Slobodan Milosevic's meteoric rise to power began in 1987, when he used the Kosovo issue to rally Serbian nationalists.
Suddenly popular, he turned on his friend and political mentor, Serbian President Ivan Stambolic, forcing him from office.
Once Stambolic had resigned, Slobodan Milosevic held the reins of power in Serbia.
He officially became Serbian president in 1989, in elections widely regarded as rigged. He abolished Kosovo's autonomy the same year.
Slovenia and Croatia declared independence in 1991. Mr Milosevic encouraged Croatian Serbs to rise up, then sent in troops. The Bosnian war started soon afterwards.
In 1995, the Serbs were driven out of Croatia. Mr Milosevic agreed to a Bosnian peace deal at talks in Dayton, Ohio.
In 1997, he became President of Yugoslavia, backed by his strong-willed wife, Mira Markovic. The next year he sent troops into Kosovo, prompting Nato air strikes.
Mr Milosevic's downfall began in 2000. He lost an election but refused to concede defeat, and was driven from office.
Eight months later he was transferred to the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
He was tried for crimes against humanity and genocide, but remained defiant, refusing to recognise the court's legitimacy.