The Socialist Republic of Macedonia (), or SR Macedonia, commonly referred to as Socialist Macedonia, Yugoslav Macedonia or simply Macedonia, was one of the six constituent republics of the post-World War II

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

, and a

nation state A nation state, or nation-state, is a political entity in which the State (polity), state (a centralized political organization ruling over a population within a territory) and the nation (a community based on a common identity) are (broadly ...

of the Macedonians. After the transition of the

political system In political science, a political system means the form of Political organisation, political organization that can be observed, recognised or otherwise declared by a society or state (polity), state. It defines the process for making official gov ...

parliamentary democracy A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of the legisl ...

in 1990, the Republic changed its official name to

Republic of Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

in 1991,''On This Day'' – Macedonian Information Agency – MIA
, see: 1991 and with the beginning of the

breakup of Yugoslavia After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, the constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia split apart in the early 1990s. Unresolved issues from the breakup caused a series of inter-ethnic Yugoslav ...

, it declared itself an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

and held a referendum on 8 September 1991 on which a sovereign and independent state of Macedonia, with a right to enter into any alliance with sovereign states of Yugoslavia was approved. Geographically, SR Macedonia bordered

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

to the west,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

to the south and

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

to the east. Within Yugoslavia, it bordered

SR Serbia The Socialist Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Социјалистичка Република Србија, Socijalistička Republika Srbija), previously known as the People's Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / " ...

(including

SAP Kosovo The Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Socijalistička Autonomna Pokrajina Kosovo, Социјалистичка Аутономна Покрајина Косово, separator=" / "; ; . Also abbreviated as SAP Kosovo. referre ...

) to the north. It was one of the two landlocked federal republics, along with SR Serbia.

Background

The first Macedonian state was formally proclaimed under the name Democratic Federal Macedonia () at the First Plenary Session of the Anti-Fascist Assembly for the People's Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM) during World War II. It was set up clandestinely on 2 August 1944 in the Bulgarian occupation zone in Yugoslavia (in the

Prohor Pčinjski Monastery The Monastery of Venerable Prohor of Pčinja (), commonly known as Prohor Pčinjski () is an 11th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery in the deep south in Serbia, located in the village of Klenike, south of Vranje, near the border with North Mac ...

, now 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 ...

). This date is now celebrated in North Macedonia as the

Republic Day Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics. List January 1 January in Slovak Republic The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially calle ...

. It was chosen intentionally, as it was the date of the

Ilinden Uprising Ilinden ( Bulgarian/ Macedonian: Илинден) or Ilindan ( Serbian Cyrillic: Илиндан), meaning " Saint Elijah's Day", may refer to: Events * Republic Day (North Macedonia) Republic Day () or Ilinden () is a national holiday in North ...

against Ottoman rule in 1903. However, after the Bulgarian Army retreated from the region under Soviet pressure, on 8 September, right-wing

Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; ; ), was a secret revolutionary society founded in the Ottoman territories in Europe, that operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1893 in Salonica, it initia ...

nationalists declared a pro-German Macedonian puppet-state. In early October, under the leadership of the new Bulgarian pro-Soviet government, the Bulgarian Army re-entered Yugoslavia to block the German forces in their withdrawal from Greece. In Macedonia the Bulgarians fought side-by-side with the fighters of the People's Liberation Army of Macedonia.''War and revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: occupation and collaboration'', Jozo Tomasevich, Stanford University Press, 2001,
p. 168

Vardar Banovina The Vardar Banovina, or Vardar Banate ( Macedonian and ; ), was a province ( banate) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. History It was located in the southernmost part of the country, encompassing the whole of today's North Mace ...

