Leader of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia

Leader of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia
Emblems of the LCY
Longest serving Josip Broz Tito 5 January 1939 – 4 May 1980
Seat	Ušće Towers, Belgrade (1965–91)
Appointer	Central Committee (1919–80) Presidency (1980–90)
Constituting instrument	Statute of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia
Formation	23 April 1919
First holder	Filip Filipović
Final holder	Miroslav Ivanović
Abolished	22 January 1991

The office of leader of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY) was first established on 23 April 1919 under the name "Political Secretary of the Central Committee". However, in reality, power in this period was shared in a collective leadership with the "Organisational Secretary of the Central Committee". When the office of political secretary changed its name in November 1936 to "General Secretary of the Central Committee", the position became more powerful. It kept that name until its abolishment on 4 October 1966, when it was replaced by the "President of the Central Committee". This office lasted until 4 May 1980, when Tito died and was replaced with the "President of the Presidency of the Central Committee". With several branches having already left the LCY, the remaining members of the Central Committee of the 13th Congress established the office of "Coordinator of the Presidency of the Central Committee" on 23 May 1990. Three days later, on 26 May, the 14th Congress rejourned and elected a provisional leadership, with the leader holding the office of "Chairman of the Committee for the Preparation of the Congress of Democratic and Programmatic Renewal of the Central Committee". The officeholder was for most of its existence the de facto leader of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.