Ivica Dačić ( sr-cyr, Ивица Дачић, ; born 1 January 1966) is a Serbian politician serving as
first deputy prime minister of Serbia and
minister of foreign affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
since 2022, roles which he previously served under governments of
Mirko Cvetković
Mirko Cvetković ( sr-Cyr, Мирко Цветковић, ; born 16 August 1950) is a Serbian economist and former politician who served as the prime minister of Serbia from 2008 to 2012 and as finance minister from 2007 to 2008, and again from ...
,
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 ...
, and
Ana Brnabić
Ana Brnabić ( sr-cyr, Ана Брнабић, ; born 28 September 1975) is a Serbian politician serving as the prime minister of Serbia since 2017. She is the first woman and first openly gay person to hold the office.
She entered government a ...
. He has been the leader of the
Socialist Party of Serbia
The Socialist Party of Serbia ( sr, Социјалистичка партија Србије, Socijalistička partija Srbije, SPS) is a political party in Serbia. It is led by Ivica Dačić.
It was founded in 1990 as the direct successor to t ...
(SPS) since 2006.
Dačić graduated from 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 ...
in 1989 and joined SPS in 1991. He quickly rose up the ranks of the party, becoming its spokesman in 1992, under his mentor,
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...
, President of Serbia and FR Yugoslavia. Under Milošević, he served as the
minister of information
An information minister (also called minister of information) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with information matters; it is often linked with censorship and propaganda. Sometimes the position is given to ...
from 2000 to 2001. Following the
overthrow of Slobodan Milošević
The overthrow of Slobodan Milošević in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, began after the presidential election on 24 September and culminated in the downfall of Slobodan Milošević's government on 5 October 2000. It is sometimes referred to as the 5 Oct ...
, Dačić became a member of the main board, and became party leader in 2006. Like his predecessor Milošević, he is regarded as a
pragmatic
Pragmatism is a philosophical movement.
Pragmatism or pragmatic may also refer to:
*Pragmaticism, Charles Sanders Peirce's post-1905 branch of philosophy
*Pragmatics, a subfield of linguistics and semiotics
*''Pragmatics'', an academic journal in ...
leader willing to change views based on circumstance and has worked to reform the party. Dačić led SPS into a government with the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
(DS) in 2008, after which he became the first deputy prime minister and
minister of internal affairs
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...
, roles which he served until 2012. The DS–SPS government reached an
EU candidate status. After the
2012 parliamentary election, SPS formed a coalition government with the
Serbian Progressive Party
The Serbian Progressive Party ( sr-cyrl, Српска напредна странка, Srpska napredna stranka, SNS) has been the ruling political party of Serbia since 2012.
Founded by Tomislav Nikolić and Aleksandar Vučić in 2008 as a s ...
(SNS); Dačić was elected
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
. The SNS–SPS government pursued the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
to start formal negotiations for the
accession of Serbia and he signed the
Brussels Agreement on the normalization of relations of governments of Serbia and
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
.
In 2014, he returned to being the first deputy prime minister and also became the minister of foreign affairs, roles which he served until 2020. Dačić was elected
president of the National Assembly after the
2020 parliamentary election and was succeeded by
Vladimir Orlić
Vladimir Orlić ( sr-cyr, Владимир Орлић; born 15 April 1983) is a Serbian politician serving as president of the National Assembly of Serbia since 2022. A member of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), he has served in the National ...
in 2022. Commentators described his political positions as
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
.
Early life
Dačić was born on 1 January 1966 in
Prizren
)
, settlement_type = Municipality and city
, image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg
, imagesize = 290px
, image_caption = View of Prizren
, image_alt = View of Prizren
, image_flag ...
, which at the time was part of the
Socialist Republic of Serbia
, life_span = 1944–1992
, status = Constituent state of Yugoslavia
, p1 = Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia
, flag_p1 = Flag of German Reich (1935–1945).svg
, p2 ...
within
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
. Dačić was born to a Serbian family and was brought up in
Žitorađa
Žitorađa ( sr-cyr, Житорађа, ) is a village and municipality located in the Toplica District of the southern Serbia. The municipality includes 30 settlements. According to the 2011 census, the population of the municipality is 16,368 in ...
. His father, Desimir, was a police officer, and his mother, Jelisaveta ("Jela"), was a housewife.
His parents were both born in villages under the
Jastrebac
Jastrebac (Serbian Cyrillic: Јастребац) is a mountain in central Serbia, between cities of Niš, Kruševac and Prokuplje. It consists of two massifs, Great (''Veliki'') and Small (''Mali'') Jastrebac. Its highest peak ''Velika Đulica'' ...
