Zoran Žižić (
Serbian Cyrillic
The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, th ...
: Зоран Жижић; 4 March 1951 – 4 January 2013) was a Yugoslav and Montenegrin politician. He served as
Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro
The Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro, officially Vice President of the Government of Montenegro ( Montenegrin: ''Potpredsjednik Vlade Crne Gore''), is the official Deputy of the Prime Minister of Montenegro.
Conventionally all of the junior p ...
in the first two
Đukanović cabinets from 1991 to 1996,
and was the first
Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The prime minister of Serbia and Montenegro was the head of government of Serbia and Montenegro from its establishment in 1992 up until the state's dissolution in 2006. Between 1992–2003 the full name of the office was President of the Federal ...
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 ...
in 2000.
Žižić resigned from the position of Prime Minister in protest over the extradition of
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 ...
to the
ICTY in June 2001.
He was part of the hard-line
Serbian nationalist
Serbian nationalism asserts that Serbs are a nation and promotes the cultural and political unity of Serbs. It is an ethnic nationalism, originally arising in the context of the general rise of nationalism in the Balkans under Ottoman rule, und ...
wing of the
Socialist People's Party and was expelled in 2005 following disagreements with its moderate leader
Predrag Bulatović
Predrag Bulatović (Serbian Cyrillic: Предраг Булатовић; born 16 July 1956) is a Montenegrin politician, current member of the Parliament of Montenegro and vice-president of the Democratic People's Party since the party's foundi ...
.
Early life and education
Zoran Žižić was born on 4 March 1951 in
Titograd
Podgorica (Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; lit. 'under the hill') is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd (Cyrillic: Титоград, ) between 1946 and 1992—in the period that Montenegro forme ...
.
His father Živko Žižić fought for the
Yugoslav Partisans
The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...
in
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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and was a pre-war member of the
Communist Party of Yugoslavia. After the war, he held the positions of State Prosecutor, Federal Deputy, then Minister of Education and Justice in the Government of Montenegro, as well as the President of the Supreme Court of Montenegro. Zoran's mother was Sonja Žižić (
''née'' Ivanović). On his father's side, Zoran's ancestors belonged to the
tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...
of
Uskoci
The Uskoks ( hr, Uskoci, , singular: ; notes on naming) were irregular soldiers in Habsburg Croatia that inhabited areas on the eastern Adriatic coast and surrounding territories during the Ottoman wars in Europe. Bands of Uskoks fought ...
. On his mother's side, he is descended from the tribe of
Kuči.
Žižić attended both elementary school and the
Gymnasium in his hometown. He graduated and obtained a
magister degree
A magister degree (also magistar, female form: magistra; from la, magister, "teacher") is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education.
The magister degree arose in medieval universities in Europe and was originally equal to th ...
from the
University of Belgrade Faculty of Law
The Faculty of Law of the University in Belgrade ( sr, Правни факултет Универзитета у Београду/''Pravni fakultet Univerziteta u Beogradu''), also known as the Belgrade Law School, is one of the first-tier educatio ...
. He returned to his hometown and worked at the
University of Montenegro Faculty of Law
The University of Montenegro Faculty of Law ( Montenegrin: Pravni fakultet Univerziteta Crne Gore ''Правни факултет Универзитета Црне Горе''), also known as the Podgorica Law School, is one of the educational inst ...
, first as an assistant, and later as a lecturer.
Political career
Žižić was a member of the
League of Communists of Yugoslavia. However, his first active participation in politics was during the
Anti-bureaucratic Revolution in 1989. He became head of the Main Board of the
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-tim ...
(DPS) and an MP in the
Federal Assembly of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Скупштина Србије и Црне Горе, Skupština Srbije i Crne Gore) was the legislative body of Serbia and Montenegro (until 2003, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). The ...
.
Žižić's first elected office was
Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro
The Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro, officially Vice President of the Government of Montenegro ( Montenegrin: ''Potpredsjednik Vlade Crne Gore''), is the official Deputy of the Prime Minister of Montenegro.
Conventionally all of the junior p ...
