Aleksandar Vučić
| Aleksandar Vučić | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 11th Prime Minister of Serbia | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 27 April 2014 | |
| President | Tomislav Nikolić |
| Deputy | Ivica Dačić |
| Preceded by | Ivica Dačić |
| First Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia | |
| In office 27 July 2012 – 27 April 2014 | |
| Prime Minister | Ivica Dačić |
| Preceded by | Ivica Dačić |
| Succeeded by | Ivica Dačić |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 27 July 2012 – 2 September 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | Ivica Dačić |
| Preceded by | Dragan Šutanovac |
| Succeeded by | Nebojša Rodić |
| Minister of Information | |
| In office 24 March 1998 – 24 October 2000 | |
| Prime Minister | Mirko Marjanović |
| Preceded by | Radmila Milentijević |
| Succeeded by | Ivica Dačić Bogoljub Pejčić Biserka Matić Spasojević |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 March 1970 Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia) |
| Political party | Radical Party (1993–2008) Progressive Party (2008–present) |
| Spouse(s) | Ksenija Janković (1997–2011) Tamara Đukanović (2013–present) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Belgrade |
| Religion | Serbian Orthodoxy |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Official Website |
Aleksandar Vučić (Serbian Cyrillic: Александар Вучић, pronounced [aleksǎːndar ʋǔt͡ʃit͡ɕ], born 5 March 1970[1]) is a Serbian politician who has been Prime Minister of Serbia since 27 April 2014. He is also the leader and president of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). Vučić served as Minister of Information from 1998 to 2000 and later as Minister of Defence from 2012 to 2013, as well as First Deputy Prime Minister from 2012 to 2014. He is a graduate of the Belgrade Law School.
Early life
Vučić was born on 5 March 1970, in Belgrade, in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to Anđelko Vučić and Angelina Vučić (née Milovanov). His father was an economist. Vučić grew up in the Blok 45 neighbourhood of Novi Beograd together with his younger brother Andrej.
Political career
Aleksandar Vučić joined the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) in 1993 and was elected to the National Assembly following the 1993 parliamentary election. Two years later, at age 24, Vučić became secretary-general of the Serbian Radical Party. After his party won the local elections in Zemun in 1996, he became the director of Pinki Hall.[2] During his time in the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) Vučić made many public appearances. One of them was his statement made in the Serbian National Assembly on the 20th of July 1995 in which he stated: "For every killed Serb, we will kill 100 Muslims". [3] This happened just few days after the Srebrenica massacre in which more than 8000 Muslims were systematically murdered by the Serbian forces.[4] Vučić ran in the Belgrade mayoral election twice, in 2004 and again in 2008, losing both times to candidates from the Democratic Party (DS).
Minister of Information (1998–2000)
In March 1998, Vučić was appointed Minister of Information in the government of Mirko Marjanović.[5] Following rising resentment against Milošević, Vučić introduced fines for journalists who criticized the government and banned foreign TV networks.[6] He recalled in 2014 that he was wrong and had changed, stating "I was not ashamed to confess all my political mistakes".
It was during Vučić's term as the Minister of Information that Slavko Ćuruvija, a prominent journalist, was murdered in a state-sponsored assassination, for his apparent defiance in his reporting.[7][8] In 1999, before the assassination took place, Vučić gave a front page interview to the tabloid Argument in which he stated "I will have my revenge on Slavko Ćuruvija for all the lies published in Dnevni telegraf [Ćuruvija's paper]"[9] In 2014, Vučić apologized to the Ćuruvija family for waiting so long to bring the perpetrators to justice, and thanked everyone who was involved in solving the case for their work.[10]
Minister of Defence and First Deputy Prime Minister (2012–2014)
Vučić briefly served as Minister of Defence and First Deputy Prime Minister from July 2012 to August 2013, when he stepped down from his position of Defence Minister in a cabinet reshuffle. Although the Prime Minister, Ivica Dačić, held formal power as head-of-government, many analysts thought that Vučić had the most influence in government as head of the largest party in the governing coalition and parliament.[6]
Prime Minister (2014–present)
After the 2014 Serbian parliamentary election Vučić's Serbian Progressive Party won 158 out of 250 seats in Parliament and formed a ruling coalition with the Socialist Party of Serbia. Vučić was elected Prime Minister of Serbia.
