Yugoslavia's Last Prime Minister Markovic Dies, Aged 88

Ante Markovic in 2009

The last prime minister of the former Yugoslavia, Ante Markovic, has died at the age of 88.

Markovic, who was appointed in 1989, was the author of a program of economic reforms that raised the standard of living and halted inflation, but then quickly faltered.

His popularity waned with the coming to power of nationalist politicians Slobodan Milosevic and Franjo Tudjman in Serbia and Croatia.

Markovic resigned as prime minister in 1991, when Yugoslavia was already falling apart.

In 2003, he was called as a witness for the prosecution at Milosevic's war crimes trial at the UN tribunal in The Hague.

compiled from agency reports