League of Communists of Serbia
The League of Communists of Serbia, known as the Communist Party of Serbia until 1952, was the ruling political party of Serbia from 1945 to 1990. It was the Serbian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. The two autonomous provinces within Serbia had their own branches of the federal party: the League of Communists of Kosovo and the League of Communists of Vojvodina.
The republic-level branches of Kosovo and Vojvodina were associated with the League of Communists of Serbia as its "integral parts". Under the 1974 Yugoslav Constitution, greater power was devolved to these republic-level branches. Following the 8th Session of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Serbia in 1987, the party was taken over by the populist faction led by Slobodan Milošević. Milošević appeased nationalists in Serbia by promising to reduce the level of autonomy within the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina. This policy increased ethnic tensions with the other republics and nationalities and led to the Yugoslav Wars. During the early 1990s, the growing ethnic tensions between the republics of Yugoslavia led to the break-up of the federal party.
On 17 July 1990, it merged with several smaller parties to form the Socialist Party of Serbia.
Party leaders
- Blagoje Nešković
- Petar Stambolić
- Jovan Veselinov
- Dobrivoje Radosavljević
- Petar Stambolić
- Marko Nikezić
- Tihomir Vlaškalić
- Dušan Čkrebić
- Ivan Stambolić
- Slobodan Milošević
- Bogdan Trifunović
Congresses
- I. Congress – 8–12 May 1945
- II. Congress – 17–21 January 1949
- III. Congress – 26–29 April 1954
- IV. Congress – 4–6 June 1959
- V. Congress – 11–14 May 1965
- VI. Congress – 21–23 November 1968
- VII. Congress – 23–25 April 1974
- VIII. Congress – 29–31 May 1978
- IX. Congress – 1982
- X. Congress – 29–31 May 1986
- XI. Congress – December 1989
- XII. Congress – July 1990