Kiro Gligorov (born 1917) became the first president of the Republic of Macedonia in January 1991. He led the newly established state to international recognition, independence, and sovereignty.

Kiro Gligorov was born on May 3, 1917, in the city of Shtip (Stip), in the Republic of Macedonia, a part of Yugoslavia. He came from a family that was actively involved in the struggle for the national liberation of Macedonia from the Ottoman Turks. Most historians agree that until the beginning of the 20th century a majority of the Slav population of Macedonia considered themselves Bulgarians. However, after the establishment of an independent Bulgarian state and changes in the social and political conditions in the Balkans, a Macedonian national consciousness and separatism developed rapidly. This process was enhanced by the ideology and tactics adopted by the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, which, founded in 1893, fought for "Macedonia for the Macedonians" and the creation of...