Milosevic died two weeks after the ICTY rejected his motion for provisional release to undergo medical treatment in Moscow. At subsequent court hearings he complained of feeling unwell and told the judges his head was "buzzing".
Milosevic had been diagnosed with high blood pressure and ventricular hypertrophy and received therapy in his detention cell.
The following are a short biography and the most important dates in the life of the former Yugoslav president.
1941 -- Milosevic was born on 20 August 1941 in Pozarevac, Serbia, where he completed primary and secondary education. He graduated from the Belgrade School of Law in 1964.
1986 -- Milosevic became head of the Central Committee of the Serbian League of Communists in May.
1987 -- At the first major protest rally of Serbs in Kosovo, he told the Albanian police in the province and others in Yugoslavia that "No one should dare beat the Serbs."
1990 -- Milosevic was elected president of the Serbian Socialist Party at a founding convention in July. After winning with an overwhelming majority the first multi-party elections in Serbia in December he became the first president of Serbia chosen by popular vote. He was re-elected two years later.
1997 -- Milosevic became president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, consisting of Serbia and Montenegro, on 25 July.
1999 -- On 27 May, the ICTY Office of the Prosecutor issued an indictment against Milosevic and four other senior Yugoslav and Serbian officials for crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo. He was the first sitting head of state to be indicted for war crimes.
2000 -- On 6 October, Milosevic admitted defeat at presidential elections to Vojislav Kostunica, the candidate of the Serbian Democratic Opposition (DOS) coalition, after demonstrators stormed the Parliament building. In November, he was re-elected president of the Socialist Party as the sole candidate for the post.
2001 -- Milosevic was arrested in his home on 31 March on charges of abuse of office. He was handed over to ICTY officials on 28 June and arrived at the ICTY detention unit in the early morning hours of 29 July. On 9 October, the ICTY prosecutors announced that Milosevic was also indicted for crimes against humanity committed in Croatia. A third indictment, charging him with genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was made public on 23 November.
2002 -- His trial for all three indictments was set for 12 February.