Aleksandar Ranković (nom de guerre Marko; ; 28 November 1909 – 19 August 1983) was a Yugoslav communist politician, considered to be the third most powerful man in Yugoslavia after Josip Broz Tito and Edvard Kardelj. Ranković was a proponent of a centralized Yugoslavia and opposed efforts that promoted decentralization that he deemed to be against the interests of the Serbian people; he ensured Serbs had a strong presence in Serbia's Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo's nomenklatura. Ranković cautioned against separatist forces in Kosovo who were commonly suspected of pursuing seditious activities. The popularity of Ranković in Serbia became apparent at his funeral in 1983, which large numbers of people attended. Many considered Ranković a Serbian "national" leader. Ranković's policies have been perceived as the basis of the policies of Slobodan Milošević. Early life Ranković was born in the village of Draževac near Obrenovac in the Kingdom of Serbia. Born into a poor family, Ranković lost his father at a young age. He attended primary school in his hometown. He went to Belgrade to work and joined the workers' movement. He was also influenced by his colleagues who, at the time when the Communist Party was banned, brought communist magazines and literature with them, which were read by Ranković. At age 15 he joined the union. In 1927 he met his future wife Anđa, and a year later he joined the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. Soon he was named Secretary-General of the League of Communists of Youth of Yugoslavia (SKOJ) in Belgrade. Interwar Yugoslavia After becoming a member of the then-illegal Communist Party in 1928, Ranković was named Secretary of the Communist Youth of Serbia. Undeterred by the January 6th Dictatorship, the group continued producing political flyers to be distributed in Belgrade and Zemun. During a police raid, one of the other activists was arrested and gave up the identities of the other members. Ranković was put on trial before the National Court for the Protection of the State in May of 1929, and was ultimately sentenced to 6 years in prison. During his incarceration in Sremska Mitrovica and Lepoglava, he remained active in promoting Marxism and Leninism to younger prisoners, and fought to improve the living conditions for political prisoners. After his release from prison, he met Anđa Jovanović and the two were married shortly thereafter. After completing his compulsory military service, the pair moved to Belgrade in January