| Minister of Defence of the Republic of North Macedonia | |
|---|---|
| Ministry of Defence of North Macedonia | |
| Member of | The Government |
| Reports to | Prime Minister of North Macedonia |
| Formation | 20 March 1991 |
| First holder | Risto Damjanovski |
Minister of Defence of the Republic of North Macedonia is a post (minister) to lead the Ministry of Defence of North Macedonia. Currently, the post is held by Vlado Misajlovski, since 2024. [1] He succeeded Slavjanka Petrovska who held the office from 2022 to 2024. [2]
The first Macedonian defence minister was Trajan Gocevski, who was in office in 1992. Vlado Popovski and Vlado Buchkovski were re-elected for the post that means they have served for two mandates each. The minister for the shortest amount of time was the first one, Trajan Gocevski, while for the longest period was Vlado Popovski.
A list of all Ministers of Defense of North Macedonia follows: [3]
| No. | Portrait | Minister (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Political Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| 1 | Risto Damjanovski (born 1937) | 20 March 1991 | 10 January 1992 | 296 days | Independent | |
| 2 | Trajan Gocevski (born 1950) | 10 January 1992 | 4 September 1992 | 238 days | SDSM | |
| 3 | Vlado Popovski (born 1941) | 4 September 1992 | 21 December 1994 | 2 years, 108 days | SDSM | |
| 4 | Blagoja Handzhiski (born 1948) | 21 December 1994 | 29 May 1997 | 2 years, 159 days | SDSM | |
| 5 | Lazar Kitanovski (1948–2011) | 29 May 1997 | 1 December 1998 | 1 year, 186 days | SDSM | |
| 6 | Nikola Kljusev (1927–2008) | 1 December 1998 | 28 July 2000 | 1 year, 240 days | VMRO-DPMNE | |
| 7 | Ljuben Paunovski (born 1958) | 28 July 2000 | 13 May 2001 | 289 days | VMRO-DPMNE | |
| 8 | Vlado Bučkovski (born 1962) | 13 May 2001 | 26 November 2001 | 197 days | SDSM | |
| (3) | Vlado Popovski (born 1941) | 26 November 2001 | 1 November 2002 | 340 days | Independent | |
| (8) | Vlado Bučkovski (born 1962) | 1 November 2002 | 17 December 2004 | 2 years, 46 days | SDSM | |
| 9 | Jovan Manasievski (born 1968) | 17 December 2004 | 26 August 2006 | 1 year, 252 days | LDP | |
| 10 | Lazar Elenovski (born 1971) | 26 August 2006 | 27 July 2008 | 1 year, 336 days | New Social Democratic | |
| 11 | Zoran Konjanovski (born 1967) | 27 July 2008 | 28 July 2011 | 3 years, 1 day | VMRO-DPMNE | |
| 12 | Fatmir Besimi (born 1975) | 28 July 2011 | 18 February 2013 | 1 year, 205 days | BDI | |
| 13 | Talat Xhaferi (born 1961) | 18 February 2013 | 19 June 2014 | 1 year, 121 days | BDI | |
| 14 | Zoran Jolevski (born 1959) | 19 June 2014 | 31 May 2017 | 2 years, 346 days | VMRO-DPMNE | |
| 15 | Radmila Šekerinska (born 1972) | 31 May 2017 | 17 January 2022 | 4 years, 231 days | SDSM | |
| 16 | Slavjanka Petrovska (born 1982) | 17 January 2022 | 24 June 2024 | 2 years, 159 days | SDSM | |
| 17 | Vlado Misajlovski (born 1985) | 24 June 2024 | Incumbent | 184 days | VMRO-DPMNE | |
The Army of the Republic of North Macedonia is the military of North Macedonia. The army is organized, prepared and trained to conduct armed struggle and combat and other actions to achieve its constitutional function of defending the independence and territorial integrity of North Macedonia. The army consists of the ground forces and the air force, which are further divided into branches and services. Being landlocked, it didn't have a navy. The army has a permanent composition and reserve forces. Since 2005, it is a fully professional defense force compatible with NATO standards. On 27 March 2020, North Macedonia joined NATO as the 30th member.
