Dimitar Kovačevski ( mk, Димитар Ковачевски, ; born 24 July 1974) is a Macedonian politician and economist serving as

prime minister of North Macedonia } The prime minister of North Macedonia ( mk, Премиер на Северна Македонија, al, Kryeministri i Maqedonisë së Veriut), officially the President of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia ( mk, Претсед ...

since 17 January 2022. A member of the

Social Democratic Union of Macedonia The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia ( mk, Социјалдемократски сојуз на Македонија – СДСМ, ''Socijaldemokratski Sojuz na Makedonija'' – SDSM, sq, Lidhja socialdemokrate e Maqedonisë – LSDM) is a ...

(SDSM), Kovačevski previously served as deputy finance minister from 2020 until his appointment as prime minister in 2022 after the resignation of the previous prime minister.

Background

Kovačevski was born in

Kumanovo Kumanovo ( mk, Куманово ; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in North Macedonia and the seat of Kumanovo Municipality, the List of municipalities in the Republic of Macedonia by population, largest municipali ...

. He is the son of Slobodan Kovačevski, mayor of Kumanovo from 2000 to 2005 and ambassador of the Republic of Macedonia to Montenegro after the establishment of

diplomatic relations Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

between the two countries in 2006. He completed high school education in

Waterville, Minnesota Waterville is a town in Le Sueur County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,868 at the 2010 census. It is close to Sakatah Lake State Park on the Cannon River. Waterville has a yearly celebration called "Bullhead Days," and it i ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. In 1998 he graduated at the Faculty of Economics at

Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje The Saints Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje ( mk, Универзитет „Св. Кирил и Методиј“ во Скопје) is the oldest and largest List of universities in North Macedonia, public university in North Macedonia. ...

and received a master's degree at the same Faculty in 2003. In 2008 he completed doctoral studies in economics at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Montenegro. Kovačevski started his working career in 1998 at the Macedonian telecommunications company

Makedonski Telekom Makedonski Telekom AD ( mk, Македонски Телеком АД, lit=Macedonian Telekom PLC) is a telecommunications company in North Macedonia with headquarters in Skopje. It is part of the Magyar Telekom Group, which is a fully consolida ...

. From 2005 to 2017 he held a number of managerial positions in the company. From 2017 to 2018 he was the executive director of

A1 Macedonia A1 Macedonia DOO Skopje is a telecommunications company in North Macedonia owned by A1 Telekom Austria Group. A1 offers broadband internet, cable and terrestrial television, mobile telephony and landline. History A1 Macedonia (then known as ...

(then known as one.Vip), a subsidiary of

Telekom Austria Group A1 Telekom Austria Group is a provider of a range of fixed-line, broadband Internet, multimedia services, data, and IT systems, wholesale as well as mobile payment services. It is a subsidiary of Mexican telecommunications conglomerate América M ...

. Kovačevski was an assistant professor at two private universities in Skopje since 2012, first at the New York University of Skopje, and then at the Faculty of Business Economics and Management at

University American College Skopje The University American College Skopje (abbr. UACS) is a private university established in 2005. It is headquartered in Skopje, North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the ...

, where in 2018 he was elected associate professor. In 2018, Kovačevski co-founded a private company, which opened the first domestic factory for the production of photovoltaic modules in North Macedonia. He has been a member of the

since 1994.

Political career

After the 2020 parliamentary elections in North Macedonia, Kovačevski was appointed Deputy Minister of Finance in

Zoran Zaev Zoran Zaev ( mk, Зоран Заев, ; born 8 October 1974) is a Macedonian economist and politician who served as prime minister of North Macedonia from May 2017 to January 2020, and again from August 2020 to January 2022. Prior to entering ...

's second government. The parliament elected him to this position on 23 September 2020. Zaev announced his resignation as both prime minister and leader of

SDSM The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia ( mk, Социјалдемократски сојуз на Македонија – СДСМ, ''Socijaldemokratski Sojuz na Makedonija'' – SDSM, sq, Lidhja socialdemokrate e Maqedonisë – LSDM) is a ...

after a defeat in the 2021 local elections. This caused instability in the fragile ruling majority, which nevertheless survived a push from the opposition led by

VMRO-DPMNE Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity ( mk, Внатрешна македонска револуционерна организација – Демократска партија за ...

for a no-confidence vote. In aftermath, Zaev's government strengthened its majority in the parliament by gaining the support of four other MPs from Alternativa, which until then was in the opposition. Kovačevski accompanied Zaev during negotiations with Alternativa, which launched his name as Zaev's most likely successor. After Zaev officially resigned as president of SDSM, Kovačevski won internal party elections on 12 December 2021, leaving the other two candidates far behind in votes and succeeding Zaev as leader of the party. He was sworn in on 16 January 2022.

References

External links

Dimitar Kovacevski - Deputy Minister of Finance
''www.vlada.mk''. , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kovačevski, Dimitar 1974 births Ethnic Macedonian people Living people Macedonian economists Macedonian politicians People from Kumanovo Prime Ministers of North Macedonia Social Democratic Union of Macedonia politicians Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje alumni