Josip Broz Tito

Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980) was the leader of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1943 until his death in 1980. During World War II, Tito organized the anti-fascist resistance movement known as the Yugoslav Partisans. He was Secretary-General (later President) of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (1939–80). He also served as the was the Prime Minister (1945–63) and later President (1953–80) of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). From 1943 to his death in 1980 he held the rank of Marshal of Yugoslavia, serving as the supreme commander of the Yugoslav military.

Despite being one of the founders of Cominform, he was also the only successful Cominform member to defy Soviet hegemony. Tito ruled Yugoslavia with an iron fist. Shortly after his death, the various ethnic groups he had held together returned to the hereditary conflicts.

Josip Tito in The Man With the Iron Heart
Josip Tito's resistance to German occupation was remembered bitterly by Reinhard Heydrich, who nonetheless drew inspiration from Tito's tactics when leading the German Freedom Front.