League of Communists of Macedonia

The League of Communists of Macedonia (Сојуз на комунистите на Македонија (СКМ); Sojuz na komunistite na Makedonija, SKM) was the Macedonian branch of the ruling League of Communists of Yugoslavia during the period 1943 – 1990. It was formed on the basis of the Regional Committee of Communists in Macedonia under the name Communist Party of Macedonia (Комунистичка партија на Македонија (КПМ); Komunistička partija na Makedonija, KPM) during the antifascist National Liberation War of Macedonia in World War II. It retained that name until April 1952.

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 (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. 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.

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. 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. 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. It renamed itself to League of Communists of Macedonia – Party for Democratic Transformation. 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.

Party leaders
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.
 * 1) Lazar Koliševski (September 1944 – July 1963)
 * 2) Krste Crvenkovski (July 1963 – March 1969)
 * 3) Angel Čemerski (March 1969 – May 1982)
 * 4) Krste Markovski (May 1982 –  5 May 1984)
 * 5) Milan Pančevski (5 May 1984 – June 1986)
 * 6) Jakov Lazaroski (June 1986 – 1989)
 * 7) Petar Gošev (1989 – 20 April 1991)