Karadzic, Radovan

Karadzic, Radovan (b. 19 June 1945). Bosnian Serb leader 1991–6 One of the main aggressors in the Bosnian Civil War (1992–5), he was born at Petnica (Montenegro), and moved to Sarajevo in 1960. He studied medicine and became a psychiatrist. The breakup of Yugoslavia propelled him into politics. Despite his Montenegrine heritage, he became accepted as leader of the Serb minority in Bosnia through his fiery and radical rhetoric. He founded the Serbian Democratic Party in 1990, and on 24 October 1991 became President of the self-proclaimed Serb Republic of Bosnia-Hercegovina. With his capital in Banja Luka, a suburb of Sarajevo, throughout the Civil War he claimed most of Sarajevo, as well as around 70 per cent of Bosnian territory, for his state. Supported by his patron, the Serbian President Milošević, his forces made significant advances into Bosnian territory. He was accused of war crimes before an international tribunal for the atrocities committed by his soldiers. Once the USA became involved in the search for a peace settlement his luck began to turn, as Bosnians and Croats agreed to unite in their fight against the Serbs. Forced by Milošević to give in, he reluctantly agreed to the Dayton Agreement. In 1996 he bowed to international (and Serbian) pressure and resigned from office. He was captured in Vienna in 1999, and handed over to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague.