Milosevic by Adam LeBor Page A

talk to the press alone, but sat there probably not understanding a word of it. His behaviour was very arrogant to those men,’ Vasic remembered. ‘They were technically his subordinates, but in other aspects were much better men than him. Milosevic made a very distinct negative first impression.’ 2
    Milosevic became a skilled industrialist, but he found his true metier as a capitalist when he left Tehnogas to become president of Udruzena Beogradska Banka (UBB) in 1978. A conglomerate of nineteen banks,UBB was one of the most important financial institutions in Yugoslavia, with extensive links abroad, including an office in New York. Milosevic asked Mihailo Crnobrnja to come with him, and set up a centre for economic research. Milosevic thrived at the bank. He quickly grasped the essential principles of high finance and capitalism and, with Crnobrnja’s assistance, soon mastered his brief. He looked set for a successful career in finance, at an exciting time when Yugoslavia was opening its commercial and trade links with the West.
    There was then no talk at home of a career in politics for her husband, claimed Mira. Milosevic was happy at UBB. Their paths were set. ‘Fundamentally, he has the personality of a bank manager. He never thought much about being involved in politics. The structure of his personality can be described as a manager of a bank, although a modern and up-to-date bank, not an old-fashioned one, like a village bank. I saw myself then as a professor at the university, and a writer in the field of sociology. I saw him as a man in economics and finance, and that is the truth, if you want to believe it, believe it. I really don’t know how these things happened to us.’ 3
    At that time in Yugoslavia bankers, like all managers, were divided into two castes: the professionals, and the ‘party’ people. The professionals were trained experts who made their career in banking, who studied and understood the world of finance. The party bankers were loyal Communists, whose appointments were approved by the party. The right party connections such as Milosevic had, together with the support of Ivan Stambolic, could ensure a high position in a bank, a foreign trade company, a state utility like Tehnogas, all without any previous experience whatsoever. Milosevic, though, was well regarded by his peers in other banks. ‘Communists always presented themselves as universal kinds of experts, but Milosevic was not like other bankers that appeared from political circles,’ said Aca Singer, who was also making a name for himself as a banker, at the rival Ljubljanska Banka. ‘I was interested in what kind of a banker he was, so I asked his associates, because subordinates always give the best estimate of their superiors. They told me Milosevic was very organised and he rose very quickly as a banker. He really wanted to learn the world of banking, and how it worked. But it would have been better for him, and better for the people here, if he had stayed as a banker.’ 4
    Milosevic’s move to UBB was well timed. In 1979 the World Bank and International Monetary Fund held its annual meeting in Belgrade.Many westerners were keen to meet one of the new generation of Yugoslav bankers, who would drag the country’s financial system into the twentieth century. At a meeting hosted by the then US ambassador to Belgrade, Lawrence Eagleburger, Milosevic met a small group of half a dozen top figures, including David Rockefeller of Chase Manhattan Bank. He easily held his own in the world of high-level international finance, said Mihailo Crnobrnja. ‘There was a discussion for twenty, or twenty-five minutes. Milosevic spoke in very good English. He was not dogmatic, and I would say that he made a strong impression on David Rockefeller with what he had to say.’
    UBB had opened an office in Manhattan, and Milosevic began to travel frequently to New York. There he grew to