Ǵorǵija 'George' Atanasoski or Gjorgjija Atanasoski ( mk, Ѓорѓија 'Џорџ' Атанасоски) (born February 18, 1952 in Marul,

Prilep Municipality Prilep ( mk, Прилеп ) is a municipality in the south of North Macedonia. ''Prilep'' is also the name of the city where the municipal seat is found. It is located in the Pelagonia Statistical Region. Geography The municipality borders Ča� ...

, SFR Yugoslavia, today

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

) is a Macedonian businessman and politician. He is the founder of MAK AM International Corporation and Microflex Inc., and president of Makedonska Alijansa, a Macedonian political party.

Career

Gjorgjija Atanasoski left

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

in 1970 for

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, United States. Atanasoski started his career as an engineer working for

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

. After being five years in the United States, Atanasoski in 1975 founded Microflex Inc. with his brother Josif, an international corporation manufacturing flexible metal products based in

Ormond Beach Ormond Beach is a city in central Florida in Volusia County. The population was 43,080 at the 2020 census. Ormond Beach lies directly north of Daytona Beach and is a principal city of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach, FL Metropolitan ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and supplying a wide range of industries, with customers including

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

. In 1996, Atanasoski co-founded and became president of MAK AM International Corporation, an international trading company mostly concerned with importing and exporting to and from Macedonia.

Key achievements and awards

* Founder of Microflex Inc., (1975) * member and later secretary of the Macedonian Society of New York (1974–1980) * elected for President of the World Macedonian Congress of North America, (1992) * Founder of the first Macedonian international weekly magazine Makedonsko Sonce (''Macedonian Sun''), (1994) * former candidate for the

President of the Republic of Macedonia The President of the Republic of North Macedonia ( mk, Претседател на Република Северна Македонија; sq, Presidenti i Republikës së Maqedonisë së Veriut) is the head of state of North Macedonia. The off ...

, (1994) * Founder and president of MAK AM International Corporation, (1996) * Founder and president of the political party Makedonska Alijansa (''Macedonian Alliance''), (1996) *

Ellis Island Medal of Honor The Ellis Island Medal of Honor is an American award founded by the Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) (formerly known as the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO)), which is presented annually to American citizens, both native-born ...

, (2004)

Political and activist career

In 1974, Atansoski became secretary of the Macedonian Society of New York, a Macedonian ex-patriate organization promoting Macedonian culture, history and causes in the USA. He has sponsored many Macedonian cultural events and societies, and lobbies for Macedonian human rights to the

US Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

and many other bodies. In May 1992 he founded the

World Macedonian Congress The World Macedonian Congress (shortened as WMC or SMK; '' mk, Светски македонски конгрес; Svetski makedonski kongres'') is a self-declared "non-formal parliament of the ethnic Macedonians". It presents itself as an organ ...

, consider itself as an organization fighting and demanding for more human rights to ethnic Macedonians on an international level, but is seen as an

ultranationalist Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its sp ...

organization by independent researchers and media. Atanasoski is the president of the North American chapter of the MWC, one of the most influential chapters. His work with the MWC ranges from sponsoring historical studies of Macedonia to co-ordinating humanitarian relief efforts. On June 24, 1994, Atanasoski founded Makedonsko Sonce, a weekly Macedonian international newspaper, the first non-government-controlled newspaper in Macedonian, open to contributions from all citizens. In 1994 Atanasoski stood as a candidate for

President of Macedonia The President of the Republic of North Macedonia ( mk, Претседател на Република Северна Македонија; sq, Presidenti i Republikës së Maqedonisë së Veriut) is the head of state of North Macedonia. The off ...

, on a ticket of democratic and free market principles, and the de-corruption and legalisation of the state, as well as the enhancement of the economic and social development of Macedonia. Since 1996, Atanasoski has been the president of the Makedonska Alijansa (Macedonian Alliance) political party. On May 14, 2005, Atanasoski has been rewarded with the

References

External links

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atanasoski, George 1952 births Living people People from Prilep Municipality New York University people Yugoslav emigrants to the United States Macedonian businesspeople People from Ormond Beach, Florida American people of Macedonian descent