Borisav Jovic Serbian politician Date of Birth: 19.10.1928 Country: Serbia

1. Early Life and Political Career
2. Presidency and Yugoslav Crisis
3. Post-Yugoslav Wars and International Court

Early Life and Political Career

Borisav Jović was a Serbian politician who played a significant role in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the late 1980s and early 1990s. A member of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, he became the representative of Serbia in the Presidency of Yugoslavia in March 1989.

Presidency and Yugoslav Crisis

On May 15, 1990, Jović became the President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia. He was closely aligned with Slobodan Milošević and assisted in his efforts to expand Serbian authority in the early 1990s. Jović became known for his opposition to the Brioni Agreement, which granted independence to Slovenia after a 10-day war.

As his presidential term drew to a close in May 1991, Jović initially delayed the scheduled transfer of the presidency to Croat Stipe Mesić, as mandated by the constitution. With the outbreak of the Croatian War, he advocated for the implementation of a state of emergency, which would have given the Yugoslav People's Army control over the secessionist Republic of Croatia and effectively thwarted independence. However, the plan failed to gain sufficient support, with only the sub-republics or provinces of Serbia, Montenegro, Vojvodina, and Kosovo approving it. Bosnia and Herzegovina's representative in the collective presidency, Bogić Bogićević, abstained from the vote. A majority of 5 out of 8 votes was required for collective presidency decisions.

Post-Yugoslav Wars and International Court

During the dissolution of the Yugoslav state, Jović served as President of Milošević's Socialist Party, which ruled Serbia from May 1991 to October 1992. After the conclusion of the Yugoslav Wars, Jović became a target of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. However, no charges were ever filed against him, as the prosecuting team under Carla Del Ponte prioritized focusing on key figures such as Milošević. Instead, Jović was called as a witness regarding Milošević's actions during the war.