Dragan Čavić ( sr-Cyrl, Драган Чавић; born 10 March 1958) is a

Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби у Босни и Херцеговини, Srbi u Bosni i Hercegovini) are one of the three constitutive nations (state-forming nations) of the country, predominantly residing in the politi ...

politician who was the 5th President of Republika Srpska from 28 November 2002 until 9 November 2006, after having been

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

from 2000 to 2002. From 20 July 2004 until 15 December 2006, he was the President of the Serb Democratic Party.

Education and personal life

Čavić attended elementary and high school in

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. ...

, and graduated from the Economics Faculty of the University of Banja Luka in 1980. He worked as an economist, financial manager and commercial director in several public and private companies. Čavić is married and has a son and a daughter.

Political career

Čavić is a former member of the Serb Democratic Party: he served as president of the party until 2006, after having been deputy president of the party presidency from June 1998 to March 2002. At the party elections in 2002 he was elected deputy president of the party. In 1998, he was elected deputy in the

National Assembly of Republika Srpska The National Assembly of Republika Srpska (, abbr. НСРС/NSRS) is the legislative body of Republika Srpska, one of two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The current assembly is the ninth since the founding of the entity. History The Nation ...

. He was removed from office by the then High Representative

Carlos Westendorp Carlos Westendorp y Cabeza (born 7 January 1937) is a Spanish diplomat and former politician. He is the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and also served as High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina succeeding Carl Bildt and was powered wit ...

since he was deemed obstructing implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement, and banned from political activity. The decision was overturned in 1999 by Vestendorp's successor, Wolfgang Petritsch. Čavić became the president of Republika Srpska on 28 November 2002, after the municipal elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina in October, thus replacing the former president

Mirko Šarović Mirko Šarović ( sr-cyrl, Мирко Шаровић; born 16 September 1956) is a Bosnian Serb politician who served as the 3rd Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2002 to 2003. From 2000 to 2002, he also served as the 4t ...

. He received 35.9% of votes, while his most successful rival,

Milan Jelić Milan Jelić ( sr-cyrl, Милан Јелић; 26 March 1956 – 30 September 2007) was a Bosnian Serb politician. From 9 November 2006 until his death from a heart attack on 30 September 2007, he was the 6th President of Republika Srpska. Born ...

, won 22.1%. Voter turnout was 53.9%. At the

2006 Bosnian general election General elections were held in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 1 October 2006. They decided the makeup of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Presidency as well as national, entity, and cantonal governments. The elections for the House of Representatives were d ...

, Čavić lost in the race for president of Republika Srpska to his rival

(SNSD). Shortly afterwards he was blamed for the defeat and resigned as president of the SDS. The SDS was then split between two factions in conflicts: the reformists led by Čavić, and the conservatives backed by Dragan Kalinić, former President of the SDS. On 11 December 2008, he announced at a press conference his retirement from the SDS and the launch of a new party, together with the RS MP Vojislav Gligić and Branislav Škobo, also former SDS MPs. On 15 January 2009 in

Čavić registered the

Democratic Party of Republika Srpska The Democratic Party of Republika Srpska (, ''Demokratska Stranka Republike Srpske'') was a Serbian political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. History The party was established in 2009 by Dragan Čavić Dragan Čavić ( sr-Cyrl, Драган ...

, whose co-founders are Momčilo Novaković, Gligić, Škobo and Đorđe Milićević. Since 2010, he has been a deputy of this party in the

. At the 2012 municipal elections, Čavić run for mayor of

; with 32.2% of the vote, he came second to Slobodan Gavranović ( SNSD), elected with 40.2% of the votes.Election result of the mayoral election in Banja Luka 2012
see also:
A lesson for Dodik
'', taz.de, October 9, 2012 In 2013, his Democratic Party merged with the National Democratic Party to form the National Democratic Movement.

Honors

* Order of the Republika Srpska (2012)

References

External links

Internet stranica Demokratske partije RSBlog Dragana Čavića
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavic, Dragan 1958 births Living people Politicians from Zenica Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Politicians of Republika Srpska Serb Democratic Party (Bosnia and Herzegovina) politicians Vice presidents of Republika Srpska