, a position he held during the first and second
Đukanović cabinets. As Deputy Prime Minister, Žižić worked on the project of reforming Montenegro into an
offshore financial center
An offshore financial centre (OFC) is defined as a "country or jurisdiction that provides financial services to nonresidents on a scale that is incommensurate with the size and the financing of its domestic economy."
"Offshore" does not refer ...
.
After
Momir Bulatović
Momir Bulatović ( sr-cyr, Момир Булатовић; 21 September 1956 – 30 June 2019) was a Yugoslav and Montenegrin politician. He was the first President of the Republic of Montenegro from 1990 to 1998, after which he served as the Prim ...
's split with the DPS, Žižić followed him and was elected Vice President of the newly formed
Socialist People's Party of Montenegro
The Socialist People's Party of Montenegro ( sr, Социјалистичка народна партија Црне Горе, Socijalistička narodna partija Crne Gore, SNP) is a political party in Montenegro. It is a social-democratic and s ...
(SNP) in 1998.
He became
Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The prime minister of Serbia and Montenegro was the head of government of Serbia and Montenegro from its establishment in 1992 up until the state's dissolution in 2006. Between 1992–2003 the full name of the office was President of the Federal ...
on 4 November 2000 shortly after 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 ...
, when the Bulatović cabinet collapsed.
Žižić resigned on 29 June 2001, after 8 months in office, in protest over the extradition of
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 ...
to the
ICTY.
He left the position on 24 July 2001 when a new cabinet was formed following the
2001 Montenegrin parliamentary election, led by his party colleague
Dragiša Pešić
Dragiša Pešić (Serbian Cyrillic: Драгиша Пешић; 8 August 1954 – 8 September 2016) was a Yugoslav politician. He was the second last Prime Minister of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Biography
Pešić was born in Danilovgrad on ...
.
Starting in July 2001 when the leadership of the SNP under
Predrag Bulatović
Predrag Bulatović (Serbian Cyrillic: Предраг Булатовић; born 16 July 1956) is a Montenegrin politician, current member of the Parliament of Montenegro and vice-president of the Democratic People's Party since the party's foundi ...
supported Pešić, Žižić was in conflict with his party. This culminated in January 2005 with the founding of the
Movement for the Joint European State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, which grouped together several
Serbian nationalist
Serbian nationalism asserts that Serbs are a nation and promotes the cultural and political unity of Serbs. It is an ethnic nationalism, originally arising in the context of the general rise of nationalism in the Balkans under Ottoman rule, und ...
parties and
pro-union moderates. Žižić was voted Chief of the Organizational Committee of the Movement on 20 January, and President of the Movement on 27 January 2005. The increasingly moderate SNP under Bulatović declined to join, trying to change its image into that of a democratic civic party. Žižić was expelled from the SNP in early April 2005.
Žižić was the President of the
Democratic Party of Unity
Democratic Party of Unity ( cnr, Демократска странка јединства, ''Demokratska stranka jedinstva'', DSJ) is a minor extra-parliamentary national conservative Serbian-Montenegrin unionist political party in Montenegro.
...
, a party he formed in July 2006. The party was a part of
Andrija Mandić's Serb List and
Democratic Front coalitions.
Personal life and death
Žižić was married to Mira Žižić, with whom he had two children – daughter Sonja and son Vuk.
Zoran Žižić died after an operation on 4 January 2013 in
Podgorica
Podgorica (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; Literal translation, lit. 'under the hill') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd ...
, aged 61. His funeral was attended by
Prime Minister of Serbia
The prime minister of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, премијерка Србије, premijerka Srbije; masculine: премијер/premijer), officially the president of the Government of the Republic of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, председница Влад ...
Ivica Dačić
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 since 2022, roles which he previously served under governments of Mirk ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zizic, Zoran
1951 births
2013 deaths
Politicians from Podgorica
Serbs of Montenegro
Democratic Party of Unity politicians
Socialist People's Party of Montenegro politicians
University of Montenegro faculty
Burials in Montenegro
Deputy Prime Ministers of Montenegro