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Nikola Gruevski ( mk, Никола Груевски, pronounced ; hu, Nikola Gruevszki; born 31 August 1970) is a
Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Ma ...
politician who served as
Prime Minister of 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 ...
from 2006 until his resignation, which was caused by the 2016 Macedonian protests, and led the
VMRO-DPMNE Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity ( mk, Внатрешна македонска револуционерна организација – Демократска партија за ...
party from 2004 to 2017. Under the Pržino Agreement mediated by the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
, Gruevski agreed to resign and left his post on 18 January 2016. In May 2018 he was sentenced to two years in prison on corruption charges. In November 2018 he was ordered to serve his sentence but failed to check-in with authorities and instead fled to Hungary, where he sought and was granted
political asylum The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another entit ...
. He has been accused of promoting the controversial
identity politics Identity politics is a political approach wherein people of a particular race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social background, social class, or other identifying factors develop political agendas that are based upon these i ...
called antiquization. Under his leadership the country which had
pro-European Pro-Europeanism, sometimes called European Unionism, is a political position that favours European integration and membership of the European Union (EU).Krisztina Arató, Petr Kaniok (editors). ''Euroscepticism and European Integration''. Polit ...
and pro-NATO policy, has changed sides to pro-Russian,
pro-Serbian Serbophilia ( sr, , , ''literally love for Serbia and Serbs'') is the admiration, appreciation or emulation of non-Serbian person who expresses a strong interest, positive predisposition or appreciation for the Serbian people, Serbia, Repu ...
and anti-Western one. He has opposed to the Friendship treaty signed with Bulgaria in 2017 and the Prespa agreement signed with Greece in 2018, despite both neighboring states being NATO and EU members. In April 2022, he was added to the
US Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
's Specially Designated Nationals List of individuals facing Balkans-related sanctions. Also in April, he was sentenced in Skopje to 7 years in prison on charges of money laundering and illegal acquisition and concealment of state property.


Personal life

Born in
Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...
in 1970, Gruevski was brought up in a family that was neither privileged nor poor. His father worked in furniture and design and his mother was a nurse. After his parents' divorce, he was raised by his mother. At the age of four, however, she went to work in
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
, like thousands of other Yugoslav citizens, and took him with her.A profile of Gruevski
The Economist, 12 August 2011
After their return, he completed primary and secondary education in
Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...
. Having graduated from the Faculty of Economics at the St. Clement of Ohrid University in Bitola in 1994 (where he dabbled in amateur theatre and boxing) he entered the nascent finance sector, and was the first person to trade on Skopje's stock exchange. During 1995 he worked as director of department in Multigroup owned Balkanbank, and became its exhibitioner till 1998. In 1996 he also acquired qualifications for the international capital market from a London Securities Institute. He founded the Brokerage Association of Macedonia in 1998 and made the first transaction on the
Macedonian Stock Exchange The Macedonian Stock Exchange (MSE; Macedonian: Македонска берза, ''Makedonska berza'') is the principal stock exchange in the Republic of North Macedonia, located in the capital city of Skopje. It was established in 1995 and the f ...
. On 12 December 2006, he obtained a master's degree from the Faculty of Economics at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. He divorced his first wife and was married again in May 2007 to Borkica Gruevska with whom he has two daughters: Anastasija and Sofija. Gruevski's paternal grandparents came from the Ottoman Macedonia village of Krushoradi, where his grandfather Nikolaos Grouios (Nikola Gruev) (1911–1940) was born. Until the official Greek annexation after the
Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies ...
in 1913, it was under the jurisdiction of the
Bulgarian Exarchate The Bulgarian Exarchate ( bg, Българска екзархия, Balgarska ekzarhiya; tr, Bulgar Eksarhlığı) was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and th ...
. The Greek administration later practised an assimilative anti-Bulgarian campaign, changing the names of local villagers to the corresponding Greek names. The village itself was renamed by the Greek authorities to
Achlada Achlada ( el, Αχλάδα, before 1926: Κρουσοράτη - ''Krousorati''; bg, Крушоради, ''Krushoradi'', Macedonian: , ''Krušoradi'') is a village in the Florina regional unit, Western Macedonia, Greece. History The settlement ...
in 1926. Gruevski's grandfather fought in the
Greco-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (Greek language, Greek: Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος, ''Ellinoïtalikós Pólemos''), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian Campaign in Greece, and the War of '40 in Greece, took place between the kingdom ...
, where he lost his life. His name is mentioned on the
war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...
in Achlada among the names of the locals who were killed during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. Years later, during the
Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος}, ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom and ...
, Gruevski's grandmother and father fled north to what was then Yugoslav Macedonia, where they changed their family name to Gruevski in order to gain citizenship through assimilation, as was the Yugoslav policy at the time. Gruevski's maternal grandfather - Mihail D. Miyalkov was a member of the
Bulgarian Action Committees The Bulgarian Action Committees in Macedonia were patriotic nationalist organizations of Bulgarians in Macedonia during 1941, emboldened by the invasion Yugoslavia by Nazi Germany, determined to end the Yugoslav (Serbian) rule in the region, perce ...
in 1941 and later of a ''Bulgarian club'' founded in Ŝtip in 1942, when the area was annexed by Bulgaria during the Second World War. His mother Nadezhda is also from Ŝtip. She is a sister of the first Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Macedonia - Jordan Mijalkov. During the administration of Nikola Gruevski, his first cousin, Sašo Mijalkov was the director of the Administration for Security and Counterintelligence of the Republic of Macedonia. Moreover, Gruevski also released a book in 2018 called "Experiences for the Future: Economic Effects of Different Types of International Capital Flows, With Particular Reference to the Republic of Macedonia"


