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President of North Macedonia

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President of the Republic of North Macedonia
Претседател на Република Северна Македонија (Macedonian)
Presidenti i Republikës së Maqedonisë së Veriut (Albanian)
Presidential coat of arms
since 12 May 2024
StatusHead of State
ResidenceVilla Vodno[1]
AppointerDirect election
Term lengthFive years
renewable once
Constituting instrumentConstitution of North Macedonia
Formation16 April 1991
First holderKiro Gligorov
Salary17,250 USD annually[2]
Websitepretsedatel.mk
Politics of North Macedonia
Constitution
Executive
Legislature
Elections
Administrative divisions
Foreign relations
flag North Macedonia portal

The president of the Republic of North Macedonia (Macedonian: Претседател на Република Северна Македонија, romanized: Pretsedatel na Republika Severna Makedonija; Albanian: Presidenti i Republikës së Maqedonisë së Veriut)[note 1] is the head of state of North Macedonia.

The office was first established a few months before the declaration of independence on 8 September 1991. The first president was Kiro Gligorov, the oldest Macedonian political official,[3] until his resignation in 1999. Although largely a ceremonial position, with most of the legislative power being vested in the prime minister and the Assembly, the president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the first body for performing foreign affairs.[4][5]

Presidential rights and obligations are determined by the Constitution and laws. The president must be a citizen of North Macedonia, be over 40 years of age and have lived in North Macedonia for at least ten of the previous fifteen years before election.[6]

Electoral system

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The president of North Macedonia is elected using a modified two-round system; a candidate can only be elected in the first round of voting if they receive the equivalent of over 50% of the vote from all registered voters.[7] In the second round, voter turnout must be at least 40% for the result to be deemed valid.[8]

Before 2009, the constitution required a 50% turnout in the second round. The XXXI amendment to the constitution, voted on 9 January 2009 by all 86 present deputies, lowered it to the current 40%,[9] as the government feared the tendency of ever lower election turnout would make presidential elections frequently invalidated. In the 2009 Macedonian presidential election that followed, the turnout in the second round ended up being 42.6%.[10]

History

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During the period of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, there was a collective presidency which was abolished in 1991. Its first president was Metodija Andonov Čento, elected at the first plenary session of ASNOM, when the modern state was formed, while the last one was Vladimir Mitkov.[11]

Following the transition from socialist system to parliamentary democracy in 1990, the Socialist Republic of Macedonia changed the collective leadership with a single-president post in 1991, few months before independence. Kiro Gligorov became the first president of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia on 27 January 1991.[12] On 16 April 1991 the parliament adopted a constitutional amendment removing the term "Socialist" from the official name of the country, and on 7 June of the same year, the new name Republic of Macedonia was officially established.[13] Hence Gligorov continued his function as President of the Republic of Macedonia.

After the process of dissolution of Yugoslavia began, the Republic of Macedonia proclaimed full independence following a referendum held on 8 September 1991. Kiro Gligorov was incapacitated after an assassination attempt in 1995. Stojan Andov served as acting president for 98 days during Gligorov's recovery. On completing his second term as head of the independent state, Gligorov was succeeded by Boris Trajkovski in 1999. Following Trajkovski's death in 2004, he was succeeded by Branko Crvenkovski. Gjorge Ivanov won the 2009 presidential election and took office on 12 May 2009. He was re-elected in 2014.

The position initially had some considerable powers, as Macedonia functioned within the framework of a de facto semi-presidential republic. The president had control over the military and was the primary actor when it came to setting the foreign policy agenda. As such, both Gligorov and Trajkovski were the primary representatives of the fledgling republic abroad. The 2001 Ohrid Agreement, brokered by President Trajkovski in an effort to reduce interethnic tensions in the country, led to the adoption of constitutional amendments on November 16, 2001, which, in addition to granting representational rights to the Albanian-speaking minority, also stripped the president of any executive authority he previously had.[14] President Trajkovski respected this arrangement for the remainder of his term, with authority over foreign policy passing first to Prime Minister Ljupco Georgievski and then to Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski.

After Trajkovski's tragic death in 2004, Crvenkovski was elected as the next president, and it was widely expected that he would remain in de facto control of the government.[15] Owing to his popularity in the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, Crvenkovski maintained some level of control over foreign affairs during the premiership of Hari Kostov, but with the election of Vlado Buckovski, the new leader of the Social Democratic Union, as prime minister, Crvenkovski largely refrained from interfering with the government and limited his activities to ceremonial matters. While Crvenkovski was opposed to Nikola Gruevski after the latter's election as prime minister, there was little that he could have done, as by that time the presidency had very little authority.

