31 years since the car-bomb that wounded President Kiro Gligorov

Thirty-one years ago, on October 3, 1995, a car-bomb attack in Skopje seriously wounded the first president of the independent Republic of Macedonia, Kiro Gligorov. Gligorov survived with severe head injuries; his driver, Aleksandar Spirovski, was killed at the scene, and his bodyguard, Ilcho Teovski, was injured. A passerby, Hristo Hristomanov, later died from his wounds, and Klime Korobar and Jovan Atanasovski were also injured.

The attack took place at 9:50 a.m. on Macedonia Street in front of the Bristol Hotel as the presidential motorcade was travelling from Gligorov's residence toward the Assembly. A Citroën Ami 8 parked on the street had 20 kilograms of explosive hidden inside and was detonated by remote control when the presidential car moved toward the Assembly building. Before the blast, the president's vehicle had slowed behind a Fićo.

Investigation and scope of the probe

Authorities concluded that the attack had been well planned and organized, but who ordered or carried it out remains unknown. The criminal procedure against an unknown perpetrator remains open.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs conducted an extensive inquiry: 30,850 vehicles were searched, more than 15,000 premises were examined, and over 188,000 people were checked, of whom around 19,000 were searched. Investigators carried out numerous interviews with individuals considered potential suspects, but those questioned were released after interrogation.

Kiro Gligorov died on January 1, 2012, at the age of 94. The attack and its unresolved authorship remain one of the most traumatic episodes in the country’s post-independence history, and the anniversary is observed as a reminder of the victims and the unanswered questions surrounding the case.

Photo: press material from the event