Political career


Minister of Finance (1999–2002)

The government under Ljubčo Georgievski sold the Macedonian Telecom to Hungarian Matáv and the
OKTA In meteorology, an okta is a unit of measurement used to describe the amount of cloud cover at any given location such as a weather station. Sky conditions are estimated in terms of how many eighths of the sky are covered in cloud, ranging fr ...
oil refinery to Hellenic Petroleum. Gruevski also implemented financial reforms, including the reform of the payment system and the
value added tax A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...
of 18%, requiring fiscal receipts for all Macedonian businesses, which was a program designed to fight
tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the tax ...
.


Party leader (2003–2017)

Gruevski is the leader of the nationalist ruling party
VMRO-DPMNE Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity ( mk, Внатрешна македонска револуционерна организација – Демократска партија за ...
. After VMRO-DPMNE was defeated in the 2002 parliamentary election, there was a period of infighting within the party. Gruevski emerged as the pro-EU leader, and he was elected as leader of the party after Ljubčo Georgievski left the position. The former prime minister set up his own party ( VMRO-People's Party), but VMRO-DPMNE retained most of the party's supporters.


Prime Minister (2006–2016)

The VMRO-DPMNE won the July 2006 parliamentary election, and on 25 August 2006 he constituted the new government. His government had many new faces, mostly in their 30s, in key ministries and other positions. In the election Gruevski earned the distinction of becoming the first elected European head of government born in the 1970s. In June 2007, Gruevski attended a meeting in
Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...
, Albania, along with
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
George W. Bush,
Prime Minister of Albania The Prime Minister of Albania ( sq, Kryeministri i Shqipërisë), officially styled Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania ( sq, Kryeministri i Republikës së Shqipërisë), is the head of government of the Republic of Albania and the mo ...
Sali Berisha Sali Ram Berisha (; born 15 October 1944) is an Albanian conservative politician and former cardiologist who served as the second President of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and Prime Minister from 2005 to 2013. He is also the current chairman of ...
, and Prime Minister of Croatia Ivo Sanader. The coalition led by his party, VMRO-DPMNE, won the 1 June 2008 parliamentary election, their second electoral victory in a row, winning more than half of the seats in the parliament. The polling was marred by a number of violent incidents and allegations of fraud in some ethnic Albanian dominated municipalities. Gruevski created a government with the ethnic Albanian political party
Democratic Union for Integration The Democratic Union for Integration ( mk, Демократска унија за интеграција, ДУИ, Demokratska unija za integracija, DUI, al, Bashkimi Demokratik për Integrim, BDI) is the largest ethnic Albanian political party ...
. The coalition led by his party, VMRO-DPMNE, won the 5 June 2011 parliamentary election, their third electoral victory in a row, winning 56 out of the 123 seats in the parliament. Objections of misuse of state resources, including the blackmail of over one hundred thousand public servants to act as agitators were neglected, and the elections were declared valid. Gruevski formed the new government, again in coalition with the Democratic Union for Integration. On 6 January 2012, Gruevski opened the
triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, cr ...
" Porta Macedonia" in
Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...
as a monument to 20th anniversary of Macedonian independence, and admitted that he personally has been the instigator of the
Skopje 2014 Skopje 2014 ( mk, Скопје 2014) was a project financed by the Macedonian government of the then-ruling nationalist party VMRO-DPMNE, with the official purpose of giving the capital Skopje a more classical appeal. The project, officially ann ...
