President of Yugoslavia in the context of "President for life"

Josip Broz (7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (/ˈtiːtoʊ/ TEE-toh), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician. During World War II, he led the Yugoslav Partisans, often regarded as the most effective resistance movement in German-occupied Europe. Tito led Yugoslavia as prime minister from 1943 to 1963, and as president from 1953 until his death in 1980. The political ideology and policies promulgated by Tito are known as Titoism.

Tito was born to a Croat father and a Slovene mother in Kumrovec in present-day Croatia, then part of Austria-Hungary. Drafted into military service, he distinguished himself, becoming the youngest sergeant major in the Austro-Hungarian Army of that time. After being seriously wounded and captured by the Russians during World War I, he was sent to a work camp in the Ural Mountains. Tito participated in some events of the Russian Revolution in 1917 and the subsequent Russian Civil War. Upon his return to the Balkans in 1920, he entered the newly established Kingdom of Yugoslavia, where he joined the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. Having assumed de facto control over the party by 1937, Tito was formally elected its general secretary in 1939 and later its president, the title he held until his death. During World War II, after the Nazi invasion of the area, he led the Yugoslav guerrilla movement, the Partisans (1941–1945). By the end of the war, the Partisans, with the Allies' backing since late 1943, took power in Yugoslavia.

Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia and leader of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, died on 4 May 1980 following a prolonged illness. His state funeral was held four days later on 8 May, drawing a significant amount of statesmen from Western, Eastern and Non-Aligned countries across the world. The attendees included four kings, six princes, 22 prime ministers, 31 presidents, and 47 ministers of foreign affairs. In total, 128 countries out of the 154 UN members at the time were represented. Also present were delegates from seven multilateral organizations, six movements and forty political parties.

Tito had become increasingly ill throughout 1979. On 7 January and again on 11 January 1980, Tito was admitted to the University Medical Centre in Ljubljana, the capital city of SR Slovenia, with circulation problems in his legs. His left leg was amputated soon afterwards due to arterial blockages, and he died of gangrene at the Medical Centre Ljubljana on 4 May 1980 at 3:05 pm, three days short of his 88th birthday. The Plavi voz, Tito's personal train, brought his body to Belgrade where it lay in state at the Federal Parliament building until the funeral.

The Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the standing organ of the Assembly of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It was established in 1971 according to amendments to the 1963 Constitution and reorganized by the 1974 Constitution. Up to 1974, the Presidency had 23 members – three from each republic, two from each autonomous province and President Josip Broz Tito. In 1974 the Presidency was reduced to 9 members – one from each republic and autonomous province and, until 1988, President of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia ex officio.