was ''de facto'' liberated from the Germans and their collaborationists in late November 1944, so the ASNOM became operational in December, shortly after the German retreat. Nevertheless, in December anti-communist Albanian nationalists in Western Macedonia tried to remain in control of the region after the Yugoslav Partisans announced victory. They aimed to resist incorporation of the area into communist Yugoslavia and it was only in early 1945 that the Yugoslav Partisans were able to establish their control over the mountainous area. The nature of the new Yugoslav state remained unclear immediately after the war. Yugoslavia was envisioned by the Partisans as a "Democratic Federation", including six federal states.Ramet, Sabrina P.; ''The Three Yugoslavias: State-building and Legitimation, 1918–2005''; Indiana University Press, 2006 When Tito's nomination as Prime Minister was accepted on 29 November 1945, the

was declared, with its constitution coming into force in 1946. As a result, Macedonia changed its name to the People's Republic of Macedonia and was incorporated as a

constituent republic Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

in the Yugoslav

Federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

. People with various degrees of allegedly being pro-Bulgarian orientation (in the most cases they were pro-Independence and anti-Yugoslav patriotic Macedonians) were purged from their positions, then isolated, arrested and imprisoned on fabricated charges. In many cases they were executed en masse, such as during the Bloody Christmas of 1945. The number of victims remains unclear, Bulgarian academic sources claim 1,200 people were allegedly killed. Revisionist historian Zoran Todorovski estimated the number of victims during the era as 50,000, including those killed, imprisoned, deported, subject to forced labor, torture, etc. The national

Macedonian language Macedonian ( ; , , ) is an Eastern South Slavic language. It is part of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is one of the Slavic languages, which are part of a larger Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch. Sp ...

was codified in 1945 and the first publishing house "Prosvetno Delo" was established on 16 April 1945. The state was formed on the territory of

, a part of the wider geographical region of Macedonia, which was divided between several countries. Some Macedonian politicians from the Republic advocated the idea of a

United Macedonia United Macedonia (), or Greater Macedonia (), is an irredentist concept among ethnic Macedonian nationalists that aims to unify the transnational region of Macedonia in Southeastern Europe (which they claim as their homeland and which they asser ...

, which would include

Aegean Macedonia Aegean Macedonia ('';'' ) is a term describing the region of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia in Northern Greece. It is currently mainly used in the North Macedonia, Republic of North Macedonia, including in the Irredentism, irredentist context of a ...

and

Pirin Macedonia Pirin Macedonia or Bulgarian Macedonia () (''Pirinska Makedoniya or Bulgarska Makedoniya''), which today is in southwestern Bulgaria, is the third-biggest part of the geographical region of Macedonia. This part coincides with the borders of Blag ...

. The idea was somewhat supported by the federal Yugoslav authorities on some occasions, or repressed, depending on the regional and international political situation. Some people were against the federation and demanded greater independence from the federal authorities, leading to their persecution. One of the notable victims of these purges was the first

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Metodija Andonov-Čento Metodija Andonov-Čento (; ; 17 August 1902 – 24 July 1957) was a Macedonians (ethnic group), Macedonian revolutionary, Macedonian Partisans, partisan, statesman, the first president of the Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of M ...

. To wipe out the remnants of Bulgarophile sentiments, the Yugoslavian communists started a process of Macedonization and

nation-building Nation-building is constructing or structuring a national identity using the power of the state. Nation-building aims at the unification of the people within the state so that it remains politically stable and viable. According to Harris Mylonas, ...

Constitution

Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, 1974 – Official Gazette
The Socialist Republic of Macedonia, which was defined as a

nation-state A nation state, or nation-state, is a political entity in which the state (a centralized political organization ruling over a population within a territory) and the nation (a community based on a common identity) are (broadly or ideally) con ...

of the Macedonians and also a state of its

ethnic minorities The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...

, had some powers normally associated with an

independent state Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of a ...

. The Constitution also recognized the right of

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

and

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

. The borders of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia could only be changed by decision of the republic's parliament. Its inhabitants held both Yugoslav citizenship and an internal Macedonian citizenship for state business. The Socialist Republic of Macedonia had its own

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

official language An official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, establishmen ...