In 2009, Crvenkovski was replaced as president by Gjorge Ivanov, an ally of Gruevski. After Greuvski resigned in 2016, an interim government led by Emil Dimitriev was inaugurated, but President Gjorge Ivanov largely took de facto lead over governance and halted judicial inquiries into Gruevski administration officials implicated in the wiretapping scandal. This caused massive protests, including calls for Ivanov's impeachment.

With the inauguration of Zoran Zaev executive authority returned to the government. In 2019, Ivanov was succeeded by Zaev ally Stevo Pendarovski as president. In 2020, Zaev briefly resigned as prime minister and was replaced by Oliver Spasovski. During Spasovski's interim premiership, President Pendarovski came to the fore as the country's leader, most notably in first declaring and then ending the country's State of Emergency in the fight against COVID-19. Pendarovski largely gave up his increased executive authority when Zaev returned as prime minister at the end of the year. In 2022, Zaev was replaced as prime minister by Dimitar Kovacevski. Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova is the incumbent president and she took office on 12 May 2024.[16]

List of presidents

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Socialist Republic of Macedonia

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Main article: Socialist Republic of Macedonia
Parties

  KPM/SKM   Independent

Status
  Acting President
No. Portrait Name
(Birth-Death) 		Term of office Political party
President of Initiatory Committee for the Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia
(ASNOM)
1943–1944
1 Metodija Andonov-Čento
(1902–1957)		 1 October 1943 2 August 1944 KPM
Chairman of the Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia
(ASNOM)
1944–1945
Metodija Andonov-Čento
(1902–1957)		 2 August 1944 1 January 1945 KPM
Presidents of the Presidium of the People's Assembly
1945–1953
Metodija Andonov-Čento
(1902–1957)		 1 January 1945 15 March 1946 KPM
— Dimitar Nestorov
{(1890–1968)		 16 March 1946 30 December 1946 KPM
2 Blagoja Fotev
(1900–1993)		 1947 4 January 1951 KPM
— Vidoe Smilevski
(1915–1979)		 4 January 1951 1953 KPM
Presidents of the People's Assembly
1953–1974
3 Dimče Stojanov
(1910–1991)		 1953 19 December 1953 SKM
4 Lazar Koliševski
(1914–2000)		 19 December 1953 26 June 1962 SKM
5 Ljupčo Arsov
(1910–1986)		 26 June 1962 24 June 1963 SKM
6 Vidoe Smilevski
(1915–1979)		 25 June 1963 12 May 1967 SKM
7 Mito Hadživasilev
(1921–1968)		 12 May 1967 1 August 1968 SKM
8 Nikola Minčev
(1915–1997)		 23 December 1968 6 May 1974 SKM
Presidents of the Presidency
1974–1991
9 Vidoe Smilevski
(1915–1979)		 6 May 1974 31 October 1979 SKM
10 Ljupčo Arsov
(1910–1986)		 31 October 1979 29 April 1982 SKM
11 Angel Čemerski
(1923–2005)		 29 April 1982 29 April 1983 SKM
12 Blagoja Taleski
(1924–2001)		 29 April 1983 29 April 1984 SKM
13 Tome Bukleski
(1921–2018)		 29 April 1984 26 April 1985 SKM
14 Vančo Apostolski
(1925–2008)		 26 April 1985 28 April 1986 SKM
— Mateja Matevski
(1929–2018)		 28 April 1986 30 April 1986 SKM
15 Dragoljub Stavrev
(1932–2003)		 30 April 1986 May 1988 SKM
16 Jezdimir Bogdanski
(1930–2007)		 May 1988 28 April 1990 SKM
17 Vladimir Mitkov
(1931-2024)		 28 April 1990 27 January 1991 SKM
18 Kiro Gligorov
(1917–2012)		 27 January 1991 18 September 1991 Independent

Republic of Macedonia / North Macedonia

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Main article: North Macedonia
Parties

  LPM   DA   VMRO-DPMNE   SDSM   Independent

Status
  Acting president
No. Portrait Name
(Birth-Death) 		Term of office Political party Election
Took office Left office Time in office
1
Kiro Gligorov
Kiro Gligorov
(1917–2012)		18 September 19914 October 19954 years, 16 daysSDSM1994
–
Stojan Andov
Stojan Andov
(1935–2024)
Acting		4 October 199510 January 1996[17][18]98 daysLPM—
(1)
Kiro Gligorov
Kiro Gligorov
(1917–2012)		10 January 199619 November 19993 years, 313 daysSDSM–
–
Savo Klimovski
Savo Klimovski
(born 1947)
Acting		19 November 199915 December 1999[19]26 daysDA—
2
Boris Trajkovski
Boris Trajkovski
(1956–2004)		15 December 199926 February 2004[19] †4 years, 73 daysVMRO-DPMNE1999
–
Ljupčo Jordanovski
Ljupčo Jordanovski
(1953–2010)
Acting		26 February 200412 May 2004[19]76 daysSDSM—
3
Branko Crvenkovski
Branko Crvenkovski
(born 1962)		12 May 200412 May 2009[19]5 yearsSDSM2004
4
Gjorge Ivanov
Gjorge Ivanov
(born 1960)		12 May 200912 May 2019[19]10 yearsVMRO-DPMNE2009
2014
5
Stevo Pendarovski
Stevo Pendarovski
(born 1963)		12 May 201912 May 20245 yearsSDSM2019
6
Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova
Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova
(born 1953)		12 May 2024Incumbent177 daysVMRO-DPMNE2024