.
[ When Ivica was six months old, the family moved to Žitorađa.][ He has a sister, Emica.][ At the age of 5, he was featured in the newspapers in the article "Enciklopedija u kratkim pantalonama" (Encyclopaedia in shorts) as he had learnt to read and write himself, knew the names of many mountains, rivers and capitals, nearly all notable football players and results of matches.][
His childhood nickname was ''Bucko'' and his classmates at ]secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
in Žitorađa described him as very intelligent for his age - he reportedly managed to often amaze his teachers with his knowledge and wit. He played handball and football and associated with everyone at his school.[ In the state-run history-contest named "Tito, revolucija, mir", which was held in all republics, Dačić won over 600 others.][ The family was described as humble and not wealthy, and as they lived off one paycheck, the parents picked ]mushrooms
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans.
The standard for the na ...
and dog rose
''Rosa canina'', commonly known as the dog rose, is a variable climbing, wild rose species native to Europe, northwest Africa, and western Asia.
Description
The dog rose is a deciduous shrub normally ranging in height from , though sometimes it ...
in order to send Ivica and his sister to school.[ The parents sold the house in Žitorađa in 2010 and moved to ]Prokuplje
Prokuplje ( sr-cyrl, Прокупље, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Toplica District in southern Serbia. According to 2011 census, the city urban area has a population of 27,333 inhabitants, while the administrative area has 4 ...
, Desimir had until some years ago driven a 1977 Fiat 500
The Fiat 500 ( it, Cinquecento, ) is a rear-engined, four-seat, small city car that was manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles from 1957 until 1975 over a single generation in two-door saloon and two-door station wagon bodystyles.
Launc ...
.[
He went to high school in ]Niš
Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...
, where he excelled with the highest grades (5), and graduated from 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 ...
's Faculty of Political Sciences, with a degree in journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...
in 1989, with a highest medium grade of 10, and also won the award for the best student of scientific achievements. His sister Emica has degrees in pedagogy
Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...
and drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
.[ He was in the faculty organization Association of Communists, and in 1990 he was elected the first president of the Young Socialists of Belgrade.][
]
Political career
Early years
At the beginning of the 1990s, he was an editor for the short-lived newspapers of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), "Epoha".[ He became a member of SPS in the middle of 1991.][ He was the head of the Information and Propaganda staff of the SPS during the elections in 1992 and 1993, and then a minister of the Citizens' council in the first assembly of Yugoslavia, and member of the Executive Committee of the Main Board (IO GO) and Vice President of the Council for Information and Propaganda of the SPS.][ He was appointed member of IO GO on the second congress of SPS on 26 October 1992, with the most won votes.][
In the mid-1990s, Milošević's wife ]Mirjana Marković
Mirjana "Mira" Marković ( sr-cyr, Мирјана "Мира" Марковић, ; 10 July 1942 – 14 April 2019) was a Serbian politician, academic and the wife of Yugoslav and Serbian president Slobodan Milošević.
She was the leader of the ...
moved Dačić to a small office in a Belgrade suburb in order to curb his growing ambitions.[ Dačić was appointed member of IO GO again in the next congress in 1996, when there were major personnel changes in the party leadership, and of 27 members of IO GO, voted in 1992, only 5 remained, including Dačić.][ He was the spokesman of SPS for 8 years, between 1992 and 2000.] In 1996, Dačić was a minister in the Citizens' Council of the Assembly of Yugoslavia and President of the Committee on Public Information, and in 1997 he was member of the Committee on Foreign Relations.[ In April 1999, the federal government appointed him a member of the Board of Tanjug, and in early May, as President of the Federal Council of the public institution RTV Yugoslavia.][
]
President of the SPS Main Board and 2004 elections
He was elected President of the Belgrade Socialists on 10 February 2000, and again on 5 December 2000 in the election conference of the City Board of SPS.[ Following the ]Bulldozer Revolution
A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous tracks, ...
on 5 October 2000, Milošević was arrested by Serbian police on 31 March 2001, and was eventually transferred to The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
to be prosecuted by the ICTY
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal ...
.
