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The rise and fall of Slobodan Milosević, 1988-2000
Between 1988 and 2001, many events took place which served to propel Serbia and Belgrade onto the world political stage. In 1988, Slobodan Milosević, president of the League of Communists of Serbia, became the new Serbian national leader by manipulating the national sentiments of the population through the media. It was a time of mass orchestrated rallies on the streets of Serbian cities, when the communist leadership manipulated the concerns of the population about the situation of Serbs and Montenegrins in Kosovo and Metohija.
Still lacking in power, the Serbian democratic opposition was not able to organise the first mass opposition rally against Slobodan Milosević on Republic Square until 9th March, 1991. Using water-cannons and tear gas, more than 50,000 riot police broke up the demonstrations and tanks even appeared on the streets of the capital during the evening.
Slobodan Milosević's regime refused to recognise the victory of the "Zajedno" opposition coalition in November 1996 local elections. As a result of this, popular and student protests were held every day until February 1997.
 In September 2000, federal and local elections were held. Vojislav Koštunica, the candidate of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia coalition, won the elections to choose the president of the FRY. Slobodan Milosević's regime refused to recognise the election results and a protest was organised against the authorities on 5th October, which saw several hundred thousand people gather in Belgrade. After battles with police, the demonstrators entered and set alight the Federal Assembly building and the Serbian State Radio and Television (RTS) building. Slobodan Milosević accepted defeat the next day and a transitional government was formed on October 24th, which kept the country functioning until snap parliamentary elections were held. On 1st April, 2002, Slobodan Milosević was arrested for abuses of power and transferred to the Hague War Crimes Tribunal on 28th June, indicted for crimes committed during the civil wars in the former Yugoslavia.
NATO bombing, 1999
 At 8pm on 24th March, 1999, NATO launched the first aerial attacks on military targets in FR Yugoslavia. Later, the aerial bombardment and use of cruise missiles were widened to include economic and civil targets. During the 78-day continuous bombing campaign, the infrastructure, factories, schools, medical institutions, media companies, cultural landmarks, churches and monasteries were severely damaged. Economic experts have estimated the cost of the damage to be 30 billion dollars. The final number of victims has never been officially released, but estimates range between 1,200 and 2,500 killed and some 5,000 injured. Targets in the very centre of Belgrade were also hit and during the three months of bombing, only a few days and nights passed without the sound of the air-raid sirens.
The Kumanovo Military Technical Agreement, which stopped the war and secured the retreat of the Yugoslav army and police from Kosovo and Metohija, was signed on June 9th, 1999. Kosovo and Metohija was placed under the administration of UNMIK and KFOR through UN Resolution 1244. Slobodan Milosević's regime, even during this terrible time for Serbia, benefited from flagrant party propaganda in the media and the use of force to deal with political opponents. Through media propaganda, the end of the war and the entrance of NATO troops into Kosovo and Metohija were presented as a great victory.
A new beginning, 2000-2003
 The Democratic Opposition of Serbia won the snap parliamentary elections in December 2000 and the leader of the Democratic Party, Zoran Đinđić, became the new Serbian Prime Minister.
In January 2001, the USA lifted sanctions against FR Yugoslavia and the country was granted special guest status in the Council of Europe by the organisation's Parliamentary Assembly. In 2001, diplomatic relations with other countries were re-established and FR Yugoslavia gained membership of international organisations. In May 2002, Yugoslavia's currency, the dinar, became fully convertible again and then in February 2003 the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro was formed, with Belgrade as its administrative centre.
On March 12th, 2003, the Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić was assassinated as he entered the Serbian government building and a state of emergency was declared throughout the Republic of Serbia. In April 2003, Serbia and Montenegro was admitted into the Council of Europe.
 Belgrade - City of the Future in Southern Europe
In a competition to name the European cities and regions of the future, organised by the Financial Times newspaper, Belgrade was named the "City of the Future" in Southern Europe on March 16th, 2006. The award also serves as a recommendation, from the most well-known financial newspaper in the world, of the best locations to invest in. The categories and the criteria on which the expert jury based their decision were economic potential, cost of doing business, human resources, transport, information technology and telecommunications, quality of life for foreign investors and the best promotional campaign to attract direct foreign investment.
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