Nenad Čanak ( sr-Cyrl, Ненад Чанак, ; born 2 November 1959) is a Serbian politician. He is the co-founder and former leader of the

centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...

League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina The League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina ( sr-cyrl, Лига социјалдемократа Војводине, Liga socijaldemokrata Vojvodine, LSV) is an autonomist political party in Serbia. Its current leader since 19 November 2022 is Bo ...

. He was the

President of the Assembly of Vojvodina The President of the Assembly of Vojvodina presides over that body which serves as the unicameral parliament of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, within the Republic of Serbia. Officeholders Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina ; Pa ...

from 2000 to 2004, and until 2020 he was a member of the

National Assembly of Serbia The National Assembly ( sr-cyr, Народна скупштина, Narodna skupština, ) is the unicameral legislature of Serbia. The assembly is composed of 250 deputies who are proportionally elected to four-year terms by secret ballot. The a ...

Early and personal life

Čanak was born in Pančevo, in the

autonomous province of Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capit ...

PR Serbia , life_span = 1944–1992 , status = Constituent state of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia , p1 = Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia , flag_p1 = Fla ...

FPR 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 Yu ...

(now

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

). His paternal ancestors were colonists from Zrmanja, Gračac in Lika (in modern

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

). He was raised in a family of teachers, and went to the general and musical high school (

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

) in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...

, graduated from the

University of Novi Sad The University of Novi Sad ( sr, Универзитет у Новом Саду, Univerzitet u Novom Sadu; hu, Újvidéki Egyetem) is a public university in Novi Sad, Serbia. Alongside nationally prestigious University of Belgrade, University of ...

Faculty of Economics at Subotica and after that specialized in marketing and computer networks at the Executive Training Center in

Brdo pri Kranju Brdo Castle near Kranj ( sl, grad Brdo pri Kranju, german: Egg bei Krainburg), usually simply Brdo Castle ( sl, grad Brdo), is an estate and a mansion in the Slovenian region of Upper Carniola west of the village of Predoslje, City Municipality ...

in 1989. Nenad Čanak was married to Marija Vasić until their divorce in 2001. They have a son together, born in 1999.

Political career

Čanak is the co-founder and leader of the

(LSV, est. 1990). In October 1991 he was forcibly mobilized during the

War in Croatia The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...

and sent to the front in

Ilok Ilok () is the easternmost town in Croatia forming a geographic salient surrounded by Vojvodina. Located in the Syrmia region, it lies on a hill overlooking the Danube river, which forms the border with the Bačka region of Serbia. The pop ...

. At the start of the

NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...

, he requested to be mobilized but was turned down. He was also the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

of the

Autonomous Province of Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capit ...

from 2000 to 2004. From 2004 until 2020 he was a member of the National Assembly. In Spring 2009 he took part in regional edition of '' Big Brother'' reality show, ''

Veliki Brat VIP All Stars ''Veliki Brat VIP All Stars'' was the third season of the regional celebrity version of ''Veliki Brat''. The show started airing on 9 March 2009, and finished on 6 April 2009. It was aired on three television channels in three countries: Pink in ...

''. In September 2022, Čanak announced that he would step down as president of LSV at the party conference in November 2022.

Policies

The LSV actively seeks the decentralization of Serbia with a higher autonomy for Vojvodina. He was once quoted as saying: "We want a Vojvodina in which there will be order, civility and prosperity".

References

1959 births Living people Presidents of the Assembly of Vojvodina Politicians from Pančevo Serbian soldiers Serbian atheists Candidates for President of Serbia League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina politicians University of Novi Sad alumni Members of the National Assembly (Serbia) {{Serbia-politician-stub