Aliaksandr Milinkevich, the physicist-turned-politician who united Belarus’s opposition forces to challenge Aliaksandr Lukashenka in the 2006 presidential election, has died at the age of 79.
His death was announced on Tuesday.
Milinkevich underwent a complicated operation to remove a blood clot from his carotid artery last year. He spent a prolonged period in critical condition and later underwent extensive rehabilitation.
From academia to politics
Milinkevich was born in 1947, in Grodno, Belarus. After graduating from the faculty of physics and mathematics at the Grodno Pedagogical Institute, he worked as a teacher at a local school. He later earned a PhD and became an associate professor at the same institution.
