Tuesday, August 22, 2006 7:10 AM

BELGRADE, Serbia-The widow of the former Yugoslavia's Communist dictator, Josip Broz Tito, was granted state pension after 26 years of life in seclusion.

Jovanka Broz, 82, has lived in Belgrade in a decrepit, government-owned house under a leaky roof and without heating since Tito's death in 1980.

She was receiving the equivalent of €120 (US$155) a month in state social welfare.

After her public plea earlier this year, the government said it has granted her a state pension worth €1,100 (US$1,420) a month, according to the Official Gazette published Tuesday.

Jovanka Broz fell out of favor soon after Tito's death, and was forced out of the dictator's luxurious Belgrade residence. His successors put Broz under virtual house arrest and confiscated all her belongings.

Later, as Tito's personality cult crumbled and his once glorified role in the country's history came under scrutiny, she mostly remained in isolation and did not even hold valid identity documents.

Earlier this year, the government repaired heating and a nearly collapsed roof of her decaying 1920's villa in Belgrade's plush Dedinje neighborhood.