Mihalj Kertes

Mihalj Kertes, nicknamed "Braca" or "Bracika", (Serbian Cyrillic: Михаљ Кертес, Hungarian: Kertész Mihály; born 29 August 1947)^[1] was a close associate of Serbian and Yugoslav statesman Slobodan Milošević during the 1990s.

Early life

Kertes was born in Bačka Palanka to father Mihalj, a tailor and mother Olga, a housewife. He completed the primary and middle school, as well as the High School of Management (major of social work) in his hometown. He started working as a clerk for social work in municipal administration, became a member of League of Communists of Yugoslavia in 1974, and his local career progressed to the level of secretary of municipal committee of the Communist League, in 1986.^[2][3][4] During the party's transformation to Socialist Party of Serbia, Kertes became a supporter of Milošević's policy.

Political career

Rise

Kertes got skyrocketed into high politics when, during the "anti-bureaucratic revolution"—a popular uprising against the "old regime" and in support of Milošević's politics of Serbian reunion—he initiated the protests in Bačka Palanka and led the protesters to Novi Sad, the capital of Vojvodina. Kertes's reached peak of the career when he was appointed the head of Yugoslav Customs Office in 1993, a post that he held up to 2000.

Fall

After two retrials, in February 2007, Kertes was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for providing the truck to executioners of opposition politicians, in the 1999 Ibarska magistrala assassination.^[5]

In September 2007, he faced trial for abuse of office and embezzlement. Among other issues, the prosecution charged the group, consisting of Slobodan Milošević, Jovan Zebić and Nikola Šainović for transferring 120 million German marks to Cyprus banks, where the trace is lost. Only Kertes faces trial, as Milošević and Zebić died, and Šainović is currently standing a trial in International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in Hague.^[6]

He was also under investigation, and speculated to be a potential witness, in the so-called "tobacco mafia" case, related with tobacco smuggling in the 1990s. Among the chief incriminated are Marko Milošević, Mira Marković and Stanko Subotić.^[7]

On February 6th, 2014, all charges against him have been dismissed due to the case obsolescence, or by the High Court of Appeals.

Personal

Mihalj Kertes declares as an ethnic Hungarian.^[3] He is married to Mira, and has two daughters, Sanja and Dragana.

References