Dragan Jovanović ( sr-cyr, Драган Јовановић) was a

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

in the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

during the early 1990s.

Private career

Jovanović was director of the Serbian Social Accountancy Service in the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

at the time of that country's disintegration. In an interview with

Tanjug Tanjug (/'tʌnjʊg/) ( sr-cyr, Танјуг; sometimes stylized as TANJUG) was a Serbian state news agency based in Belgrade, which officially ceased to exist in March 2021. Since then, the Belgrade-based private company Tačno d.o.o., Tanjug Ta� ...

in July 1991, he remarked that the constituent republics of Yugoslavia, and in particular

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

and

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, had stopped making mutual payments due to the deteriorating political situation. This, he added, was preventing Serbia from making its payments to those republics. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia reformed its currency in 1992, resulting in a chaotic period of

hyperinflation In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real versus nominal value (economics), real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimiz ...

. Jovanović was removed from his position in June 1992 after being blamed for a disastrous shift to the new dinar. He later accused allies of

Serbian president The president of Serbia (), officially styled as President of the Republic (), is the head of state of Serbia. The current officeholder is Aleksandar Vučić, who was elected in 2017 and has held the role since 31 May 2017. According to the C ...

Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Милошевић, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the President of Serbia between 1989 and 1997 and President of the Federal Republic of Yugos ...

scapegoat In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of a pair of kid goats that is released into the wilderness, taking with it all sins and impurities, while the other is sacrificed. The concept first appears in the Book of Leviticus, in which a goat is designate ...

ing him for the situation.

Cabinet minister

On September 11, 1992,

Yugoslav prime minister The prime minister of Yugoslavia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Премијер Југославије, Premijer Jugoslavije) was the head of government of the Yugoslav state, from the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918 until the ...

Milan Panić Milan Panić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Панић, ; born 20 December 1929) is a Serbian businessman, humanitarian and former politician. He served as the Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1992 to 1993. During and after his t ...

appointed Jovanović as his

minister of finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

. This was considered as a pointed snub to Milošević and part of a bid by Panić to strengthen his position in an ongoing struggle against the Serbian president.Richard Balmforth, "Panic keeps defence portfolio in government changes," ''Reuters'', 11 September 1992. Jovanović's term in office was ultimately brief. Panić stood down as prime minister in February 1993, shortly after a failed bid to defeat Milošević in the

1992 Serbian general election Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno ...

. Jovanović left office not long thereafter, on March 2, 1993.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jovanovic, Dragan Serbian politicians Finance ministers of Yugoslavia Year of birth missing (living people) Living people