Jokica Hadži Vasileva was born in Zvornik in 1924. At an early age, she was a member of SKOJ (Association of the Communist Youth of Yugoslavia) and a participant in NOR (People’s Liberation War) since 1943. She defended doctoral thesis in political science. At the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, she held lectures for postgraduate students. Dr. Hadži Vasileva worked at the Institute for the Study of the Labor Movement, and then at the Institute of International Politics and Economics in Belgrade as principal research fellow. In her scientific research work, she devoted special attention to studying the problems of developing countries. She was appointed director of the Institute of International Politics and Economics in 1988, and held the position until 1989. She was a member of several international scientific associations.
She published over a hundred scientific papers and several scientific monographs, among which are:
Političkoekonomski razvoj Maroka, Institut za izučavanje radničkog pokreta, Beograd, 1962; Ilegalne akcije po gradovima, Kultura, Beograd, 1963; Afrika i socijalizam, Institut za izučavanje radničkog pokreta, Beograd, 1973; Socijalistička opredeljenja u tropskoj Africi, Institut za izučavanje radničkog pokreta, Beograd, 1973; Radnička participacija u Africi, Komunist, Beograd, 1978; Teorije razvoja i nerazvijenosti u Africi, Institut za međunarodnu politiku i privredu, Beograd, 1987; Afrika: ideologija i strategije razvoja, Institut za međunarodnu politiku i privredu, Beograd, 1987.