, state symbols,

Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts () is an academic institution in North Macedonia. History The Academy of Sciences and Arts was established by the Socialist Republic of Macedonia's assembly on 23 February 1967 as the highest scientifi ...

, ''Secretariat of Internal Affairs'' (

Interior ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

), ''Bureau for Foreign Relations'' (

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

) and other state prerogatives. Also, the Socialist Republic of Macedonia had its own Territorial Defence armed forces ( Macedonian: Територијална одбрана, Teritorijalna odbrana).

System

The Socialist Republic of Macedonia was a

one-party A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...

communist state A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

, the ruling political party being the

League of Communists of Macedonia The League of Communists of Macedonia (; ''Sojuz na komunistite na Makedonija'', SKM) was the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, Macedonian branch of the ruling League of Communists of Yugoslavia during the period 1943 – 1990. It was formed on the ...

(in Macedonian: ''Сојуз на Комунистите на Македонија, Sojuz na Komunistite na Makedonija'',

abbreviation An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening (linguistics), shortening, contraction (grammar), contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened for ...

: ''СКМ, SKM''). Being a constituent state of Yugoslavia, a leading founder of the

Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 121 countries that Non-belligerent, are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It was founded with the view to advancing interests of developing countries in the context of Cold W ...

, SR Macedonia pursued a neutral foreign policy and maintained a more liberal communist system compared to other communist states. The ruling

ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...

was based on

Titoism Titoism is a Types of socialism, socialist political philosophy most closely associated with Josip Broz Tito and refers to the ideology and policies of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY) during the Cold War. It is characterized by a br ...

and

Workers' self-management Workers' self-management, also referred to as labor management and organizational self-management, is a form of organizational management based on self-directed work processes on the part of an organization's workforce. Self-managed economy, ...

(Macedonian: самоуправување, samoupravuvanje).

Minorities

While the Macedonians were the majority and were one of the constituent nations of SFR Yugoslavia (official term: ''narod'') the rights of the

(official term: ''narodnosti'') were guaranteed by the Constitution. The official language of SR Macedonia was Macedonian, however Macedonian Albanians and Macedonian Turks had the right to use their own languages within the school system and the media.Spasov, Ljudmil; Arizankovska, Lidija. ''Hierarhizacija jezikov v Republiki Makedoniji in Republiki Sloveniji glede na jezikovno politiko Evropske unije''
(161. – 169.)
u: Vidovič-Muha, Ada. (ur.) ''Slovenski knjižni jezik – aktualna vprašanja in zgodovinske izkušnje : ob 450-letnici izida prve slovenske knjige'', Zbirka »Obdobja – metode in zvrsti« (vol. 20, ), Center za slovenščino kot drugi/tuji jezik pri Oddelku za slovenistiko Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani, Ljubljana, 2003.,
str. 163., 164.
The constitution of the SR Macedonia defined the state as the national state of the ethnic Macedonians, but also as the state of Albanians and Turks. From the start of Yugoslav rule in Macedonia, accusations surfaced that the new authorities were involved in retribution against people who did not support the formation of the new Macedonian national identity. The number of victims due to organized killings of

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

is unclear. Bulgarian sources claim that thousands of people were killed after 1944 and that more than 100,000 people were put in prison under the " Law for the Protection of Macedonian National Honor". In SR Macedonia the ''Bulgarophobia'' increased to the level of State ideology.

Religion

Although the ruling communists discouraged religion,

religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...

was allowed to a certain extent. The authorities allowed the existence of the

Macedonian Orthodox Church The Macedonian Orthodox Church – Archdiocese of Ohrid (MOC-AO; ), or simply the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MOC) or the Archdiocese of Ohrid (AO), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in North Macedonia. The Macedonian Orthodox Church ...

, which proclaimed

autocephaly Autocephaly (; ) is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. The status has been compared with t ...

in 1967. In 1972 the construction of the largest orthodox church '' St. Clement of Ohrid'' in the capital of Skopje began.