In the transitional government, from October 2000 to January 2001, Dačić was the co-minister of Information alongside Biserka Matić (DOS) and Bogoljub Pejčić (SPO).[ On 24 September 2000 he was elected the minister of the Citizens' Council of the Assembly of Yugoslavia, and then member of the Committee on Security and Foreign Policy in both federal assemblies.][ Dačić reformed the party with his assembling of a team of young moderates, while retaining some of the former figures to satisfy the elderly ex-communists.][
Dačić was the President of the Main Board of the SPS and was the Vice President of the SPS from 2000 to 2003, and federal deputy in the Chamber of Citizens of the Federal Assembly of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Assembly of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro from 1992 to 2004.][ In the sixth congress of SPS, on 18 January 2003, Dačić was elected the President of the Main Board of SPS.][ Since 2003, he was deputy in the parliament, and head of the parliamentary group of SPS.][
He was the party's presidential candidate in the 2004 election and placed fifth with 125,952 votes (4,04%).][
]
Party leadership
He was elected President of the Socialist Party on the seventh congress on 4 December 2006, winning over candidate Milorad Vučelić in the second round with 1287 points, versus 792 points, of the delegates votes.[ In 2007, he was the President of the Committee on Security of the Parliament.][ On 7 July 2008, the government appointed Dačić the first Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Police.][ He became a member of the ]Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
The Assembly is made up o ...
(PACE).[
In 2008, the Socialists were back in power as partners of the Democrats in the ]For a European Serbia
For a European Serbia ( sr, За европску Србију / Za evropsku Srbiju, ZES) was a big tent and pro-EU electoral alliance, led by Boris Tadić, which participated in the 2008 Serbian parliamentary election. It received 38.42% of the p ...
-electoral alliance
An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political party, political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand ...
, led by Boris Tadić
Boris Tadić ( sr-cyr, Борис Тадић, ; born 15 January 1958) is a Serbian politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2004 to 2012.
Born in Sarajevo, he graduated from the University of Belgrade with a degree in psychology ...
, after the 2008 Serbian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Serbia on 11 May 2008 to elect members of the National Assembly. The election was held barely a year after the previous parliamentary election. There were 6,749,886 eligible electors who were able to vote in 8 ...
; the Democrats were the main party that had helped oust Milošević.[ Dačić supported Serbia's EU ambitions.][
In August 2010, Dačić and his family were under police protection after threats by the ]Serbian mafia
Serbian organized crime or Serbian mafia ( sr, Cpпска мафија / Srpska mafija) are various criminal organizations based in Serbia or composed of ethnic Serbs in the former Yugoslavia and Serbian diaspora. The organizations are primari ...
. In 2012, the Security Intelligence Agency
The Security Intelligence Agency ('' sr, Безбедносно-информативна агенција / Bezbednosno-informativna agencija''; abbr. ''BIA'') is a national intelligence agency of Serbia. The agency is responsible for collecting, r ...
(Serbia's intelligence agency
An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, Intelligence analysis, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objective ...
) received information that drug boss Darko Šarić had offered 10 million € to assassinate Tadić and Dačić.
2012 elections, Prime Minister
The Socialist Party entered a coalition with the Party of United Pensioners of Serbia
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...
(PUPS), and United Serbia
United Serbia ( sr, Јединствена Србија, Jedinstvena Srbija, JS) is a national-conservative political party in Serbia.
History
It was founded on 15 February 2004, as a split from the far-right Party of Serbian Unity with Dragan ...
. In the 2012 parliamentary election the Socialist Party's coalition had come third with 556.013 votes, 14.53%, 44 seats;[ The ]Serbian Progressive Party
The Serbian Progressive Party ( sr-cyrl, Српска напредна странка, Srpska napredna stranka, SNS) has been the ruling political party of Serbia since 2012.
Founded by Tomislav Nikolić and Aleksandar Vučić in 2008 as a s ...
(SNS), led by Tomislav Nikolić
Tomislav Nikolić ( sr-Cyrl, Томислав Николић, ; born 15 February 1952) is a Serbian retired politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2012 to 2017. A former member of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS), he d ...
, beat the Democratic Party of Tadić in both the parliamentary and 2012 presidential election.[ Of the results, Dačić said "We have risen from the ashes" after the Party had doubled their results from the previous election.][ After weeks of negotiations, the Socialist Party left the alliance with the Democrats in favour of the Serbian Progressive Party.][ Nikolić offered the Prime Minister post to Dačić,][ and on 28 June 2012, Dačić received a mandate to form a new ]Government of Serbia
The Government of Serbia ( sr, Влада Србије, Vlada Srbije), formally the Government of the Republic of Serbia ( sr, Влада Републике Србије, Vlada Republike Srbije), commonly abbreviated to Serbian Government ( sr, ...
