Ante Marković | |
---|---|
31st Prime Minister of Yugoslavia | |
In office 16 March 1989 – 20 December 1991 |
|
President |
Raif Dizdarević Janez Drnovšek Borisav Jović Sejdo Bajramović (Acting) Stipe Mesić Branko Kostić (Acting) (Office subsequently dissolved) |
Deputy |
Aleksandar Mitrović Živko Pregl |
Preceded by | Branko Mikulić |
Succeeded by |
Aleksandar Mitrović (Acting) (Office subsequently dissolved) |
15th President of the Presidency of Croatia | |
In office 10 May 1986 – May 1988 |
|
Prime Minister | Antun Milović |
Preceded by | Ema Derosi-Bjelajac |
Succeeded by | Ivo Latin |
10th President of the Executive Council of SR Croatia | |
In office July 1980 – 20 November 1985 |
|
President | Jakov Blažević Marijan Cvetković Milutin Baltić Jakša Petrić Pero Car |
Preceded by | Petar Fleković |
Succeeded by | Ema Derosi-Bjelajac |
Personal details | |
Born |
Konjic, Kingdom of Yugoslavia (present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina) |
25 November 1924
Died | 28 November 2011 Zagreb, Croatia |
(aged 87)
Nationality | Croat |
Political party |
League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ), Union of Reform Forces (SRSJ) |
Alma mater | University of Zagreb |
Ante Marković (pronounced [ǎːnte mǎːrkoʋit͡ɕ]; 25 November 1924 – 28 November 2011) was the last Prime Minister of Yugoslavia.
Marković, who was a Bosnian Croat, was born in Konjic, then a part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, presently in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He graduated from the Electrotechnical Department of the Technical Faculty of the University of Zagreb in 1954.
In 1986 he became president of the Presidency of Socialist Republic of Croatia (thus becoming 7th Croatian president) replacing Ema Derosi-Bjelajac. He held that position until 1988, when he was replaced by Ivo Latin.
He became prime minister in March 1989 following the resignation of Branko Mikulić. After that decision had become public, the U.S. had anticipated cooperation because Marković was known "to favor market-oriented reforms" - the BBC declared that he is "Washington's best ally in Yugoslavia". At the end of the year, Marković launched a new and ambitious program of unprecedented economic reforms, including stabilization of currency and privatization, as well as a program of limited trade liberalization. The result of his monetary reform was a halt to inflation, leading to a rise in Yugoslavia's standard of living. Nonetheless, the short-term effect of economic reforms undertaken by Marković led to a decline in Yugoslavia's industrial sector. Numerous bankruptcies occurred as the state-owned enterprises struggled to compete in a more free market environment, a fact later wielded against Marković by his many opponents. By 1990, the annual rate of growth in GDP had declined to -7.5%. In 1991, GDP declined by a further 15 percent and industrial output decreased by 21 percent.