Bogoljub Karić

Bogoljub Karić (Serbian: Богољуб Карић, born 17 January 1954 in Peć, FPR Yugoslavia), pronounced [boɡoʎub kaːritɕ]) is a Serbian businessman and politician.

Biography

Early life

Bogoljub was born to Janićije Karić and Danica Kuzmanović. He earned a degree in Geography at the University of Pristina and his Master's Degree in economy at University of Niš. He married Milanka Babić and has four children. Nebojsa, Nadezda, Jelena and Danica Karic.

Career

The Karić family claim to have owned manufacturing business in Eastern Europe since the 1960s. The population knows him simply as a mechanic from Kosovo without a degree. He opened a workshop, starting with small operations of under ten employees. From this, Karić grew his business empire into multi-billion dollar corporation, now known as the Astra Group.

The Astra (BK) Group is composed of the following industry sectors:

In 2002, Karić created the Association of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Yugoslavia, the first true association of private businessmen in Yugoslavia set up since World War II.

Education and science work

Karić has been a visiting professor in several faculties he run in the country and abroad. Many of these lectures are published in various magazines he owned. He is author of many books which focus on private business, finance, and financial management which were written by bachelor and master students at his own universities.

Political and social activities

Karić is very active in domestic and international social and political circles. By his own view, he has a strong reputation in the highest political institutions worldwide and has met with many Heads of State, Presidents, Senators, influential businessmen of the worlds most significant companies, media, humanitarian and other non-government organizations and institutions. Karic was Mr Milosevic supporter and confident.He help to implement his well-known measures in Kosovo province. The philosophies that Karić expresses in these meetings are based on the need for development of relationship between people irrespective of ethnic origin, protection of human rights as foundation for democracy and economic development of all countries around the world. He is also actively promoting the democratic processes in Yugoslavia and for the integration of Yugoslavia, or Serbia and Montenegro, as the new state union is now called, in the European integrations, as well as other international organizations and institutions.

The goals of these activities are to turn the Balkans, i.e. the South East Europe region into a prosperous region of Europe, and the prerequisites are, according to Karić, to ensure the dominant role of economy and economic cooperation, that are the sole factors that can counter nationalistic policies and confrontation. It is with that goal in mind that Karić and his companies have started many programs of cooperation with Kosovo and all other regions of Serbia with ethnically mixed population, as well as intensive contacts with neighbours, such as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Macedonia.

Karić ran for President of Serbia in the June 2004 Presidential Election, polling nearly 20% of the vote. His message was on the supremacy of economy over politics, the need to fundamentally transform Serbian society into a modern European democracy and revitalise its economy.

Karić subsequently formed and registered his political party Strength of Serbia Movement (SSM) which participated in the local elections of September 2004. At these elections, the SSM, although formed barely a month before the elections, had a surprisingly good showing, establishing itself firmly in the center of the democratic bloc of political forces in Serbia. Its representatives, in coalition with other democratic forces are part of many municipal councils (including that of the capital Belgrade), and it has several deputies and ministers in the Provincial Government of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.

As new law on political parties became valid, Strength of Serbia Movement re-registered itself again in 2010 under the name Strength of Serbia Movement - BK. At this moment, SSM is in coalition with Tomislav Nikolic's party, forming an opposition bloc for the next elections.

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