The League of Communists of Macedonia was the ruling political party in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. After the introduction of political pluralism in 1990, the party renamed itself to League of Communists of Macedonia – Party for Democratic Change (Macedonian: Сојуз на комунистите на Македонија - Партија за демократска преобразба [СКМ-ПДП]; Sojuz na Komunistite na Makedonija – Partija za Demokratska Preobrazba, [SKM-PDP]) and was led by Petar Gošev, taking part in the first democratic elections in the same year. On its 11th Congress on 20 April 1991, the party was reformed, changing its socialist ideology to social democracy (similar to other former communist bloc countries), and refounding itself as the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia. There was a small minority which retained the old name and constituted itself as a distinct political entity. This organization was founded in 1992 under the name League of Communists of Macedonia - Freedom Movement.
History
During World War II, in 1941 and throughout 1942, the resistance against the Axis powers in Macedonia lagged behind than in other parts of Yugoslavia.[1] The situation began to change by the end of 1942 and after February 1943, when Tito's envoy Svetozar Vukmanović - Tempo arrived in Macedonia as a representative of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia's central committee and Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia (AVNOJ). The Supreme Headquarters of AVNOJ realized that securing mass participation of Macedonians would require it to "Macedonianize" the struggle's form and content, giving it a Macedonian facade. The Communist Party of Yugoslavia's plan was to have the party operate only in Vardar Macedonia and include only activists loyal to the Yugoslav agenda.[2]
The Communist Party of Macedonia (CPM) was created on 19 March 1943 by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia in Tetovo in the Italian-occupation zone (present-day North Macedonia), on the basis of the previous Regional Committee of Communists in Macedonia.[3] The first Central Committee consisted of Kuzman Josifovski Pitu, Bane Andreev, Cvetko Uzunovski, Strahil Gigov, Mara Naceva and Lazar Koliševski. Naceva and Koliševski were absent, as they were imprisoned in Bulgaria at the time. After 1944, the CPM became the main ruling party of the People's Republic of Macedonia. The party's first congress was held in 1948. The CPM was renamed to League of Communists of Macedonia (LCM) in April 1952.[3] The party was under the control of Macedonians, who dominated the membership. Under the direction of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (CPY), it regulated the new republic's relations with ethnic minorities and the inter-ethnic relations. In mid-1989, during the revolutions, LCM committed itself to introducing a multi-party system in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia.[4] It renamed itself to League of Communists of Macedonia – Party for Democratic Change.[5] The party took part in the first multi-party elections next year. In 1991, the party was succeeded by the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia.[3]
Gallery
Part of the delegates at the I Congress of the CPM, held on December 20, 1948, Skopje.
Part of the delegates at the II Congress of the CPM, held on May 29, 1954, Skopje.
Delegates at the III Congress of the CPM, held on June 22, 1959, Skopje.
1963 Skopje earthquake: The building of the Central Committee of the CPM
The official name of the office was changed in May 1982 from Secretary of the Central Committee to President of the Presidency of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Macedonia.
Bechev, Dimitar (2019). Historical Dictionary of North Macedonia (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN9781538119624.
Rossos, Andrew (2013). Macedonia and the Macedonians: A History. Hoover Press. ISBN9780817948832.
Daskalov, Roumen; Mishkova, Diana (2013). Entangled Histories of the Balkans - Volume Two: Transfers of Political Ideologies and Institutions. BRILL. ISBN9789004261914.
Poulton, Hugh (1995). Who are the Macedonians?. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. ISBN9781850652380.
Cook, Bernard A. (2001). Europe Since 1945: An Encyclopedia, Volume 2. Taylor & Francis. ISBN9780815340584.