Ante Markovic | Ex-Yugoslavia leader, 87

Ante Markovic, 87, who as the last prime minister of Yugoslavia tried to stave off the ethnic warfare that led to the disintegration of that nation, died Monday in Zagreb, the Croatian capital.

Mr. Markovic, a Croat born in what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina, was named prime minister in January 1989, two years before his formerly Communist country fell apart. Despite ancient ethnic rivalries, Yugoslavia had been held together during the 35-year regime of Marshal Josip Broz Tito, who died in 1980.

After Tito broke off relations with the Soviet Union in 1948, Yugoslavia evolved into perhaps the most open of the totalitarian Eastern European states. And with the Soviet Union faltering in the late 1980s, expectations arose that Yugoslavia might be the first Communist-bloc country to adopt democracy.

Mr. Markovic's predecessor, Branko Mikulic, made early attempts at liberalization, but resigned in December 1988 when the Yugoslav Parliament rejected his reforms. On Jan. 19, 1989, the collective presidency chose Mr. Markovic as prime minister.

Tensions rose as Slovenia and Croatia sought a loose confederation that would give them greater autonomy over their economies. Hoping to keep the country together, Mr. Markovic instituted sweeping economic programs that reduced unemployment and inflation. But his programs faltered. By January 1990, the Communist Party surrendered its monopoly on power, and the six republics seized local control. Soon after, he announced the central government would conduct multiparty national elections.

Croatia, Slovenia, and Macedonia soon declared independence. When Bosnia and Herzegovina did the same in December 1991, Mr. Markovic resigned, clearing the way for Serbia to control the central government.

- N.Y. Times News Service