Vidoe Smilevski

Vidoe Smilevski-Bato (; 14 August 1915 – 8 September 1979) was a Macedonian politician and partisan leader who served three times as the President of Macedonia, each time under a different title. He first led the country as President of the Presidency of the People's Assembly from 1950 to 1951, then as President of the People's Assembly from 1963 to 1967, and finally as President of the Presidency from 1974 until his death in 1979.

Early life Smilevski was born on 14 August 1915 in , Gostivar, Kingdom of Serbia. After World War I, his family moved to Belgrade, where he began working at a young age to help his family buy bread and to allow himself to attend school. As a youth, he wrote poetry and played football; he remained an avid football fan throughout his life. He attended primary school and secondary school in Belgrade and was a graduate of the Trade Academy. While being educated, Smilevski developed an interest in politics and possessed several books describing Marxism. He frequently studied Karl Marx's The Communist Manifesto and joined the communist movement in the early 1930s, when it was illegal in Yugoslavia. Starting in January 1943, he served as secretary of the municipal committee of the communist party in Leskovac District. In his last years, he also was a member of the Presidency of the Central Committee of the Macedonian Communist Party. A school in Macedonia was named after him, called the Secondary School Textile Center "Vidoe Smilevski Bato" (Средњошколски текстилни центар „Видое Смилевски Бато'). He was a recipient of the Order of the Hero of Socialist Labour and the Order of the People's Hero, in addition to several other honors.