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

and other religious communities also could maintain their own organisations and

places of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is so ...

Geography

The Socialist Republic of Macedonia was the 4th largest constituent country of SFR Yugoslavia both by area and population. Within Yugoslavia, it had an internal border with the

Socialist Republic of Serbia The Socialist Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Социјалистичка Република Србија, Socijalistička Republika Srbija), previously known as the People's Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / " ...

to the north and its subunit the

Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo The Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Socijalistička Autonomna Pokrajina Kosovo, Социјалистичка Аутономна Покрајина Косово, separator=" / "; ; . Also abbreviated as SAP Kosovo. referre ...

to the northwest, and had international borders with the

People's Socialist Republic of Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania, () was the Marxist-Leninist state that existed in Albania from 10 January 1946 to the 29 April 1991. Originally founded as the People's Republic of Albania from 1946 to 1976, it was governed by the P ...

to the west,

to the south, and the

People's Republic of Bulgaria The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; , NRB; ) was the official name of Bulgaria when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; ) together with its coalition partner, the Bulgarian Agraria ...

to the east.

History

Transition

In 1990 the

form of government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a m ...

peacefully changed from

socialist state A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. This article is about states that refer to themselves as socialist states, and not specifically ...

. The first pluralist elections were held on 11 November the same year. The once ruling communist party took a reformist direction and renamed itself ''League of Communists of Macedonia – Party for Democratic Change'' led by Petar Gošev. After the head of the last communist presidency Vladimir Mitkov resigned, Kiro Gligorov became the first democratically elected president of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia on 31 January 1991. On 16 April, parliament adopted a

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment (or constitutional alteration) is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly alt ...

removing "

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

" from the official name of the entity, and on 7 June the new name Republic of Macedonia was officially established. After the process of

dissolution of Yugoslavia After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, the constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia split apart in the early 1990s. Unresolved issues from the breakup caused a series of inter-ethnic Yugoslav ...

began, the Republic of Macedonia issued a Sovereignty Declaration on 25 January 1991Sovereignty Declaration – Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia
/ref> and later proclaimed itself a fully independent country, following a referendum held on 8 September 1991. The

Republic of North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

is the legal successor to the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. It was known as the Republic of Macedonia until February 2019 when it underwent an official name change following the

Prespa agreement Prespa (, , ) is a region shared between North Macedonia, Greece and Albania. It shares the same name with the two Prespa lakes which are situated in the middle of the region. The largest town is Resen in North Macedonia with 9,000 inhabitan ...

with Greece in June 2018 which resolved a long-standing naming dispute.

Heads of institutions

Presidents of ASNOM

Lazar Koliševski Lazar Koliševski ( ; 12 February 1914 – 6 July 2000) was a Macedonians (ethnic group), Macedonian Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav Communism, communist political leader in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia and briefly in th ...

Presidents of Presidency of Parliament

* Vidoe Smilevski

Presidents of Parliament

* Dimče-Mire Stojanov *

* Ljupčo Arsov * Vidoe Smilevski * Mito Hadživasilev * Nikola Minčev

Presidents of Presidency

* Vidoe Smilevski * Ljupčo Arsov * Angel Čemerski * Blagoja Talevski * Tome Bukleski * Vančo Apostolski * Dragoljub Stavrev * Jezdimir Bogdanski * Vladimir Mitkov

Prime Ministers

(1945–1953) * Ljupčo Arsov (1953–1961) *

Aleksandar Grličkov Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are A ...

(1961–1965) * Nikola Minčev (1965–1968) * Ksente Bogoev (1968–1974) * Blagoja Popov (1974–1982) * Dragoljub Stavrev (1982–1986) * Gligorije Gogovski (1986–1991)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Socialist Republic Of Macedonia * Modern history of Macedonia (region) * Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

1940s establishments in Yugoslavia 1990s disestablishments in the Republic of Macedonia 1944 establishments in Yugoslavia 1991 disestablishments in Yugoslavia