project. On 27 April 2014, VMRO-DPMNE won the parliamentary election, providing Gruevski another term as Prime Minister. In 2014, Gruevski began to rush plans through Parliament to create a tax-free autonomous trade zone that falls outside the purview of both domestic and international regulators. The move raised alarm among Parliament members. The European Union's Venice Commission commented that "If all laws (other than criminal laws) are to be enacted and enforced by a managing body rather than the constitutionally recognised lawmaker and executive, this zone becomes a sort of a 'State within a State' separate from the existing constitutional structure" and could become "a haven for 'dirty money.'" In 2015 the former Prime Minister and founder of the
VMRO-DPMNE Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity ( mk, Внатрешна македонска револуционерна организација – Демократска партија за ...
, Ljubčo Georgievski accused Gruevski's government it had a goal to serbianise the country, finally joining it to Serbia.


Wiretapping scandal and resignation

In May 2015, protests occurred in
Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...
against Gruevski and his government. The demonstrations began following charges being brought against Zoran Zaev, the opposition leader, who responded by alleging that Gruevski had had 20,000 Macedonian officials and other figures wiretapped, and had covered up the murder of a young man by a police officer in 2011. A major protest occurred on 5 May, with violent clashes between activists and police, causing injuries on both sides. In the days following, the opposition claimed that more anti-government actions would occur, which they did later that month. Several ministers, including the interior minister, resigned. Gruevski initially refused to step down, saying on 16 May that "if I back down it would be a cowardly move ... I’ll face down the attacks." However, on 15 January 2016,
Emil Dimitriev Emil Dimitriev ( mk, Емил Димитриев, born 19 March 1979) is a Macedonian conservative politician, sociologist, and general secretary of the VMRO-DPMNE. He served as Prime Minister of Macedonia, following the resignation of Nikola Grue ...
was nominated as Prime Minister and he assumed office on 18 January, following the arranged pre-electoral resignation of Gruevski from the position, as part of the Przino Agreement.


Post-premiership (since 2017)

In July 2017, a Macedonian court ordered the seizure of the passports of Gruevski and four other officials of his party, including former interior minister Gordana Jankuloska and former transportation minister Mile Janakieski, in connection with the wiretapping case. In December 2017, Gruevski resigned as leader of the VMRO-DPMNE, following the party's major defeat by the Social Democratic Union in
local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct v ...
.


Trial

In January 2017 the Macedonian Special Prosecutor's Office launched the 'Tank' investigation in which two individuals were accused of using their official position and authority in the period from February to October 2012 to complete an illegal public procurement of an armoured
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquarte ...
car worth €600,000 and "fulfil the wishes" of Gruevski who was Prime Minister at the time. On 23 May 2018, Gruevski was sentenced to two years in prison for unlawfully influencing government officials in the purchase of the luxury bulletproof car. On 9 November 2018, the Skopje Criminal Court rejected Gruevski's appeals for a postponement of his prison sentence and on 10 November he did not appear for the start of his two-year sentence. He had been last seen in Macedonia on 8 November at a hotel in Skopje. The Macedonian authorities issued an arrest warrant against the fugitive. VMRO-DPMNE's leader, Hristijan Mickoski defended Gruevski and described the arrest warrant and police search against him as "political persecution" and a "
witch-hunt A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern pe ...
", adding that VMRO-DPMNE was "under police siege".


