Boško Obradović (; ; born 23 August 1976) is a Serbian politician who is the founder and leader of the
right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
political party
Dveri
The Serbian Movement "Dveri" ( sr-Cyr, Српски покрет Двери, Srpski pokret Dveri), commonly just known as Dveri (), is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Serbia. It its currently led by Boško Obradović, wh ...
. He was the party's nominee for the
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
and
2022 presidential elections.
Early life
Obradović was born on 23 August 1976 in
Vranići,
Čačak
Čačak ( sr-Cyrl, Чачак, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Moravica District in central Serbia. It is located in the West Morava Valley within the geographical region of Šumadija. , the city proper has 73,331 inhabitants, wh ...
,
SFR Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
.
He studied
philology
Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...
in the
University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade ( sr, / ) is a public university in Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia.
Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-b ...
, where he graduated in 2002 after writing his thesis titled ''"
Miloš Crnjanski
Miloš Crnjanski ( sr-cyr, Милош Црњански, ; 26 October 1893 – 30 November 1977) was a Serbian writer and poet of the expressionist wing of Serbian modernism, author, and a diplomat.
Biography
Crnjanski was born in Csongrád (mode ...
and the New Nationalism"''.
In 1999, he and some of his classmates started their own publication, ''Dveri Srpske'' ("''Serbian Gates''" in Serbian).
The publication group turned into ''Srpski sabor Dveri'' ("''The Serbian Assembly of Gates''" in Serbian) in 2003, after which it eventually became the political party
Dveri
The Serbian Movement "Dveri" ( sr-Cyr, Српски покрет Двери, Srpski pokret Dveri), commonly just known as Dveri (), is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Serbia. It its currently led by Boško Obradović, wh ...
in 2011.
Political career
The first election during which Obradović ran for higher office was the
2012 Serbian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Serbia on 6 May 2012 to elect members of the National Assembly, and were held simultaneously with provincial, local, and presidential elections.
Background
The 2008 parliamentary elections resulted in the f ...
, where his party won 4.34% of the total national vote.
Obradović became the leader of Dveri on 25 June 2015. In the
2016 Serbian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Serbia on 24 April 2016. Initially, the election were originally due to be held by March 2018, but on 17 January 2016 Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić called for a snap election claiming Serbia "needs four m ...
, Obradović agreed for Dveri to run in a coalition with the
Democratic Party of Serbia
The New Democratic Party of Serbia ( sr, Нова демократска странка Србије, Nova demokratska stranka Srbije, , NDSS or New DSS) is a national-conservative political party in Serbia.
Initially known and formed as Democ ...
, who also ran on a
eurosceptic
Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek reform ...
platform. The Dveri-DSS coalition received 5% of the national vote, and so Dveri got into the Serbian parliament for the first time.
2017 presidential campaign
In September 2016,
Dveri
The Serbian Movement "Dveri" ( sr-Cyr, Српски покрет Двери, Srpski pokret Dveri), commonly just known as Dveri (), is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Serbia. It its currently led by Boško Obradović, wh ...
announced that Obradović would be their candidate for the
Serbian presidential election in 2017. Obradović officially started his ground campaign in
Čačak
Čačak ( sr-Cyrl, Чачак, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Moravica District in central Serbia. It is located in the West Morava Valley within the geographical region of Šumadija. , the city proper has 73,331 inhabitants, wh ...
on 13 January 2017.
On 3 March 2017,
Federica Mogherini
Federica Mogherini (; born 16 June 1973) is an Italian politician who served as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. She previously served as I ...
visited the Serbian parliament as an envoy of the European Union to discuss Serbia's accession into the European Union. During her speech, Obradović and his party members silently held up signs saying "Serbia does not believe
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
" written in both
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and Serbian.
This was in stark contrast to
Vojislav Šešelj
Vojislav Šešelj ( sr-Cyrl, Војислав Шешељ, ; born 11 October 1954) is a Serbian politician, founder and president of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS); he was convicted of war crimes by the International Criminal Tribuna ...
and the MPs from the
Serbian Radical Party
The Serbian Radical Party ( sr-cyrl, Српска радикална странка, Srpska radikalna stranka, ''SRS'') is an ultranationalist political party in Serbia. It was founded in 1991, and its founder and current leader is Vojislav Še ...
, who chanted in protest throughout Mogherini's speech.
After the speech, Obradović suggested that he thought the chanting was secretly agreed in advanced as a political stunt between Šešelj and Prime Minister Vučić.
On 28 March 2017, Obradović attended a protest on pensions after being invited by pensioners due to their state-mandated pension reductions.
One of Obradović's opponents in the presidential race,
Vuk Jeremić
Vuk Jeremić ( sr-cyr, Вук Јеремић, ; born 3 July 1975) is a Serbian politician and diplomat who served as the president of the United Nations General Assembly from 2012 to 2013 and as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia from 200 ...
