| Dragiša Pavlović | |
|---|---|
| Драгиша Павловић | |
 Pavlović at the 8th session in September 1987 | |
| Chairman of the City Committee of the League of Communists of Belgrade | |
| In office 23 April 1986 – 24 September 1987 | |
| Preceded by | Slobodan Milošević |
| Succeeded by |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1943-10-05)5 October 1943 Kragujevac, Nazi-occupied Serbia |
| Died | 9 September 1996(1996-09-09) (aged 52) Belgrade, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia |
| Political party | League of Communists of Yugoslavia (until 1988) |
| Alma mater | |
| Nickname | Buca |
Dragiša "Buca" Pavlović (Serbian Cyrillic: Драгиша "Буца" Павловић; 5 October 1943 – 9 September 1996) was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician. He played the key role in opposition to Slobodan Milošević and his rise to power. Pavlović was the Chairman of the City Committee of the League of Communists of Belgrade from 23 April 1986 until his dismissal at the 8th session on 24 September 1987.
Early life and career
Dragiša Pavlović was born on 5 October 1943 in Kragujevac, Nazi-occupied Serbia. His mother was a schoolteacher. During his youth, he performed arts and earned the nickname "Buca". He initially studied at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Kragujevac, before moving to the Faculty of Economics where he earned his master’s degree in 1979. He received his doctorate in 1982 at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Belgrade.
He started his career at a repair company Kompresor, and then worked in the Institute for Planning Systems. He was briefly the director of the newspaper publishing company Svetlost. Pavlović began his academic career at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Kragujevac, where he worked as a part-time lecturer on the "Socio-Economic System of SFRY" course. He also worked at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences of the University of Belgrade from 1973 to 1975, and again from 1979 to 1981.
Political career
After moving from Kragujevac to Belgrade in the early 1980s, Pavlović entered politics and befriended Ivan Stambolić.
The overall situation in Kosovo, which does not improve with the necessary, desirable, or lightly promised speed, creates a dangerous atmosphere in which it seems where every word spoken against Serbian nationalism is perceived as nationalism. Incendiary words bring nothing but fire.
— Dragiša Pavlović,
This was seen as a critique of Milošević and party politics. Milošević denounced Pavlović as being soft on Albanian radicals, contrary to advice from President Ivan Stambolić. On 23–24 September 1987, at the subsequent eighth session of the Central Committee, one that lasted more than 20 hours, and was broadcast live on the state television, Milošević had Pavlović deposed, to the utter embarrassment of Ivan Stambolić; Stambolić was dismissed in December 1987. His dismissal marked the rise of Slobodan Milošević.
Pavlović was a social democrat, and anti-nationalist.
Later life and final years
Pavlović retired from politics after the 8th session and was kicked out of SKJ in 1988. He then opened a car rental business named Hermes.
Pavlović died on 9 September 1996, aged 52. His funeral was attended by only a few relatives and close friends, among them being Stambolić.
Legacy
Milan Milošević, a Vreme journalist, wrote that Pavlović was "a victim of an attempt to forcibly change the broken system" (žrtva pokušaja da se sistem koji se slomio promeni iznutra) and was one of the first to "warn the danger of the fire that was ignited in those days" (upozorio na opasnost od požara koji je tih dana raspaljen) on Kosovo. He also opined that Pavlović was essentially cold-bloodedly purged at the 8th session.
Pavlović was a co-author and author of four books in total. His last book, Lightly Promised Speed, is about the 8th session.
Works
- Integracija i tehnologija: prostori i granice [Integration and Technology: Spaces and Boundaries] (in Serbian). 1981. OCLC 40986856.
- Ko radnike povezuje lažnim koncima [Who Connects the Workers With False Strings] (in Serbian). Belgrade: BIGZ. 1984. OCLC 13661873.
- Pitanjem na odgovore [By Questioning the Answers] (in Serbian). Belgrade: BIGZ. 1986. ISBN 9788613000761.
- Olako obećana brzina [Lightly Promised Speed] (in Serbian). Zagreb: Globus. 1988. ISBN 9788634304862.
References
Footnotes
- ^ Mihovilović 2003.
- Nikolić 2006, p. 118.
- Stevanović 2010.
- ^ Milošević 1996.
- Hall 2003.
- Kurspahić 2003, p. 38.
- ^ LeBor 2003, p. 94.
- Grdešić 2019, p. 35.
Bibliography
- Kurspahić, Kemal (2003). Prime Time Crime: Balkan Media in War and Peace. Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press. ISBN 978-1-929223-39-8.
- LeBor, Adam (2003). Milosevic: A Biography. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0-7475-6181-1.
- Nikolić, Kosta (2006). "Kako je Slobodan Milošević izabran za vođu srpskih komunista (II)" [How did Slobodan Milošević get elected as the leader of Serbian Communists (II)]. Istorija 20. veka (in Serbian) (2). ISSN 0352-3160.
- Grdešić, Marko (2019). The Shape of Populism: Serbia Before the Dissolution of Yugoslavia. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-12519-7.
News sources
- Mihovilović, Maroje (2 April 2003). "Milošević's Greatest Betrayal: How Milošević Killed His Best Friend". Nacional. Archived from the original on 10 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
- Hall, Richard Andrew (28 May 2003). "East European Perspectives: May 28, 2003". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- Stevanović, Vidosav (18 August 2010). "Svedočanstva o sramnom vremenu" [Shameful Time Testimonies]. Vreme (in Serbian). Retrieved 22 August 2024.
- Milošević, Milan (12 September 2018). "1987 – Trenutak istine Dragiše Pavlovića" [1987 – Dragiša Pavlović's Moment of Truth]. Vreme (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- Milošević, Milan (14 September 1996). "Dragiša Pavlović (1943–1996)". Vreme (in Serbian). No. 308. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