Fugitive

On 13 November, Gruevski announced through his
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...
account that he had fled to Hungary, where he applied for political asylum. Gruevski was seen as having particularly close relations with the right-wing national conservative
Fidesz Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance (; hu, Fidesz – Magyar Polgári Szövetség) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Hungary, led by Viktor Orbán. It was formed in 1988 under the name of Alliance of Young ...
's head, and Prime Minister of Hungary,
Viktor Orbán Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian politician who has served as prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has presided over Fidesz since 1993, with a brief break between ...
, who opposed the Prespa agreement between Greece and Macedonia and supported VMRO-DPMNE's hardline position against it. Orbán has reportedly described Gruevski's escape as "an interesting story, exciting, like all crime stories". Despite his passport having been confiscated, Gruevski successfully escaped and concerns arose that he probably used a Bulgarian one. However, according to Bulgarian authorities, Gruevski has never applied for Bulgarian citizenship. It was later confirmed by Albanian police that, with the aid of the Hungarian government which escorted him using Hungarian diplomatic vehicles, Gruevski had passed through Albania,
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...
and
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...
before arriving in Hungary.
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cr ...
alerted that Gruevski is wanted under an international arrest warrant and the Macedonian government filed a formal
extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdi ...
request. Hungary's opposition parties are calling on the Hungarian government to arrest and quickly extradite the fugitive former prime minister back to Macedonia. On 20 November 2018, Gruevski was granted political asylum by the Hungarian authorities. Gruevski has condemned the Prespa agreement and stated that Prime Minister Zoran Zaev "scammed" and "tricked" the Macedonian people over the name change of the country and that Greek politicians imposed an unfavourable deal upon Macedonia that outlines exclusive claims over "antique history" by Greece. On 27 June 2019, Gruevski appeared handcuffed in a court in Budapest on a hearing closed for the public for his extradition requested by the North Macedonian authorities. Later that day the court in Budapest announced that his extradition was rejected. According to judge Éva Várhegyi the conditions needed for his extradition were not fulfilled. On 21 July 2020, Gruevski's position as an
honorary president A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
of VMRO-DPNME was taken away, along with other changes that were made to
democratize Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic Regime, political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an Authoritarianism, auth ...
the party. Furthermore in October 2020, Gruevski was named in a new money laundering probe launched by the authorities in
North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
.


Tobias Zech lobbying scandal

On 19 March 2021, German politician Tobias Zech resigned from the
Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Comm ...
due to allegations that he received a large sum of money to campaign for former Macedonian PM Nikola Gruevski. After Gruevski escaped to Hungary, Zech continued business relations with
North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
through
cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...
-related company PharmCann Deutschland AG in partnership with Zlatko Keskovski, a former
counter-intelligence Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ot ...
officer of North Macedonia.


Awards and recognition


Recognitions

* 2014: Order St. Nicholas – Highest Award of
Štip Štip ( mk, Штип ) is the largest urban agglomeration in the eastern part of North Macedonia, serving as the economic, industrial, entertainment and educational focal point for the surrounding municipalities. As of the 2002 census, the city ...
* 2015: Order Baptist (Preteca) from
Saint Jovan Bigorski Monastery The Monastery of Saint Jovan Bigorski ( mk, Свети Јован Бигорски) is a Macedonian Orthodox monastery located in the western part of North Macedonia, near the road connecting the towns of Debar and Gostivar. The monastery chur ...


Awards

* Vienna Economic Forum award – for contribution to national and regional economic development (2011)


References


Further reading

* Gruevski, Nikola and Vaknin, Sam ''Macedonian Economy on a Crossroads'', Skopje, NIP Noval Literatura, 1998. * Gruevski, Nikola
''The Way Out''
*


External links


Biography of Gruevski at the Homepage of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia

Book: Makedonskata ekonomija na krstopat : na patot kon pozdrava ekonomija by Nikola Gruevski and Sam Vaknin
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gruevski, Nikola 1970 births VMRO-DPMNE politicians Living people Macedonian nationalists Macedonian people of Bulgarian descent Politicians from Skopje Prime Ministers of North Macedonia Finance ministers of North Macedonia Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje alumni Politicians convicted of corruption Politicians convicted of fraud Fugitives Macedonian expatriates in Hungary Macedonian politicians convicted of crimes