Timeline: The Former Yugoslavia

file:///Users/saumitre/other/read/articles/yugoslavic_disintegrati...

Timeline: The Former Yugoslavia

From World War I to the splintering of the country
by Borgna Brunner and David Johnson

1918

1945

1980

1995

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2006

1918

As an outcome of World War I, the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes is formed. Croatia,
Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina had been part of the fallen Austro-Hungarian empire; Serbia and
Montenegro existed as an independent state (Macedonia was then part of Serbia).

1929

The monarchy's name is changed to Yugoslavia.

1945

After World War II, the monarchy becomes a communist republic under Prime Minister Tito, now called the
Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. It was composed of six republics: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Macedonia, Slovenia, and Montenegro, as well as two provinces, Kosovo and Vojvodina.

1980

Tito's tight rein on Yugoslavia keeps ethnic tensions in check until his death in 1980. Without his
pan-Slavic influence, ethnic and nationalist differences begin to flare.

June
Slovenia and Croatia each declare independence. With 90% of its population ethnic Slovenians, Slovenia
is able to break away with only a brief period of fighting. Because 12% of Croatia's population is Serbian,
however, rump Yugoslavia fights hard against its secession for the next four years. As Croatia moves
towards independence, it evicts most of its Serbian population.

1991

1992

January
Macedonia declares independence.
April
Bosnia and Herzegovina declares independence. The most ethnically diverse of the Yugoslav republics,
Bosnia is 43% Muslim, 31% Serbian, and 17% Croatian (according to the 1991 Yugoslavian census).
Ethnic tensions strain to the breaking point, and Bosnia erupts into war. Thousands die and more than a
million are displaced. By the time a tenuous peace is achieved in 1995, the country has been partitioned
into three areas, with each region governed by one of the three ethnic groups. Each enclave is now made
up of roughly 90% of its own ethnic group.
April
Serbia and Montenegro form the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, with Slobodan Milosevic as its leader.
This new government, however, is not recognized by the United States as the successor state to the
former Yugoslavia.

1995

November
Bosnia, Serbia, and Croatia sign the Dayton Peace Accord to end the war in Bosnia.
In the southern Yugoslavian province of Kosovo, the militant Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) begins
attacking Serbian policeman.

1996

1998

1999

2000

1 of 3

March
Milosevic sends troops to Kosovo to quash unrest in the province. A guerrilla war breaks out.

March
After peace talks fail, NATO carries through on its threat to launch airstrikes on Serbian targets.

January
In the face of trade sanctions from the U.S. and other nations, the Serbian economy continues to
deteriorate and dissent spreads. Montenegro discusses separating from Serbia.
September
Opposition leader Vojislav Kostunica wins elections held Sept. 24. Milosevic refuses to release the
complete results, demanding a runoff election.
October
A popular uprising begins. A general strike is called and one million people flood Belgrade. Mobs attack

9/11/15, 11:37 AM

Timeline: The Former Yugoslavia

file:///Users/saumitre/other/read/articles/yugoslavic_disintegrati...

Parliament building, security forces join them or retreat. Milosevic support crumbles, he steps down.
Kostunica takes office. U.S., European Union begin to lift economic sanctions, offer aid.

April
Milosevic is arrested by Yugoslavian authorities and charged with corruption and abuse of power.

June
2001

Milosevic is turned over to the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in
The Hague.
September
The UN Security Council lifts its arms embargo against Yugoslavia, abolishing the last remaining sanction
by the international community.

2002

February
Slobodan Milosevic begin his trial at the UN International Criminal Tribunal on charges of war crimes and
crimes against humanity in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo, as well as for committing genocide in Bosnia. He
is the first head of state to face an international war-crimes court.

2003

February
The nation agrees to form a new state, replacing Yugoslavia with a loose federation called Serbia and
Montenegro. The new arrangement was made to placate Montenegro's restive stirrings for independence,
and allows for a referendum on independence to occur in three years' time.

2003

March 12
The prime minister of Serbia, Zoran Djindjic, a reformer who helped bring about the fall of Slobodan
Milosevic, is assassinated. A period of deep national mourning follows. Extreme nationalists, organized
crime, and Serbia's own police and security services were implicated.

2003

December 28
Parliamentary elections saw a resurgence of ultra-nationalists. Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist party
received 7% of the vote, and the Radical party, whose leader, like Milosevic, is an indicted war criminal
jailed in the Hague, received 27% of the vote.

2004

March 17
Mitrovica, in Kosovo, experiences the worst ethnic violence in the regions since the 1999 war. At least 22
people are killed, and another 500 are injured. NATO sends in an extra 1,000 troops to restore order. The
violence began after Serbs claimed a Serb teenager was the victim of a drive-by shooting and ethnic
Albanians blamed Serbs for the drowning of several Albanian children.
May

2006

In May, Montenegro held a referendum on independence, which narrowly passed. On June 4 the federal
president of Serbia and Montenegro, Svetozar Marovic, announced the dissolution of his office, and the
following day Serbia acknowledged the end of the union. The EU and the United States recognized
Montenegro on June 12, and it became the 192nd member of the UN on June 26.

Top of Yugoslavia Timeline

More Timelines
Information Please Database, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Did you know? In 2000, Toyota Camry was the top selling passenger car in the United States.

2 of 3

9/11/15, 11:37 AM

Timeline: The Former Yugoslavia

file:///Users/saumitre/other/read/articles/yugoslavic_disintegrati...

RSS | About Infoplease, Part of Family Education Network | Contact | Link to Us | Advertise with Infoplease | Terms of Use | Privacy
Part of Family Education Network | Homework Help | Reference Site | K-8 Kids | Poptropica | Parenting Advice | Teacher Resources | Online Gradebook
20002009 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease

3 of 3

9/11/15, 11:37 AM