Josip Broz Tito

Tito, Josip Broz (1892–1980), president of former Yugoslavia (1953–80), founder of the post-World War II republic. He became a Communist while a World War I prisoner of war in Russia, and later spent several years in Yugoslav jails. General secretary of the Communist Party from 1937, Tito organized partisan resistance to the Nazis in World War II, eclipsing the Chetniks, and after the war established a Socialist republic. He served as prime minister (1945–53) before becoming president. Tito broke with Joseph Stalin in 1948. He suppressed home opposition but worked for workers' self-management and the reconciliation of national minorities. Later years saw a substantial liberalization of his policies. On the international scene, Tito became an organizer and leading representative for Third World or neutralist countries.

See also: Yugoslavia.