Milan Roćen ( sr-cyrl, Милан Роћен; born 23 November 1950 in Žabljak,

SR Montenegro The Socialist Republic of Montenegro ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Crna Gora, Социјалистичка Република Црна Гора), commonly referred to as Socialist Montenegro or simply Montenegro, was ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

) is a Montenegrin politician who was the

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 co ...

Government of Montenegro The Government of Montenegro ( cnr, Vlada Crne Gore, Влада Црне Горе) is the executive branch of state authority in Montenegro. It is headed by the prime minister. It consists of the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers as we ...

and the last ambassador of the

State Union of Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Y ...

to the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

(from 2004 to 2006).Biography
, ''Montenegro's government official website'' He is currently active as political advisor of the

President of Montenegro The president of Montenegro ( cnr, Предсједник Црне Горе, Predsjednik Crne Gore) is the head of state of Montenegro. The current president is Milo Đukanović, who was elected in the first round of the 2018 presidential elect ...

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 ...

Personal life

He graduated in journalism from the Faculty of Political Science,

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-ba ...

. He is married and has one son. Besides speaking his native

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambiguation ...

, he also speaks Russian.

Political career

From 1976 to 1979, following his degree in journalism, Milan Roćen was a journalist for the weekly magazine ''Ekonomska politika'' in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...

. In 1979, he became a staff member for the information and propaganda department of the presidency of the central committee of the

League of Communists of Montenegro , logo = , colorcode = , leader = President of the League of Communists of Montenegro , foundation = 1943 , dissolution = 22 June 1991 , successor = Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegr ...

. In 1982, he became political chief of staff to the President of the same committee. From November 2006 to July 2012, Milan Roćen was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro (Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Montenegro from December 2010). Roćen is one of the most influential members of the ruling

Democratic Party of Socialists The Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro ( cnr, Демократска партија социјалиста Црне Горе, Demokratska partija socijalista Crne Gore, DPS) is a populist political party in Montenegro. A former long-time ...

, which has been in power in Montenegro since the introduction of a multi-party system in 1990.

Controversy

According to an investigation supported by the ''

Puffin Foundation The Puffin Foundation, established in 1983, is a non-profit organization that aims to amplify the voices of minorities who may underrepresented due to their race, gender, social philosophy, etc. The foundation achieves this mission of fostering ...

Investigative Fund'' in 2008, ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

'' reported that Roćen, then ambassador of

Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

to the

, authorized a contract with ''Davis Manafort Inc'', a consulting firm founded by

Rick Davis Richard Dean Davis (born November 24, 1958) is an American former soccer midfielder, and former captain of the U.S. National Team for much of the 1980s. He is considered by fans the best U.S.-born player of the North American Soccer League er ...

, and that the firm was paid several million dollars to help organize the 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum campaign. Referendum finance documents did not record any exchanges with ''Davis Manafort'', although the claims of the payments were backed my multiple American diplomats and Montenegrin government officials on the condition of anonymity. In June 2019, an audio recording from the mid-2005 surfaced, that shows ambassador Roćen expresses concern over the EU pressure on the authorities of the

Republic of Montenegro A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

, asking Russian oligarch

Oleg Deripaska Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska (russian: Олег Владимирович Дерипаска; born 2 January 1968) is a Russian billionaire and an industrialist. Deripaska enriched himself on previously state-owned assets that were privatized in ...

, on behalf of then- Prime Minister of Montenegro Đukanović, to lobby for the Montenegrin independence referendum, through his connections with Canadian billionaire

Peter Munk Peter Munk (November 8, 1927 – March 28, 2018) was a Hungarian-Canadian businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of a number of high-profile business ventures, including the hi-fi electronics co ...

in the

United States 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 territorie ...

.Molio Deripasku da lobira za referendum
Dan, 22 June 2019

References

1950 births Living people People from Žabljak Foreign Ministers of Montenegro Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro politicians University of Belgrade Faculty of Political Science alumni {{Montenegro-politician-stub