Đorđe Stojšić ( sr-cyr, Ђорђе Стојшић; 28 May 1928 – 7 August 2014) was a politician in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

and a prominent political figure in the

Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina The Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina was one of two autonomous provinces within the Socialist Republic of Serbia, in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The province is the direct predecessor to the modern-day Serbia ...

Early life and wartime activities

Stojšić was born in Jarak, a village in

Sremska Mitrovica Sremska Mitrovica (; sr-Cyrl, Сремска Митровица, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Serbia. It is situated on the left bank of the Sava, Sava river. , the city has a total population of 36,764 inhabitants, while its adminis ...

in what was then Syrmia Oblast in the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

. In July 1943, at age fifteen, he joined the Fourth Military District Brigade of the 16th Vojvodina Division of the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...

and fought against German

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

occupation forces and their allies during the Axis occupation of Serbia.

Political career

Stojšić was the president of the

Assembly of Vojvodina The Assembly of Vojvodina ( sr-cyrl, Скупштина Војводине, Skupština Vojvodine), officially known as the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (; ; ; ; Pannonian Rusyn: Скупштина Автономней Покр� ...

from 1982 to 1983 and subsequently served as President of the Presidency of the League of Communists of Vojvodina from 1985 to 1988. By virtue of holding the latter position, he automatically served on the

Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia The Central Committee was the highest organ of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY), the ruling party of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, between two congresses, which it was elected by and reported to. An exception to this ...

and the Central Committee of the

League of Communists of Serbia The League of Communists of Serbia (, abbr. SKS), known as the Communist Party of Serbia (, abbr. KPS) until 1952, was the Ruling party, ruling List of political parties in Serbia, political party of Socialist Republic of Serbia, Serbia from 19 ...

. He was also a delegate in the

National Assembly of Serbia The National Assembly ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Народна скупштина, Narodna skupština, ), fully the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia (), is the unicameral legislature of Serbia. The assembly is composed of 250 deputies who are ...

and a member of its agriculture committee, and was involved in the political life of Sremska Mitrovica for more than forty years, serving for a time as president of its municipal assembly. Stojšić was an opponent of

Serbian nationalism Serbian nationalism asserts that Serbs are a nation and promotes the cultural and political unity of Serbs. It is an ethnic nationalism, originally arising in the context of the general rise of nationalism in the Balkans under Ottoman rule, ...

. His political career came to an end due to a conflict with

Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Милошевић, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the President of Serbia between 1989 and 1997 and President of the Federal Republic of Yugos ...

in 1988, at a time when Milošević was secretary of the League of Communists of Serbia and still consolidating his control over the political institutions of Serbia and

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. When Milošević threatened to remove the autonomous status of Vojvodina and

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

, Stojšić responded by urging Milošević's removal from office. He was quoted as saying, "if he isn't stopped ... who knows which way we would be heading and where it would all lead us." He also said, "At first I did not take Milošević or his unrealistic personal ambitions seriously ..But now I see that his mistakes could have disastrous effects." He added that Milošević had used undemocratic means to remove his enemies from the Central Committee of the Serbian party and that a climate of fear had descended over the body. Stojšić resigned from office on 6 October 1988 amidst the backdrop of the "Yoghurt Revolution," a supposed anti-bureaucratic revolution in Vojvodina orchestrated by Milošević and his supporters. Milošević's allies subsequently took over the leadership of the Vojvodina party. Stojšić was a consistent opponent of Milošević's policies in the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

of the 1990s. He died on 7 August 2014, at the age of 86.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stojsic, Djordje 1928 births 2014 deaths People from Sremska Mitrovica Members of the National Assembly (Serbia) Members of the Assembly of Vojvodina League of Communists of Serbia politicians Vojvodina autonomists Ex officio members of the Presidency of the 13th Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia Members of the Central Committee of the 11th Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia Members of the Central Committee of the 12th Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia Members of the Central Committee of the 13th Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia

Early life and wartime activities

Political career

See also

References