, also attended the protest.
The next day, he traveled to
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, where he was invited to visit the parliament of
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
by
Jörg Meuthen
Jörg Hubert Meuthen (; born 29 June 1961) is a German economist serving as a member of the European Parliament for the Centre Party. He was the leading candidate of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) for the 2019 European Parliament election. H ...
from the political party
Alternative for Germany
Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist
*
*
*
*
*
*
* political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany. I ...
.
In return, Obradović invited Meuthen to visit Serbia as a guest of Dveri.
Obradović placed sixth overall out of the eleven candidates in the presidential election, recording 2.29% of the national vote. After the election, he stated that he was unsatisfied with the results, and that the elections should be held again due to irregularities.
Political positions
Foreign policy
Republika Srpska
After the
referendum on whether or not Republika Srpska should have its own holiday, Obradović articulated his support for
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Feder ...
in an interview with an online
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel ''Balkan Info'' which was organized on 18 September 2016. He explained that he would welcome
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Feder ...
gaining independence from
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
and subsequently uniting with Serbia. In a later interview with ''
Pravda
''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, "Truth") is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the co ...
'', Obradović said that the unification of Republika Srpska and Serbia should take the form of a
confederacy.
In June 2016, Obradović rejected the "Proposal for a Resolution on Genocide in Srebrenica" in the Serbian parliament, which suggested that July 11 become a national memorial day for the
Srebrenica massacre
The Srebrenica massacre ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Masakr u Srebrenici, Масакр у Сребреници), also known as the Srebrenica genocide ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Genocid u Srebrenici, Геноцид у Сребрен ...
.
His party issued a statement regarding the Srebrenica massacre, saying that "genocide did not happen in Srebrenica."
Montenegro
In an interview with ''Pravda'', Obradović criticized
Aleksandar Vučić
Aleksandar Vučić ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Вучић, ; born 5 March 1970) is a Serbian politician serving as the president of Serbia since 2017, and as the president of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) since 2012.
Vučić served ...
for arresting 18 Serbian citizens who allegedly participated in the
2015-16 Montenegrin protests, saying that Vučić supports
Milo Đukanović
Milo Đukanović ( cnr, Мило Ђукановић, ; born 15 February 1962) is a Montenegrin politician serving as the President of Montenegro since 2018, previously serving in the role from 1998 to 2003. He also served as the Prime Minister o ...
remaining in power in Montenegro.
In both interviews with ''Pravda'' and ''Balkan Info'', Obradović suggested that a referendum in
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
should be held on
re-unification with Serbia.
Social issues
LGBT rights
Shortly after his party entered parliament for the first time in 2016, Obradović was invited to support the
Gay Parade in
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
on 18 September 2016. However he publicly declined the invitation and denounced the parade, stating that "sexual orientation is
not a human right". Obradović attended his party's counter-march to the Gay Parade, called the "Family Walk". In March 2017, a human rights organization called ''DA SE ZNA'' ("Let it be known" in Serbian) sent questionnaires to all 11 of the presidential candidates of the
2017 Serbian presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Serbia on 2 April 2017. Incumbent president Tomislav Nikolić was eligible to run for a second five-year term, but opted not to do so. Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić was elected president in the first round ...
, and Obradović was one of five candidates who responded.
In his response, Obradović said that he believed that the
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
community in Serbia enjoy the same rights as other citizens.
He said that he considered sexual orientation a private matter, and that it should not be spoken about publicly.
When asked about violence against LGBT people, he responded that he condemns every act of violence.
However, he did not support gay marriage in the response, and said that neither he nor his party would support the proposed Law on Birth Identity,
a proposed law that would expand
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
people's rights.
Blic: ''Transrodne osobe za Zakon o rodnom identitetu'' (in Serbian). September 15, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
Military service
In 2015, Obradović argued for returning conscription, compulsory military service in Serbia. He referred to military service as "one of the most important schools of life", and added that another crucial reason for returning conscription was so that "men can become men again, so that men won't be slackers but men." The issue of conscription has a historical context in Serbia, since in the state of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
required conscription when most adults in Serbia were growing up. From December 10 to 17, 2016, sociologist Srećko Mihailović conducted a nationwide survey with a sample size of 1,200 adults on whether Serbia should return conscription, with the results being that 75% of respondents supported a return of conscription in Serbia.
Personal life
Obradović is married with Julija Obrenović since August 2016 and has three children from his first marriage with Vesna Obradović.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obradovic, Bosko
1976 births
Living people
Politicians from Čačak
Serbian nationalists
University of Belgrade alumni
Candidates for President of Serbia
Members of the National Assembly (Serbia)
Dveri politicians