Mirjana "Mira" Marković (, ; 10 July 1942 – 14 April 2019) was a Serbian politician, academic and the wife of Yugoslav and Serbian president Slobodan Milošević.
She was the leader of the far-left Yugoslav United Left (JUL) which governed in coalition with Milošević's Socialist Party of Serbia in the aftermath of the Bosnian War. She was reported to have huge influence over her husband and was increasingly seen as the power behind the throne. Among her opponents, she was known as The Red Witch and the Lady Macbeth of Belgrade.
Marković was accused of abuse of office, inciting several associates to allocate a state-owned apartment for her grandson’s nanny in September 2000. She was indicted in December 2002 and fled Belgrade on 23 February 2003. In June 2018, she was declared guilty in absentia by a court in Belgrade, and sentenced to a year's imprisonment, but the verdict was overturned on appeal in March 2019.
Marković lived under political asylum in Moscow, Russia, from February 2003 until her death in 2019.
Life
Early life
Marković was the daughter of Moma Marković and Vera Miletić, who were both fighting for the Yugoslav Partisans at the time of her birth. Her aunt was Davorjanka Paunović, private secretary and alleged mistress of Josip Broz Tito. Her mother Vera was captured by German troops and allegedly released sensitive information, under torture. She was then executed in the Banjica concentration camp by the Nazis.
Marković met Slobodan Milošević when they were in high school together. They married in 1965. As the leader of her own political party, Yugoslav United Left she held some political influence. She was believed, though not formally accused, of being involved in the murders of her husband's political rivals including the Serbian politician Ivan Stambolić, Milošević's former mentor, in 2000, and the journalist Slavko Ćuruvija the previous year.
Marković was the author of many books, which were translated and sold in Canada, Russia, China, and India.
Political views
Marković's political views tended to be hard-line Communist. Although she often claimed that she agreed with her husband on everything, Milošević seems to have had fewer authoritarian tendencies than Marković.
Marković reportedly had little respect for the Bosnian Serb leaders. Vojislav Šešelj appeared before a court on 18 June 1994 to face charges of breaking microphone cables in Parliament. He read a statement, saying, "Mr. Judge, all I can say in my defense is that Milošević is Serbia's biggest criminal." Marković replied by calling Šešelj a "primitive Turk who is afraid to fight like a man, and instead sits around insulting other people's wives." Radovan Karadžić was apparently unable to telephone Milošević because Marković would not tolerate his calls.
Commenting on her husband's arrest to face war crimes charges, Marković stated:
Asylum in Russia and death
Pursued by legal authorities, Marković settled in Russia in 2003.
After the 2012 elections, a government minister, Milutin Mrkonjić of the Socialist Party (which he co-founded with Milošević) said that Marković and her son were welcome to return. In June 2018, Marković was found guilty in absentia of real estate fraud charges, and sentenced to a year in prison. Her body was cremated and interred in Požarevac alongside her husband on 20 April 2019.
Books
- Night and Day: A Diary - Dragiša Nikolić, December 1995 - 978-8682005223
- Night & Day: A Diary - Quarry Press, May 1997 - 978-1550821680
- Answer - Quarry Press, March 1997 - 978-1550821697