SKOPJE, Macedonia, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Kiro Gligorov, who served as Macedonia's first democratically elected president, died in his sleep at his home in Skopje, his staff said. He was 94.
Eurasia Review reported his office said Gligorov died about 10 p.m. Sunday.
The Sophia Echo reported a private funeral, for family only, would be held Tuesday at the city cemetery.
Gligorov, who was born in Stip in what was then the kingdom of Serbia, served two terms as president, from 1991 to 1999, steering the country after it gained independence from the Yugoslav federation, the Echo said. When he left office he was 82 and the world's oldest serving head of state, the newspaper noted.
The Eurasia Review note Gligorov instituted a policy of maintaining an equal arm's length from neighboring Serbia, Albania, Bulgaria and Greece, and also took Macedonia into the United Nations.
The Review recounted that Gligorov was the target of a car bomb assassination attempt in Skopje in October 1995. His injuries included the loss of sight in one eye.
His attackers were never found.
Gligorov wrote several books and was the first recipient of The Order of the Republic of Macedonia in 2005, the Echo said. He fought with the Macedonian anti-fascist underground during World War II and held a law degree from the University of Belgrade, the Review said.
