Portrait:

Year, date and place of birth: 1965, the last day of summer, Belgrade.

How did Daddy (Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic) and Mummy (League of CommunistsMovement for Yugoslavia /SKPJ/ leader) view her arrival: They were literally bowled over, delighted that they had a baby, and that it was a girl. She was the object of irrational adoration.

Who was she named after: National hero Marija Bursac. When Mummy Mirjana was in second grade primary school, she recited the poem ``Marija Defiant'' in front of the class. The poem describes a partizan woman fighter charging three times at a German pillbox. She was killed during the third charge. Little Mirjana dreamed of having a daughter one day who would be like Marija Bursac.

Has Marija fulfilled her Mother's expectations: No. Mirjana realized that children should be left to develop by themselves. This could be the reason she never mentions her daughter in her ``Diary'' in the Belgrade biweekly Duga.

Why: Marija is not Mirjana. Marija is less ambitious and less disciplined. And, she's not a romantic by nature.

But blood is thicker than water: That's true. Mirjana and Marija have at least two things in common. The first is journalism which Mirjana tackles occasionally and from an amateur's point of view, while Marija writes regularly and professionally. The second is a flower in their hair.

Just that: Of course not. Even though Marija has not expressed her political stands publicly so far, she is the only candidate for the post of Editor inChief of the newly founded radio station ``Kosava'' which is sponsored by the Yugoslav United Left, i.e., SKPJ.

How did Marija start in journalism: In 1989, when she started free lancing for the Belgrade daily ``Politika'' city column. She then got a permanent job with the weekly ``Ilustrovana Politika,'' the magazine published by ``Politika'' publishing house, where she is still formally employed even though she is rarely seen at the office. She is the best paid journalist (680 points, only 20 less that the magazine's EditorinChief).

How did she get the job: She and another 15 applicants answered a job ad. In spite of the fact that she had not yet completed her secondary school education, the interviewing board gave her the job.

Who else thought that she was the right person for the job: The English language magazine ``Balkan News International & East European Report'' which is published in Athens. Marija was the head of the regional office in Yugoslavia, even though she was not accredited with the Federal Ministry for Information, as the Law demands.

Marital status: Divorced, after a short marriage to a Yugoslav diplomat in Japan when she was nineteen years old. No children.

Who are the important people in her life: Earlier Tahir Hasanovic, a former Alliance of Socialist Youth of Belgrade official; ``Politika'' director Hadzi Dragan Antic, whom gossips accuse of using her friendship in order to further his career. Marija has lately often been seen in the cafe ``Princ,'' a favorite haunt of the Belgrade underworld elite, recently the scene of a bomb explosion.

But above all: Marija is her Mother's best friend. Dejan Anastasijevic

(Note: parts of this text have been taken from Mirjana Milosevic's biography as set down in ``Duga'' by Ljiljana HabjanovicDjurovic)