Former Yugoslav prime minister and U.S. pharmaceuticals founder Milan Panić dies at 97 in California
Milan Panić, a former prime minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and a U.S. businessman, died at 97 in Pasadena, California, his family announced on Sept. 26, 2026.
Born in Belgrade on Dec. 20, 1929, Panić joined Yugoslavia’s World War II resistance as a teenager. After the war, he competed internationally as a cyclist before fleeing communist Yugoslavia in the 1950s for the United States, where he founded ICN Pharmaceuticals in 1959. The company later became Valeant Pharmaceuticals and then Bausch Health, expanding globally with a focus on antiviral drugs.
Panić returned to politics in 1992 after the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, accepting an offer from then-President Dobrica Ćosić to serve as prime minister of the newly formed Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In December 1992, while still prime minister, he ran as an independent candidate against Slobodan Milošević in Serbia’s presidential election, winning 32% of the vote with informal support from the DEPOS opposition coalition. He resigned as prime minister in early 1993 and largely withdrew from politics, though he remained a vocal critic of Milošević and advocated for peace in the Balkans.
He also engaged in humanitarian work, funding medical and educational scholarships and sponsoring cultural events. In a 2016 interview with N1, he reflected on his political losses, stating, “I lost more than the Karađorđević dynasty,” but added, “What matters is that you gain more than you lose” .
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