Mira Markovic, the widow of former Yugoslav chairman Slobodan Milosevic, has died at the age of 76. Known as the “Lady Macbeth of the Balkans” she fled to Russia where she lived after the arrest of her husband in 2001 after Serbian justice began investigating corruption cases, as well as threats to political opponents of the couple.
Slobodan Milosevic’s close family friend, Milutin Mrkonjic, confirmed the death of Mira Markovich. that woman was known as the ‘power behind Milosevic’, she was a significant political figure during the collapse of the Socialistic Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. the collapse of that country had a great impact on the geopolitical balance in Europe.
Mira’s husband was arrested in 2001 and died unexpectedly in 2006 while being held at the UN war crimes tribunal in the Netherlands. According to the Tribunal, he had been charged with genocide and other war crimes for his key role in the 1990s wars that tore the Balkans apart. Mira was one of Slobodan’s most trusted and influential advisers who fled to Russia in 2003, the Serbian opposition parties called her “Red Witch” due to her political stance.
The close friend of the family said they were married for four decades and were almost inseparable until Milosevic’s extradition. Mira and Slobodan met as childhood sweethearts in Milosevic’s hometown Pozarevac and married in 1965.
In 2003, Mira Markovic fled Serbia, where she was charged with abuse of power and was suspected of cigarette smuggling and political assassination.
They had two children – daughter Marija and son Marko, who has lived in Russia with Markovic. Daughter Marija Milosevic was estranged from the family after her father’s death in 2006 and has been living in neighbouring Montenegro.
