About the author
Radmila Milentijević was born and raised in Serbia. She was educated at the University of Belgrade, the University of Chicago, where she received her M.A. in history in 1961, and Columbia University, from which she obtained her Ph.D. in 1970. In 1966 she joined the faculty of the History Department at the City College of the City University of New York (CUNY), where in 1984 she attained the rank of Full Professor. She taught courses in Modern European History, directed the Graduate Studies Program in History and served as Chairperson of the History Department. She was a Special Assistant for Labor Relations to the Chancellor of Schools of the New York City Board of Education and served as Associate Dean of the University, and Deputy to the Chancellor for University Relations. She is currently Professor Emeritus at the City University of New York.
Professor Milentijević is a prolific author and her numerous publications include: "Serbian Social Democracy and the Nationality Question," Canadian Review of Studies in Nationalism, 1972; "Anti-Semitism and the Treatment of the Holocaust in Post-Communist Yugoslavia" in the book "Anti-Semitism and the Treatment of the Holocaust in Post-Communist Eastern Europe", edited by Randolph L. Braham (New York: The Rosenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies, The City University of New York, 1994, distributed by Columbia University Press); "The United States Policy Toward Yugoslavia" in the book "The Yugoslav State, 1918-1998" (Belgrade: Institute for Modern History, 1999); "The Cathedral Church in Belgrade" (Belgrade: Sabornik, 2009). She served on the Editorial Board of the Canadian Review of Studies in Nationalism (1980-2005).
During the 1990s, Professor Milenijević became involved in the affairs of former Yugoslavia. She served as a cabinet minister in the government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from July to November 1992, and as Minister of Information of the Republic of Serbia from February 1997 until March 1998. She lectured widely on the Yugoslav crisis at university campuses across the United States ranging from the American University to Cornell and Yale, including civic institutions as the City Club of Cleveland, the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, and Coleman/Bartlett Washington Focus. She held press conferences at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. and the United Nations in New York City, and gave interviews to numerous leading newspapers, including the Washington Post, Washington Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor. She appeared on numerous American television and radio programs and on international television networks such as CNN, Fox News, CNBC, MSNBC, and BBC, and national television networks of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada and France.
Over the past two decades, Professor Milentijević has dedicated herself to humanitarian work. She founded The World Serbian Voluntary Fund, Inc., a not-for-profit organization for humanitarian relief in Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the Krajina. As President of the Fund, she focused on providing medicine and medical supplies to hospitals in the Krajina, Republika Srpska and Serbia. She donated more than one million dollars of her personal assets for philanthropic purposes to institutions ranging from the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences to the National Museum in Belgrade, to schools, and to churches and monasteries in Serbia, United States, France and Romania. Professor Milentijević is the biggest donor of the Cathedral Church in Belgrade and the Benefactor of the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral Church of St. Sava in New York City. Professor Milentijevic is the recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor 2011; she is the honorary member of the Association of Serbian Writers; honorary citizen of the city of Reşiţa, Rumania; honorary citizen of the Municipality of Smederevska Palanka, Serbia.
She lives in New York City and has a residence in Belgrade, Serbia.