Srđan Popović (, ; born 16 September 1978) is a Kosovar and

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n politician who is currently serving as the mayor of Gračanica, a Serbian enclave in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

since 2017.

Biography

Early life and career

Popović was born in 1978 in

Pristina Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and District of Pristina, district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdo ...

which at that time was a part of the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

. He finished middle and high school in Pristina and graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Priština. During the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...

he was a volunteer in the NGO Center for Peace and Tolerance and worked as a coordinator of humanitarian aid. After the war he worked for

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...

as an educator for the

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

members of the election committee. He also worked as a coordinator for the displaced people from the war and was active within the Serbian enclaves. From 2008 to 2011, he was the Director of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Gračanica.

Political career

His first real political engament was in 2011 when he served as a political Adviser at the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning in the

Government of Kosovo The Government of Kosovo (, ) exercises executive authority in the Republic of Kosovo. It is composed of government ministers, and is led by the prime minister. The prime minister is elected by the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo. Ministe ...

. In September 2011, he was named as a new Director of the Office for Community Affairs and Senior Adviser to the

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. From 2015 to 2017, after Velimir Rakić passed away, Popović replaced him as a member of the

Assembly of Kosovo The Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Скупштина Републике Косово, Skupština Republike Kosovo) or the Kuvendi, is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Kosovo that is directly elected by the peo ...

as a representative of the Serb List. Popović was elected new Mayor of Gračanica after the

2017 Kosovan local elections Local elections were held in Kosovo on 22 October 2017. Only 19 municipalities elected a mayor in the first round, and 19 voted again on 19 November 2017. Electoral system The Mayor and the members of the Assembly were elected by open list prop ...

in which he won 87.2% of the popular vote.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popovic, Srdjan 1978 births Living people Politicians from Pristina Kosovo Serbs Mayors of places in Kosovo Mayors of places in Serbia Serbian Progressive Party politicians