The President of the Republic of Macedonia Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, with the address today at the commemorative session in the Parliament, extended his last words of respect and appreciation for the late first president of the independent Republic of Macedonia, Kiro Gligorov.

Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends,

Yesterday, we received, with great sorrow, the news of the death of the former President of the Republic of Macedonia, Kiro Gligorov. In these painful times of loss, I would like to extend my sincere condolences to the family of President Kiro Gligorov and to all citizens of the Republic of Macedonia. Throughout his life and career, he marked an extremely important period for our country.

Distinguished Guests,

When he was first time elected President of the Republic of Macedonia, Kiro Gligorov, concluded his inauguration speech in the Macedonian Parliament with the known historical maxim: “Macedonia is all we have”. With that thought, he conveyed the covenant of our ancestors. Indeed, today, when we depart from the man who is an inseparable part of ASNOM and of the independent Republic of Macedonia, we recollect what Macedonia meant for him and for us all.

Kiro Gligorov was born in Stip, on May 3, 1917. He finished primary school in 1928 and high school in 1936, while in July 1939 he graduated from the Law Faculty in Belgrade. After completing the studies, he worked for a short period of time as a trainee in a law office in Belgrade, and during the German occupation he returned to Skopje, where he worked as a lawyer. In the course of the World War II, he joined the National Liberation Struggle and worked closely with the revolutionary Kuzman Josifovski-Pitu.

In 1943 he became member of the Antifascist National Liberation Committee (ANOK), and then, in 1944, he became a Secretary of the ASNOM Initiation Board. At the first, historic session of ASNOM, the young lawyer Kiro Gligorov participated as a note taker and as an author of one of the political essays. Later, he was appointed as representative of Macedonia attending AVNOJ in Vis. With all this, Gligorov laid the cornerstones of the Macedonian statehood. Afterwards, on these cornerstones, almost half a century later, he got involved in building the sovereign, self-reliant and independent Republic of Macedonia.

However, in meantime, within Socialist Yugoslavia, Kiro Gligorov performed many very high and responsible state and party duties. Let us mention a few of them: from 1945 to 1947 he was Assistant to the Secretary General of the Government of the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia, Mitre Bakic. From 1947 to 1948 he worked in the Ministry of Finance of the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia, and from 1948 to 1952 as Minister of Finance. From 1952 to 1953 he was Assistant to the President of the Economic Council of the Government of the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia, Boris Kidric. In 1962 he was appointed as member of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia. From 1962 to 1967 he was Federal Secretary for Finance. In 1963, immediately after the disastrous earthquake in Skopje, he was in charge of rebuilding of Skopje. On two occasions, in 1969 and 1972, he was elected a member to the Presidency of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia. From 1971 to 1972, he was a member of the Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. From 1974 to 1978 he was a Chairman of the Federal Assembly of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In 1987 he retired and in 1989 he joined Ante Markovic’s reform team. 

Kiro Gligorov, as an official of former Yugoslavia, had a significant level of knowledge of the principles of solid, market economy and he even made a step forward by attempting to reform the economy. His calls for reform of the Yugoslav economy clearly indicate that economic reforms should be seen as a first step towards comprehensive political and social reforms. A due respect must be paid to Gligorov by indicating the fact that he advocated and practically worked towards democratization of former Yugoslavia. Moreover, he understood that economic rights and freedoms at enterprise level or at the level of a person-individual are impossible without political rights and freedoms and limitation of the role of the then omnipotent central state. The last political campaign in his life was a reminder of the reforms conducted in former Yugoslavia. I believe it was his attempt to send another message to Macedonia. Not trying to defend socialism but a message that we should learn from the lessons of the past, to see what problems we have faced in creating a solid economy, and what we have learned from it.
 