The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia is a social democratic political party, and the main centre-left party in North Macedonia. The party is pro-European.
The president of the Republic of North Macedonia is the head of state of North Macedonia.
Public holidays are observed in the Republic of North Macedonia for a number of reasons, including religious and national significance. They are generally accompanied by celebrations. The holidays are regulated by the 1998 Law on Holidays. If a national holiday happens to be observed on a Sunday, the next (working) day (Monday) will be non-working.
The Democratic Party of Serbs in Macedonia is a political party representing the interests of Serbs in North Macedonia as well as other political, social and economic issues.
The United Party of Roma in Macedonia is a political party in North Macedonia.
The Saints Cyril and Methodius University is a public research university in Skopje, North Macedonia. It is the oldest and largest public university in the country. It is named after the Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries Cyril and Methodius. As of 2018–19 school year, a total of 25,220 students are enrolled at the university. Furthermore, the teaching and research staff number 2,390 people; this is further supported by over 300 members in the university's institutions.
The prime minister of North Macedonia, officially the President of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, is the head of government of North Macedonia.
Skopje International Airport, also known as Skopje Airport and Petrovec Airport is the larger and busier of the two international airports in North Macedonia, with the other being the St. Paul the Apostle Airport in Ohrid, which is located 170 km (110 mi) southwest from the national capital Skopje. The airport was previously named Skopje Alexander the Great Airport.
Visitors to North Macedonia must obtain a visa from one of the North Macedonia diplomatic missions unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt countries.
The Museum of the Republic ofMacedonia, formerly and still unofficially known as the Museum of Macedonia, is a national institution in Macedonia and one of the oldest museums in the country. It is located in the Old Bazaar in Skopje, near the Skopje Fortress. The Museum of the Republic of Macedonia was created by joining three museums in one. The three museums that were unified were the archaeological, historical and ethnological museum, of which the archaeological museum was the oldest one; it was opened in 1924 and that date is considered as an establishing date of the national museum. During the existence of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, the museum was known as People's Museum of Macedonia.
The Military ranks of North Macedonia are the ranks used by the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia. The ranks are divided into four main groups, depending on the position and function: Generals, officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers. Being a landlocked country, North Macedonia does not have a navy.
Zoran Zaev is a Macedonian economist and politician who served as prime minister of North Macedonia from May 2017 to January 2020, and again from August 2020 to January 2022.
The Ministry of Defence of North Macedonia is a Macedonian agency which oversees the management of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia. The ministry mainly coordinates the defence policy of the country, corresponding with the President and the Prime Minister regularly. The MORM commands the ARM through the Chief of the General Staff (CGS).
Ivan Stoilković is a Macedonian politician serving as deputy prime minister of North Macedonia and minister of inter-community relations since 2024. An ethnic Serb, he has been the president of the Democratic Party of Serbs in Macedonia (DPSM) since 2001 and a member of the Assembly of North Macedonia from 2002 to 2024.
The 2021 North Macedonia census, officially known as the Census of Population, Households and Dwellings, 2021, was the third census held in North Macedonia since independence, and the first since 2002. The census recorded a resident population of 1,836,713, a decrease of 9.2 percent, or 185,834, over the preceding 19 years. The census was taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected its administration. It was also considered controversial by some Macedonian groups; the opposition party The Left openly led a boycott. 132,260 individuals did not participate in the census and are officially labelled as "persons for whom data are taken from administrative sources"; no ethnic, language, or religious information is available for these individuals. Nonetheless, the head of the State Statistical Office, Apostol Simovski, stated that the census was successful. The ruling government and the European Commission also welcomed the results.
Slavjanka Petrovska, is a Мacedonian politician who has been the Minister of Defense of North Macedonia from January 2022 – June 2024.
Macedonian Language Day is a working holiday in North Macedonia, observed annually on 5 May. On that day in 1945, the government of Yugoslav Macedonia adopted the Macedonian alphabet as the official script of the republic. Two months later, on 7 June, the Ministry of Education approved the first orthography and thus codified the Macedonian language.