Timeline

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Gordana Siljanovska-DavkovaStevo PendarovskiGjorge IvanovBranko CrvenkovskiLjupčo JordanovskiBoris TrajkovskiSavo KlimovskiStojan AndovKiro GligorovVladimir MitkovJezdimir BogdanskiDragoljub StavrevMateja MatevskiVančo ApostolskiTome BukleskiBlagoja TaleskiAngel ČemerskiNikola MinčevMito HadživasilevLjupčo ArsovLazar KoliševskiDimče StojanovVidoe SmilevskiBlagoja FotevDimitar NestorovMetodija Andonov-Čento

Latest election

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Main article: 2024 North Macedonian presidential election
First Round
Second Round
Turnout by round and municipality
CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Gordana Siljanovska-DavkovaVMRO-DPMNE363,08541.21561,00069.01
Stevo PendarovskiSocial Democratic Union of Macedonia180,49920.49251,89930.99
Bujar OsmaniDemocratic Union for Integration120,81113.71
Maksim DimitrievskiFor Our Macedonia83,8559.52
Arben TaravariAlliance for Albanians83,3379.46
Biljana Vankovska [mk]Independent[a]41,3314.69
Stevčo JakimovskiCitizen Option for Macedonia8,1210.92
Total881,039100.00812,899100.00
Valid votes881,03997.29812,89994.39
Invalid/blank votes24,5602.7148,2895.61
Total votes905,599100.00861,188100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,814,31749.911,814,31747.47
Source: State Election Commission Round 1, State Election Commission Round 2

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ In Macedonian, the feminine form of the position is Претседателка на Република Северна Македонија, while in Albanian it is Presidentја е Republikës së Maqedonisë së Veriut.

References

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  1. ^ "www.dnevnik.com.mk". Archived from the original on 28 September 2011.
  2. ^ "Infographic: What are the Monthly Salaries of Presidents in the Region". Sarajevo Times. 25 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Eleven years since the death of President Kiro Gligorov". Sloboden Pečat. January 2023. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023.
  4. ^ "Macedonian President Urges Boycott Of Name Referendum". Radio Free Europe. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Stevo Pendarovski wins North Macedonia's presidential election". Al Jazeera. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  6. ^ Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia, Article 80.
  7. ^ Polls Open in Macedonia Presidential Elections Balkan Insight, 13 April 2014
  8. ^ AMENDMENT XXXI Constitution of North Macedonia
  9. ^ "The Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia". www.sobranie.mk.
  10. ^ Anna Fruhstorfer; Michael Hein (12 October 2016). Constitutional Politics in Central and Eastern Europe: From Post-Socialist Transition to the Reform of Political Systems. Springer. pp. 325–. ISBN 978-3-658-13762-5.
  11. ^ "Prof. Dr. Vladimir Mitkov - Faculty of Law, University of Skopje". Archived from the original on 30 June 2012.
  12. ^ Kiro Gligorov was elected as a President on 27 January 1991, when the Socialist Republic of Macedonia was still an official name of the state. After the change of the state's name, he continued his function as a President of the Republic of Macedonia The Official Site of The President of the Republic of Macedonia Archived 2009-04-30 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ "On This Day" - Macedonian Information Agency - MIA Archived 2008-01-25 at the Wayback Machine, see: 1991 (in Macedonian)
  14. ^ Keil, S.; Stahl, B. (17 December 2014). The Foreign Policies of Post-Yugoslav States: From Yugoslavia to Europe. ISBN 9781137384133.
  15. ^ "Profile: Branko Crvenkovski". 4 May 2004.
  16. ^ "North Macedonia's First Female President Sworn In, Declines To Use 'North'". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 12 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  17. ^ "ДОСИЕ Киро Глигоров: државник кој преживеа атентат, љубовна афера и замина како голем човек!". Faktor.mk (in Macedonian). 3 October 2014. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023.
  18. ^ "Кој сакал да го киднапира штотуку родениот внук на Андов". Nova Makedonija (in Macedonian). 7 December 2012.
  19. ^ a b c d e Dimitar Bechev (2019). Historical Dictionary of North Macedonia (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 334. ISBN 9781538119624.
  1. ^ Endorsed by The Left
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