Coordinates: 41°36′N 21°42′E / 41.6°N 21.7°E / 41.6; 21.7 Macedonia (ⁱ/ˌmæsɨˈdoʊniə/ mas-i-DOH-nee-ə; Macedonian: Македонија), officially the Republic of Macedonia (Република Македонија, transliterated: Republika Makedonija [rɛˈpublika makɛˈdɔnija] ( listen)), is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991. It became a member of the United Nations in 1993 but, as a result of a dispute with Greece over its name, it was admitted under the provisional reference of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, sometimes abbreviated as FYROM.

A landlocked country, the Republic of Macedonia is bordered by Kosovo to the northwest, Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south and Albania to the west. It constitutes approximately the northwestern half of the larger geographical region of Macedonia, which also comprises parts of Greece and Bulgaria. The country's capital is Skopje, with 506,926 inhabitants according to a 2002 census. Other cities include Bitola, Kumanovo, Prilep, Tetovo, Ohrid, Veles, Štip, Kočani, Gostivar, Kavadarci and Strumica. It has more than 50 lakes and sixteen mountains higher than 2,000 m (6,562 ft). Macedonia is a member of the UN and the Council of Europe. Since December 2005 it has also been a candidate for joining the European Union and has applied for NATO membership.

Nikola Gruevski (Macedonian: Никола Груевски [ˈnikɔla ˈɡruɛfski] ( listen); born 31 August 1970 in Skopje) has been Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia since 27 August 2006. He has led VMRO-DPMNE since May 2003. He was Minister of Finance in the VMRO-DPMNE government led by Ljubčo Georgievski until September 2002.

Born in 1970, Gruevski was brought up in a family that was neither privileged nor poor. His father worked in furniture and design and his mother was a nurse. After his parents’ divorce, his mother brought him up. When he was four, she went to work in Libya, like thousands of other Yugoslav citizens, and took him with her. After their return Gruevski completed primary and secondary education in Skopje. After having graduated from the Faculty of Economics at St. Clement of Ohrid University of Bitola in 1994, he worked in the banking sector. In 1996 he also acquired some qualifications for the international capital market from a London Securities Institute. On 12 December 2006, he obtained a Master’s degree from the Faculty of Economics at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje. Gruevski founded the Brokerage Association of the Republic of Macedonia in 1998 as its president and made the first transaction at the Macedonian Stock Exchange. Gruevski divorced his first wife and married again in May 2007 to Borkica Gruevska with whom he has two daughters: Anastasija and Sofija.

Ljubčo Georgievski (Macedonian: Љупчо Георгиевски) (Bulgarian: Любчо Георгиевски) (born January 17, 1966 in Štip, SR Macedonia, then Yugoslavia) is a poet and politician from the Republic of Macedonia and former Prime Minister and Vice President of the country. In the Republic of Macedonia, Georgievski has a reputation for being a Bulgarophile intellectual.

Georgievski is the founder of the right wing party VMRO-DPMNE (the present ruling party). When the wars of Yugoslav succession started and the region was heading in for independence, Georgievski emerged as one of the strongest voices of opposition to challenge the Communist ruling structure, and succeeded in gaining strong public support. During his time in government (1998-2002), his coalition introduced strong reforms within the State administration, introduced the VAT system, started denationalisation, and adopted the pension system law. The Government managed to achieve very good financial results; foreign currency reserves were almost doubled, and a large budget surplus was also gained. In 2001, in Luxembourg, Georgievski signed the EU backed Stabilization and Association Agreement.