Nevertheless, it was soon proven that reforming a system with substantial contradictions was delayed. The joint state started to disintegrate, in some parts with blood, and here, in Macedonia, that process of gaining independence, fortunately, went peacefully. But, Macedonia faced with an array of challenges, the Greek embargo and the blockade of the Euro-Atlantic integration, the wars in the neighborhood and the ethnic turmoil at home, the traumas in the transformation of the state capital. Merits for the peaceful departure from the Yugoslav federation should be given exactly to Kiro Gligorov, who was an atypical leader in many ways.
 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In the decisive 1991, on January 25, the Macedonian Parliament elected Kiro Gligorov as the first President of the Republic of Macedonia, who granted the mandate to form the first expert government to Nikola Kljusev. Almost a year ago, we had the honor, together with Gligorov, to mark the 20th anniversary of his assumption of the office. And, today, he is no longer among us.
 

At the dawn of independence, calling upon the vivid and fresh memories of ASNOM, Kiro Gligorov said "we live in a time when the Macedonian people once again have to make vital decisions, not less important than those made in 1941 and 1944" and that the time has come for the establishment of Macedonia as a "modern parliamentary state with full respect for all human rights, open to the world and with an European option".
 

Being the first President of independent and sovereign Republic of Macedonia, he played the historical role to be the head of the state at the time when it was denied, blocked and ignored, however, he carefully and patiently paved the path towards international recognition of our country.
 

He was a man who successfully and wisely led the country in turbulent times. The head of territorially small country without its own army and weapons, without internationally recognized status, Gligorov perceived the danger of spillover of the Yugoslav crisis in Macedonia and managed to secure withdrawal of all Macedonian soldiers from the JNA. But he also reached an agreement for peaceful withdrawal of the JNA from the territory of Macedonia, the cost of it was that the JNA took all weapons. Later it turned out that thanks to this move, Kiro Gligorov prevented the plan of Samaras and Milosevic to destabilize Macedonia.
 

Then followed the historic referendum in which the vast majority of Macedonian citizens voted for an independent and sovereign Macedonia. Recently, at the Square Macedonia, we marked the 20th anniversary of the day when President Gligorov, Prime Minister Kljusev and other former leaders of Macedonia, on the same square congratulated the citizens the proclamation of the independent state.
 

Guided by the idea of being on our own, to be widely open to the world as a fully independent, equal and creative entity, Gligorov urged the international community to recognize Macedonia, noting that “official recognition will allow the state of Macedonia to establish, on the right and stable basis, relations with other countries”. Today, 133 countries have recognized our country under its constitutional name. Kiro Gligorov lived to see Macedonia as a stable and prosperous country, internationally recognized and acknowledged.

Great are his merits to the interests of the Republic of Macedonia and the Macedonian people. However, what we and the future generations will appreciate is certainly his role in gaining independence and establishing the Republic of Macedonia in the international community. Following lengthy delays due to the Greek objections to recognize Macedonia and its accession in international organizations, on April 7, 1993, on the day when the Republic of Macedonia was admitted to the World Organization as the 181 member state, Gligorov became the first Macedonian President who addressed the United Nations General Assembly who stated that “this act has crowned the centuries-old aspiration of the Macedonian people and its 130-year struggle for freedom and independent state”.

During his second term as President, Kiro Gligorov successfully and wisely led the country in turbulent times. Some also reached for his life. But he survived the Balkan swirls, the challenges and the assassination. Owing to the peaceful policy he led, he is respected both in the country and in the region.

Everything taken in consideration, Kiro Gligorov’s life was a history of the Macedonian state. In a single human life, being a collaborator of Satev and Vlahov, Panko Brashnarov and Cento, he witnessed ASNOM and the establishment of the independent republic 47 years later. At the age of 74 he stood at the head of the state. He was one of the protagonists of independence. Therefore, I would like to convey the following message to the members of the family of the former President: be proud of Kiro Gligorov, as the Macedonian nation is proud of him. Macedonian people have always known to celebrate and praise all those who deserve it.

Here’s to eternal glory!