Tito, Marshall (1892-1980) born Josip Broz near Zagreb, Croatia, and a locksmith by trade, Tito was a Yugoslav revolutionary and eventually occupied high-level political positions as a Communist, serving as the secretary-general of the Communist Party (League of Communists) and then its president (1939-1980). He was supreme commander of the Yugoslav Partisans during World War II (1941-1945), and, after the war, of the Yugoslav People's Army (1945-1980). He was marshal (1943-1980), premier (1945-1953), and then the first president of the republic of Yugoslavia from 1953 to 1980. He was the prime mover in the Yugoslavian socialist federation that lasted until 1991, and the first Communist leader to challenge Soviet control in Eastern Europe.
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