Slobodan Milosevic

Milosevic delivered a speech at the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo, invoking Serbian nationalism and victimhood. The speech is widely seen as a catalyst for the rise of ethnic nationalism that led to the breakup of Yugoslavia.

Milosevic pushed through constitutional changes that revoked the autonomous status of Kosovo and Vojvodina, concentrating power in Serbia. This move inflamed Albanian nationalism in Kosovo and was a key step toward the Yugoslav Wars.

Milosevic's Serbia provided military and financial support to Bosnian Serb forces led by Radovan Karadzic. The war resulted in the Siege of Sarajevo, ethnic cleansing, and the Srebrenica massacre, with over 100,000 killed.

Milosevic represented the Bosnian Serbs at the Dayton peace talks, where he agreed to end the Bosnian War. The agreement created a decentralized Bosnian state but left many issues unresolved, and Milosevic was criticized for conceding too much.

NATO launched a 78-day bombing campaign against Yugoslavia to stop Milosevic's crackdown on Kosovo Albanians. The bombing forced Milosevic to withdraw from Kosovo, but caused significant civilian casualties and infrastructure damage.

Milosevic was arrested in Serbia and extradited to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. He was charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide for his role in the Yugoslav Wars.