Radical Party to Progressive Party
On 6 September 2008 Deputy Leader of the Radical Party and de facto leader due to absence of Vojislav Šešelj, Tomislav Nikolić resigned, because of disagreement with Šešelj over SRS support for Serbia's EU membership, and with some other well known Radical Party members formed new parliamentary club called "Napred Srbijo!" (Forward Serbia!). On 12 September 2008 Nikolić and his group were officially ejected from the Radical Party on the session of SRS leadership. Vučić, as secretary-general was called to attend this session, but he did not appear. Tomislav Nikolić announced he would form his own party and called Vučić to join. Vučić, one of the most popular figures among SRS supporters, resigned from Radical Party on 14 September 2008.[11] The next day, Vučić announced his temporary withdrawal from politics.[12]
On 6 October 2008 Vučić confirmed in a TV interview that he was to join the newly formed Nikolić's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and that he would be the Deputy President of the party.[13]
He then seemed to change his tune. In 2010 he made statements such as a "horrible crime was committed in Srebrenica", saying he felt "ashamed" of the Serbs who did it. "I do not hide that I have changed... I am proud of that," he told AFP in an interview in 2012. "I was wrong, I thought I was doing the best for my country, but I saw the results and we failed, We need to admit that."[14]
Nikolić stepped down as party leader on 24 May 2012 following his election as President of Serbia. Vučić assumed leadership until the next party congress is held to elect a new leader.[15] On 29 September 2012 Vučić was elected as party leader, with Jorgovanka Tabaković as his deputy.[16]
Policies
Anti-corruption and organized crime
Vučić has pledged to tackle corruption and organized crime in Serbia.[17] He also vowed to investigate controversial privatizations and ties between tycoons and former government members.[6][18] Vučić’s anti-corruption drive has recorded a 71 per cent personal approval rating in a March 2013 opinion poll,[17] though in more than two years it produced no convictions and only a handful of arrests.
EU membership and Kosovo
Vučić has been central to negotiations on Serbia’s bid for EU accession, traveling to Brussels for talks with the EU’s Foreign Affairs Commissioner, Baroness Ashton, as well as to North Kosovska Mitrovica to discuss the details of a political settlement between Belgrade and Pristina.[19][20] During his visit to northern Kosovo, to garner support for the Brussels-brokered deal, he urged Kosovo Serbs to “leave the past and think about the future”.[18]
Relations with Croatia
In 1995, Vučić visited Knin, Croatia (then under control of the rebel Republic of Serb Krajina) with Vojislav Šešelj to protest against the Z-4 plan.[21] In 2007 Vučić made inflammatory remarks about the Democratic League of Croats in Vojvodina, calling it a branch of the Croatian Democratic Union.[22] In 2008, with the establishment of the Serbian Progressive Party, Vučić said that the goal of a Greater Serbia taking Croatian territory up to the proposed Virovitica-Karlovac-Karlobag line "is unrealistic and silly".[23] In December 2008 Vučić announced that he would make a visit to Croatian Serbs, causing a controversy.[24] The Croatian Serb group SKD Prosvjeta commented negatively on the visit.[25]
Ratko Mladić
Before splitting away from the Radical Party of Vojislav Šešelj, Aleksandar Vučić was openly and publicly celebrating and calling for the protection of Ratko Mladić, a military leader accused of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. In 2007, while Mladić was still at large in Serbia, Vučić was distributing posters stating "Safe house for general Mladić". During a parliament session he stated that the Serbian Parliament will always protect and be a safe house for the general and that any house in Serbia that bears the last name of Vučić will protect and shelter Mladić.[26]
In the same year Vučić organized a street protest where the signs naming the street after the assassinated pro-west Serbian PM were replaced with the signs effectively renaming the street to Ratko Mladić Boulevard.[26] This has become an annual event in which Serbian ultra-right factions place the same signs on top of the regular signs to celebrate the anniversary of the Zoran Đinđić assassination.
Accusations of media manipulation and censorship
In July 2014, journalists associations were concerned about the freedom of the media in Serbia, in which Vučić came under criticism.[27][28] The German newspaper Die Tageszeitung reported that the media in Serbia are censored and Vučić is responsible for that.[28] The Serbian journalist Jovana Gligorijević also expressed her concerns and said that „the freedom of speech was indeed threatened because internet pages were blocked, blogs removed and bloggers arrested" for which Gligorijević indirectly blamed Vučić.[27][28]
The situation was exacerbated when the commissioner for media freedom of the OSCE, Dunja Mijatović, wrote Vučić and made attention with the suppression of the media. Vučić said that the international community, foreign ambassadors and the OSCE would lead a campaign against him, because Serbia don′t want to impose sanctions against Russia because of Ukraine crisis, and that the suppression of the media are nonsense. He also claimed that he had never heard of these portals, which were blocked and demanded an apology from the OSCE. Paula Tide, the Vice President of the OSCE in Serbia, rejected an apology. The Head of the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Serbia in Belgrade, Ambassador Michael Davenport, and the US Ambassador Michael Kirby shared the same opinion like the OSCE.[27][28]
Personal life
On 27 July 1997 Vučić married Ksenija Janković, a journalist at Radio Index and Srpska reč. Together they have a son, Danilo (born 1998) and daughter, Milica (born 2002). They officially separated in 2011.