. Dačić assumed office on 27 July. He said at a reception: "In this chamber there are many who toppled us in 2000, and I thank them, for if they hadn't toppled us we wouldn't have changed, realised our mistakes and we wouldn't be standing here today.".[
The government included the SPS and SNS, along with several smaller parties, headed by Nikolić, a former nationalist.] The election has triggered some unease, as it marks the return of power of Milošević's allies.[ Dačić has worked on transforming the party since taking over after Milošević, proclaiming a pro-EU path, and abandoning Milošević's nationalist policies.][ The stagnant economy][ has resulted in Dačić set to forming a "economic recovery council" by the end of August.] The Serbian parliament elected Jorgovanka Tabaković
Jorgovanka Tabaković ( sr-cyr, Јоргованка Табаковић; ; born 21 March 1960) is a Serbian politician who has been the governor of the National Bank of Serbia since 2012. A member of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), she has ...
(SNS) as new central bank governor.
Policies
Upon becoming Prime Minister, he faced the challenges of a declining economy and Serbia's accession to the EU.[ Speaking to Parliament, he said that unemployment and economic recovery were the state's main priorities.][
]
Foreign relations
He has said that Serbia will "co-operate with all the countries of the world, advocate security, stability and good relations in the western Balkans and hold out its hand in reconciliation".
EU membership
Serbia earned EU candidate status under Tadić's government, and Dačić has said that the new government will implement everything the previous government had accepted in the EU talks.[ Dačić supporters claim his pro-EU stance is evident in the handover of ]Radovan Karadžić
Radovan Karadžić ( sr-cyr, Радован Караџић, ; born 19 June 1945) is a Bosnian Serb politician, psychiatrist and poet. He was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes by the International Criminal Tr ...
and Ratko Mladić
Ratko Mladić ( sr-Cyrl, Ратко Младић, ; born 12 March 1942) is a Bosnian Serb convicted war criminal and colonel-general who led the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) during the Yugoslav Wars. In 2017, he was found guilty of committing ...
under his tenure as Interior Minister, and his role in the visa-free travel for Serbs in the EU.[ Following the European Council's confirmation on 28 June 2013 that formal negotiations for the accession of Serbia to the EU could begin, Dačić announced that the Serbian government would remain continuously in session with the aim of completing the talks as quickly as possible. He emphasized that harmonisation with European laws is an integral part of the government's plan for boosting investment and employment.
]
Status of Kosovo
On 17 February 2008, the Assembly of Kosovo
The Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Kuvendi i Republikës së Kosovës; sr, Скупштина Републике Косово, Skupština Republike Kosovo) is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Kosovo that is directly electe ...
declared independence.[Kosovo MPs proclaim independence]
, BBC News, 17 February 2008 It was the second declaration of independence by Kosovo's Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
-majority political institutions, the first having been proclaimed on 7 September 1990. The legality of the declaration, and indeed whether it was an act of the Assembly, was disputed by the government of Serbia. Serbia sought international validation and support for its stance, and in October 2008 Serbia requested an advisory opinion on the matter from the International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
. The Court determined that the declaration of independence was legal.
In 2006, upon being elected party leader, Dačić said that he had no problem fighting for Kosovo as he had done it before.[ Although the recognition of Kosovo by Serbia might not be a requirement for Serbia's EU accession,][ the EU opposes any ]partition of Kosovo
The partition of Kosovo has been suggested as a solution to the Kosovo question between Serbia and Kosovo. A possible partition would be the division of Kosovo along ethnic lines, such as separating Serb majority North Kosovo, and possibly some ...
into ethnic entities.[ In May 2011, he said that partition of Kosovo would be the "only realistic solution".
On 25 July 2011, the North Kosovo crisis began when the ]Kosovo Police
The Kosovo Police ( sq, Policia e Kosovës, sr-Cyrl, Полиција Косова, sr-Latn, Policija Kosova) is the national policing law enforcement agency of Kosovo.
History
A Kosovo Police Service was created in 1999 in the aftermath o ...
crossed into the Serb-controlled municipalities of North Kosovo
North Kosovo ( sr, Северно Косово, Severno Kosovo; sq, Kosova Veriore), also known as the Ibar Kolašin ( sr, Ибарски Колашин, Ibarski Kolašin; sq, Koloshini i Ibrit or ''Kollashini i Ibrit''; earlier ''Old Kolašin ...
, in an attempt to control several border crossings without the consultation of either Serbia or KFOR/EULEX
The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, known as EULEX Kosovo or simply as EULEX,[About EULEX]
accessed 15 Ja ...
. Though tensions between the two sides eased somewhat after the intervention of NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
's KFOR forces, they continued to remain high amid concern from the EU, who also blamed Kosovo for the unilateral provocation.
On 24 November 2011, Dačić said that he saw the Republic of Kosovo's incident with Serbs in North Kosovo as an attack on Serbia. The BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
claimed the "nationalist" leanings of Kosovo-born Dačić raise speculation on the policy towards the Kosovo issue, which may implicate on Serbia's EU application.