The Serbian President, Mr Slobodan Milosevic, becomes the President of Federal Yugoslavia today. However, his election makes little difference to a nation he has virtually run on his own terms for the past seven years. As President of Serbia since December 1990, Mr Milosevic has been the unchallenged ruler in rump Yugoslavia throughout the conflicts that tore apart the former communist federation.
It marks another milestone for the man whose strident nationalism contributed to the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, and is believed widely to have given vital support to separatist Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia.
Mr Milosevic (55) was elected President unopposed on July 15th for a four-year term, replacing Mr Zoran Lilic. He turned his attention to the federal post because he was near the end of the maximum two terms that the Serbian constitution allows its President. Federal Yugoslavia now comprises Serbia, the dominant partner with around 10 million people, and Montenegro, with a population of 600,000. The republics are supposed to be largely autonomous under the federal cloak.
Mr Milosevic was President of Serbia, Mr Momir Bulatovic was his counterpart in Montenegro, and Mr Lilic was, in theory, the paramount leader. In reality, it was Mr Milosevic who met foreign dignitaries, negotiated peace treaties - notably on behalf of the Bosnian Serbs at Dayton - and controlled the media and police.
He has come under serious threat only once, when the government cancelled local election wins by the opposition. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in protest. However, since then his opposition has torn itself apart by factional fighting.
According to the constitution, Mr Milosevic has to step down as head of the republic when he takes up his new post. A new President has to be elected in 60 days, but no matter who that is, analysts say the role is likely to be severely limited by Mr Milosevic.
He could try to change the constitution, although he would need the help of Montenegro for that, and his political allies there are in disarray; or he can relatively easily transfer certain functions attributed belonging to the Serbian presidency to the federal post.
Mr Milosevic is also president of the Serbian Socialist Party, the dominant force in Serbian politics. The Yugoslav United Left is headed by his wife, Mirjana, a teacher of Marxist sociology who has often been regarded as the driving force of the couple.
One cloud on the horizon is the disastrous state of the economy, blighted by five years of UN sanctions, now suspended, imposed over rump Yugoslavia's role in the Bosnian conflict. - (AFP)