Zoran Žižić (
Serbian Cyrillic
The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...
: Зоран Жижић; 4 March 1951 – 4 January 2013) was a Yugoslav and Montenegrin politician. He served as
Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro in the first two
Đukanović cabinets from 1991 to 1996,
and was the first
Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia following the
overthrow of Slobodan Milošević in 2000.
Žižić resigned from the position of Prime Minister in protest over the extradition of
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Милошевић, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the President of Serbia between 1989 and 1997 and President of the Federal Republic of Yugos ...
to the
ICTY
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribun ...
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, ...
wing of the
Socialist People's Party and was expelled in 2005 following disagreements with its moderate leader
Predrag Bulatović.
Early life and education
Zoran Žižić was born on 4 March 1951 in
Titograd
Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...
.
His father Živko Žižić fought for the
Yugoslav Partisans
The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...
in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and was a pre-war member of the
Communist Party of Yugoslavia
The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, was the founding and ruling party of SFR Yugoslavia. It was formed in 1919 as the main communist opposition party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats a ...
. 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 use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...
of
Uskoci. 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 , "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 the doctorate; ...
from the
University of Belgrade Faculty of Law
The Faculty of Law of the University in Belgrade (/''Pravni fakultet Univerziteta u Beogradu''), also known as the Belgrade Law School, is one of the first-tier educational institutions of the University of Belgrade, Serbia. The building is locate ...
. He returned to his hometown and worked at the
University of Montenegro Faculty of Law, first as an assistant, and later as a lecturer.
Political career
Žižić was a member of the
League of Communists of Yugoslavia
The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, was the founding and ruling party of SFR Yugoslavia. It was formed in 1919 as the main communist opposition party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats ...
. 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 (DPS) and an MP in the
Federal Assembly of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Žižić's first elected office was
Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro, 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.
After
Momir Bulatović'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 () is a List of political parties in Montenegro, political party in Montenegro. It is a Social democracy, social-democratic and Social conservatism, socially conservative party, that is positioned on ...
(SNP) in 1998.
He became
Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on 4 November 2000 shortly after the
overthrow of Slobodan Milošević, when the Bulatović cabinet collapsed.
Žižić resigned on 29 June 2001, after eight months in office, in protest over the extradition of
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Милошевић, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the President of Serbia between 1989 and 1997 and President of the Federal Republic of Yugos ...
to the
ICTY
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribun ...
.
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.
Starting in July 2001 when the leadership of the SNP under
Predrag Bulatović 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, ...
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, 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 ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...
, aged 61. His funeral was attended by
Prime Minister of Serbia
The prime minister of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, премијер Србије, premijer Srbije; feminine gender, feminine: премијерка/premijerka), officially the president of the Government of the Republic of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, председн ...
Ivica Dačić.
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
Academic staff of the University of Montenegro
Deputy prime ministers of Montenegro