For most of its existence, the officeholder was the de facto leader of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

[4] The ban forced the party underground, and a new leadership headed by Triša Kaclerović was established by the 6th Session of the Central Council of the 2nd Congress, held on 2–3 June 1921.

With the party facing fierce troubles during the 1920s and early 1930s, the leadership was continually reorganised by the Communist International (Comintern).

[6] The name change informally consolidated Gorkić's powers, in part because the Soviet communist party was headed by a general secretary.

Gorkić held the post for less than a year due to being recalled to the Soviet Union in the middle of 1937, where he was accused of counter-revolutionary activities and executed by state authorities.

[8] The four secretaries that made up the Secretariat (Tito, Aleksandar Ranković, Edvard Kardelj and Milovan Djilas) had considerable informal influence on the Politburo.

[9] Tito, as general secretary, had considerable influence over the selection of the composition of the central committee and its Politburo.

[10] During the 1940s, Tito, the sitting general secretary, began abrogating the responsibilities of the Politburo and centralising power in his own hands.

[12] This institution was later transformed into the Supreme Headquarters of the People's Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia, which was transformed into a state institution with the establishment of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (FPRY) on 31 January 1946.

[13] These power relations between the general secretary and the remainder of the party leadership remained intact until the dissolution of the Secretariat in 1966.

Only after consulting with individual members and the secretary could the incumbent implement the work programme and decisions adopted by the LCY Central Committee and the presidency.

[24] The officeholder was an ex officio member of the state presidency until the party backed constitutional amendments that removed this right.

[27] The 14th Congress, when it first convened on 20–22 January, failed to elect an LCY Central Committee, adopt a new programme and party statute.