Ambition and wealth: The family behind Milosevic

Mirjana and Slobodan Milosevic: Ideology and pragmatism

By Avril Stephens, CNN.com writer

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Behind President Slobodan Milosevic is an ambitious wife who has helped drive his career.

The pair carved themselves the autocratic power and lifestyle befitting any first couple as Milosevic rose steadily through the Communist Party, becoming president of Serbia and then Yugoslavia.

Mirjana, his childhood sweetheart, pushed him all the way. She was once quoted as saying: "Slobo's picture will one day hang like Tito's."

Like her husband, she had a troubled childhood. But while Milosevic was a pragmatist, she became a fanatical communist.

She wrote in her book Answer: "Ideology has never been for my husband what it has been for me."

Mirjana's mother, Vera Miletic, was a partisan during World War II, who died after allegedly giving information about her communist colleagues under torture by the Nazis.

Her father Momo, another partisan, rose to the highest echelons of power in Communist Yugoslavia. But after re-marrying he refused to officially recognise his daughter until she was 16.

She then played on the family connection while studying sociology at Nis state university, and later as professor of sociology at the University of Belgrade.

It is Mirjana who is widely credited with persuading Milosevic to abandon communism in 1987 after a political rally in Kosovo.

The decision set Milosevic on a course that would see war in the Balkans and federal Yugoslavia being reduced in size as Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia declared independence.

The pair, who used to kiss passionately in public whenever they were re-united after trips away, also formed a powerful political alliance after she launched her own political party, the hardline Communist Yugoslav United Left, in 1993.

Laura Silber, co-author of the book Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation, wrote in a New Republic article in 1999: "Mira's role behind the scenes was as crucial as Milosevic's performance."

She ran for a seat in the parliamentary elections on September 24 and was photographed with her husband casting their votes.

Their two children, though not taking an active part in Serb politics, have tapped into their parents' power and wealth. Both have embarked upon entrepreneurial careers, amassing great personal fortunes.

The son Marko owns several pizzerias, a duty-free chain, the Madona disco, advertised as the biggest in the Balkans, and Serbia's first so-called Disneyland complete with golf course.

He has a playboy reputation with a passion for fast cars -- wrecking more than 20 -- and bleached blond hair in homage to his Formula 1 hero Jacques Villeneuve.

He has a posse of bodyguards but once complained: "I've been isolated since I was 13. All my life I have been the subject of gossip.

"Every girl that was with me, I suspected it was not for love. From time to time someone wants to kill me."

He is now believed to spend most of his time in Greece where he has a collection of speedboats.

Milosevic's daughter Mira has made her fortune from controlling imports and exports across Yugoslavia's borders.

She has spent time in Yugoslavia's Tokyo embassy and embarked on a career in journalism. Silber quoted Mira as having said: "I have carried a gun for years. It looks good on me."