Key Dates |
| 06/15/1389 | Battle of Kosovo (now celebrated June 28) |
| 1878 | Serbia and Montenegro gain their independence |
| 1912 | Balkan Wars begin |
| 1914 | WWI |
| 1917 | Corfu Agreement |
| 1929 | Alexander declares dictatorship |
| 1934 | Alexander assassinated |
| 1941 | Yugoslavia attacked by German troops |
| 1943 | Tito’s Partisans become leading resistance group |
| 1944 | Red Army enters Yugoslavia; Tito assumes power |
| 1945 | Federal Republic of Yugoslavia formed |
| 1946 | Yugoslavia ratifies First Constitution (creating the six republics and two autonomous provinces) |
| 1948 | Stalin expels Yugoslavia from Cominform |
| 1953 | Second Constitution enacted, codifying “Socialist Self-Management” |
| 1969 | Violence erupts in Kosovo and Macedonia |
| 1971 | Yugoslavia passes constitutional amendments making the country a loose federation making the republics semi-autonomous |
| 1980 | Tito dies, Yugoslavia begins rotating presidency |
| 1986 | Serbian Academy of Sciences publishes Memorandum detailing the supposed discrimination of Serbs in Kosovo |
| 1987 | Slobodan Milosevic rises to power of the Serbian Communist Party |
1990 |
Slovenia secedes from Yugoslavia |
| 1991 | Slovenia and Croatia declare independence, followed by a short war in Slovenia and the break-out of war in Croatia |
| Bosnia and Hercegovina secedes | |
| 1992 | War begins in Bosnia and Hercegovina over Bosnian Serbs’ attempts to divide the country and to join Yugoslavia; Belgrade encourages and supports Bosnian Serb secessionists |
| UN imposes sanctions on FRY | |
| 11/1995 | Milosevic negotiates on behalf of Republika Srpska signing Dayton Accords, which end the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 1996 | The opposition coalition Zajedno wins in local elections and after a series of mass protests Milosevic accepts the election results. Zoran Djindjic becomes mayor of Belgrade |
| 1997 | The ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party and Milosevic’s SPS become the two major factions in the Serbian parliament |
| 1998 | Open conflict erupts in Kosovo between the Kosovo Liberation Army and the Serb forces. Albanian population flees the area in thousands |
| 03/24/1999 | NATO bombing raids begin on Serbia after Milosevic rejects the Rambouillet proposal on Kosovo |
| 06/1999 | Milosevic agrees to resume negotiations on Kosovo and settlement is reached |
| 09/24/2000 | The presidential candidate of the opposition coalition, Vojislav Kostunica, wins the elections. Milosevic refuses to acknowledge the results |
| 10/5/2000 | After a series of mass rallies, Milosevic is deposed. Vojislav Kostunica proclaimed the president of Yugoslavia |
| 2001 | Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djidjic authorizes extradition of Milosevic to the Hague International Tribunal |
| 03/2003 | a loosely tied union of Serbia and Montenegro replaces the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Zoran Djidjic is assassinated |
| 12/2003 | The extreme nationalist party, SRS, wins the largest number of seats in the parliament. No party has a majority |
| 03/2004 | Vojislav Kostunica becomes Serbian prime minister having formed a coalition with the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS). Violence erupts in Kosovo forcing Serbs to flee the area |