Milan Panić, former Yugoslav Prime Minister, dies in California

Milan Panić, the former Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and a prominent Serbian-American businessman, has died in Pasadena, California, at the age of 97. Born in Belgrade in 1929, Panić was a World War II partisan veteran and a former competitive cyclist before emigrating to the United States in the 1950s.

In the U.S., Panić founded ICN Pharmaceuticals in 1959, building it into a major international corporation known for developing antiviral drugs. His business success preceded a significant political return to his homeland in 1992, when he was appointed Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by Dobrica Ćosić during a period of intense civil war and international sanctions.

While serving as Prime Minister, Panić challenged Slobodan Milošević in the December 1992 Serbian presidential elections as an independent candidate. He secured approximately 32 percent of the vote but was defeated. Following his resignation from the premiership, he largely withdrew from Serbian politics but remained a vocal critic of the Milošević regime and an advocate for peace and democracy in the Balkans through his philanthropic work.