On 14 December 2013, Vučić married Tamara Đukanović, a diplomat at the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
References
- ↑ "Detalji o narodnom poslaniku: Vučić, Aleksandar" (in Serbian). National Assembly of Serbia.
- ↑ Aleksandar Vučić Istinomer.rs
- ↑ forgetting-resistance-in-the-balkans balkanist.net
- ↑ ["Netherlands Institute for War Documentation". http://193.173.80.81/srebrenica/]
- ↑ "Narod koji ima najkraće pamćenje na svetu" (in Serbian). Preko ramena. 10 May 2012.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Guy De Launey (20 January 2014). "Serbia transforming from pariah to EU partner". BBC News. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
- ↑ Slavko Ćuruvija
- ↑ https://www.cpj.org/killed/1999/slavko-curuvija.php
- ↑ http://facebookreportermonitor.wordpress.com/2014/01/16/%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BB%D1%83%D0%B7%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%BE-%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%83-%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B0-%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BA/
- ↑ http://inserbia.info/news/2014/01/milorad-ulemek-provided-info-about-murder-of-slavko-curuvija/
- ↑ "Nikolić: I Vučić napustio radikale" (in Serbian). Mondo. 14 September 2008.
- ↑ "Vučić napušta politiku (za sada)" (in Serbian). Mondo. 15 September 2008.
- ↑ "Vučić: S Tomom protiv Tadića!" (in Serbian). Mondo. October 2008.
- ↑ Aleksandar Vucic: from nationalist hawk to devout Europeanist Global Post, 2014-03-13.
- ↑ "Serbia's new president quits as party leader". B92. 24 May 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- ↑ "Progressives elect new leader, deputy leader". B92. 29 September 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Vasovic, Aleksandar (29 March 2013). "Ruling Serb Progressive Party stays popular: opinion poll". Reuters. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Pekusic, Biljana (20 May 2013). "Vucic urges Kosovo Serbs to accept 'the future'". Southeast European Times. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
- ↑ Sengupta, Kim (4 August 2013). "Aleksandar Vucic: The man who’s bringing Belgrade in from the cold". The Independent. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
- ↑ "Aleksandar Vucic: Kosovo Serbs 'should accept deal'". BBC News. 13 May 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
- ↑ Anto Đapić (HSP): Vučiću, dobro došao u Hrvatsku!
- ↑ Šešeljevac vodi Skupštinu, a Vuk Drašković Vijeće Europe, Jutarnji List
- ↑ Vučić sad nije za veliku Srbiju
- ↑ A. Vučić: Mogu me i ubiti, ali doći ću u Knin
- ↑ Srbi u Hrvatskoj različito oko Vučićevog posjeta
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 http://www.pressonline.rs/info/politika/11934/vucic-lepio-plakate-sa-natpisom-bulevar-ratka-mladica.html
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Die Tageszeitung:Die Pampigkeit des Herrn Vučić - In Serbien werden Internetseiten attackiert, Blogs gesperrt und Blogger festgenommen. Die Betroffenen berichteten wohl zu kritisch über die Regierung (German) - The stroppiness of Mr. Vučić - In Serbia being attacked websites, blocked blogs and arrested bloggers. The victims reported probably too critical about the government
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 Die Tageszeitung:Serbische Regierung zensiert Medien - Ein Virus namens Zensur (German) - Serbian government censored media - A virus called censorship
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aleksandar Vučić. |
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Radmila Milentijević |
Minister of Information 1998–2000 |
Succeeded by Ivica Dačić Bogoljub Pejčić Biserka Matić Spasojević |
| Preceded by Dragan Šutanovac |
Minister of Defence 2012–2013 |
Succeeded by Nebojša Rodić |
| Preceded by Ivica Dačić |
First Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia 2012–2014 |
Succeeded by Ivica Dačić |
| Prime Minister of Serbia 2014–present |
Incumbent | |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Tomislav Nikolić |
Leader of the Serbian Progressive Party 2012–present |
Incumbent |
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