of Serb unity; he ran Kosovo as a police state and made Serbs dominant in the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo's nomenklatura. Ranković supported a hardline approach against Albanians in Kosovo who were commonly suspected of pursuing seditious activities.
The popularity of Ranković's nationalistic policies in Serbia became apparent at his funeral in 1983, which large numbers of people attended. Many considered Ranković a Serbian "national" leader. Ranković's policies have been perceived as the basis of the Serbian nationalist agenda of Slobodan Milošević.
Ranković was born in the village of Draževac near Obrenovac in the Kingdom of Serbia. Born into a poor family, Ranković lost his father at a young age. He attended high school in his hometown. He went to Belgrade to work and joined the workers' movement. He was also influenced by his colleagues who, at the time when the Communist Party was banned, brought communist magazines and literature with them, which were read by Ranković. At age 15 he joined the union. In 1927 he met his future wife Anđa, and year later he joined the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. Soon he was named Secretary-General of the League of Communists of Youth of Yugoslavia (SKOJ) in Belgrade.
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