Jovanka Broz

Jovanka Broz (née Budisavljević; Serbian Cyrillic: Јованка Броз, née Будисављевић; 7 December 1924 – 20 October 2013) was the First Lady of Yugoslavia from 1952 until 1980 as the wife of Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito. She was a lieutenant colonel in the Yugoslav People's Army.

Born in Lika, she joined the anti-fascist resistance movement in 1941 and served in the Partisan army during World War II, where she was wounded twice and awarded the Order of Bravery. In 1945, she was assigned as Tito’s personal secretary and later became his wife in 1952.

As First Lady, she participated in numerous diplomatic events and hosted foreign leaders. In the 1970s, tensions with Tito’s close aides led to accusations of political interference, resulting in her isolation and eventual separation from Tito in 1977.

After his death in 1980, she lived in near-complete seclusion under unofficial house arrest, without personal documents or a pension. Her living conditions deteriorated, and she regained her documents only in 2009. She died in 2013 in Belgrade and was buried with state honors at the House of Flowers.