Branko Crvenkovski

Branko Crvenkovski Бранко Црвенковски
President of the Republic of Macedonia
In office 12 May 2004 – 12 May 2009
Prime Minister	Hari Kostov Vlado Bučkovski Nikola Gruevski
Preceded by	Boris Trajkovski
Succeeded by	Ǵorge Ivanov
Prime Minister of Macedonia
In office 17 August 1992 – 30 November 1998
President	Kiro Gligorov Stojan Andov Kiro Gligorov
Preceded by	Nikola Kljusev
Succeeded by	Ljubco Georgievski
In office 1 November 2002 – 12 May 2004
President	Boris Trajkovski Ljupco Jordanovski
Preceded by	Ljubco Georgievski
Succeeded by	Radmila Šekerinska
Personal details
Born	12 October 1962 (1962-10-12) Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Political party	Social Democratic Union
Spouse(s)	Jasna Crvenkovska
Alma mater	Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje
Religion	Macedonian Orthodoxy

Branko Crvenkovski (Macedonian: Бранко Црвенковски [ˈbraŋkɔ tsr̩ˈvɛŋkɔfski] ( listen); born 12 October 1962) leads the Republic of Macedonia's largest opposition party, the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia. He was Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2002 to 2004, then President of the Republic of Macedonia from 2004 to 2009.

Crvenkovski was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, then part of SFR Yugoslavia.

In 1986 he obtained a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Automation from the School of Electrical Engineering at the St. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje.

He was elected member of the Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia at the first multi-party elections in Yugoslavia in 1990 after serving for several years as head of department at the Semos company in Skopje. A former communist, Crvenkovski has been at the head of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia since April 1991.

On 5 September 1992 he became Macedonia's second prime minister after its secession from Yugoslavia and continued in the post for another four years following the December 1994 elections.

He served as Prime Minister from 1992 to 1998 and from 2002 until 2004. He was most recently elected in 2002 after his Social Democratic Union of Macedonia party won parliamentary elections.

In July 1996 he ordered that Albanian flags in front of government buildings in western part of the Republic of Macedonia be removed. The situation escalated with one person dead and many injured. In 2005, on his initiative, the Albanian flag was legalized.

He won the April 2004 presidential election against Sashko Kedev, and took office on May 12, 2004. He then resigned as prime minister.

Crvenkovski did not run for a second term in the presidential elections in March 2009. Instead, he returned to his party and was elected to be the head of the party on 24 May 2009.

Branko Crvenkovski is an Honorary Member of Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.

Honours and awards

• Albania: Received a copy of the key of the city of Tirana on the occasion of his state visit to Albania.

External links

• Official site of the President of the Republic of Macedonia

Political offices
Preceded by Nikola Kljusev	Prime Minister of Macedonia 1992–1998	Succeeded by Ljubco Georgievski
Preceded by Ljubco Georgievski	Prime Minister of Macedonia 2002–2004	Succeeded by Radmila Šekerinska Acting
Preceded by Boris Trajkovski	President of Macedonia 2004–2009	Succeeded by Gjorge Ivanov