Ana Brnabić
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Ana Brnabić ( sr-cyr, Ана Брнабић, ; born 28 September 1975) is a Serbian politician serving as president of the National Assembly of Serbia since 2024. A member of the
Serbian Progressive Party The Serbian Progressive Party (, SNS) is a major populist, catch-all party, catch-all List of political parties in Serbia, political party in Serbia. It has been the Ruling party, ruling party since 2012. Miloš Vučević, the former prime mi ...
, she previously served as
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 ...
from 2017 to 2024. She was the first woman, first openly gay, and longest-serving person to hold the office of Prime Minister. She entered
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
as the minister of public administration and local self-government from 11 August 2016 until 29 June 2017, under prime minister
Aleksandar Vučić Aleksandar Vučić, (born 5 March 1970) is a Serbian politician serving as President of Serbia since 2017. A founding member of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), he previously served as President of the SNS from 2012 to 2023, Deputy Prim ...
and acting prime minister Ivica Dačić. In this role, Brnabić initiated reforms of central government services in Serbia. After Vučić was inaugurated as the president of Serbia on 31 May 2017, he proposed Brnabić as his successor in June 2017. Brnabić and her cabinet were voted into office on 29 June 2017 by a majority of 157 out of 250 members of the
National Assembly of Serbia The National Assembly ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Народна скупштина, Narodna skupština, ), fully the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia (), is the unicameral legislature of Serbia. The assembly is composed of 250 deputies who are ...
. Elected as a
non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...
politician, she joined the ruling
Serbian Progressive Party The Serbian Progressive Party (, SNS) is a major populist, catch-all party, catch-all List of political parties in Serbia, political party in Serbia. It has been the Ruling party, ruling party since 2012. Miloš Vučević, the former prime mi ...
in 2019, and was subsequently elected as vice president in 2021. The National Assembly re-elected her into office after the
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
and
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
elections. She was elected president of the National Assembly after the 2023 election. In 2019, Brnabić was ranked by ''
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'' magazine as the 88th most powerful woman in the world and the 19th most powerful female political and policy leader. Some observers believe that she had no
political power In political science, power is the ability to influence or direct the actions, beliefs, or conduct of actors. Power does not exclusively refer to the threat or use of force (coercion) by one actor against another, but may also be exerted thro ...
in line with the constitutional role of chief of the executive, arguing instead that Vučić wielded power in his capacity as the
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
.


Early and personal life

Brnabić was born in
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
. Her father Zoran was born in Užice in 1950 and finished his studies in Belgrade, where the family lived. Her paternal grandfather Anton Brnabić, an ethnic
Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...
Yugoslav military officer, was born in Stara Baška on the Croatian island of Krk, in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, (present-day
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
). He fought with 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 ...
during
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 ranked lieutenant colonel after the war. Her maternal grandparents are from Babušnica, southeastern Serbia. Brnabić identifies as a Serb. Brnabić is a
lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
, the second female LGBT head of government in the world following Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir ( Iceland 2009–13), and fifth openly LGBT head of government overall following , Elio Di Rupo ( Belgium 2011–14),
Xavier Bettel Xavier Bettel (; born 3 March 1973) is a Luxembourgish lawyer and politician who serves as the List of deputy prime ministers of Luxembourg, deputy prime minister of Luxembourg and as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Luxembourg), minister for Fo ...
( Luxembourg 2013–2023), and
Leo Varadkar Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2017 to 2020 and from 2022 to 2024, as Tánaiste from 2020 to 2022, and as leader of Fine Gael from 2017 to 2024. A Teachta Dála, ...
( Ireland 2017–20, 2022–2024). In 2017, she became the first head of government from the Balkan region to attend a gay pride march when she attended Belgrade Pride. In 2019, her partner Milica Đurđić gave birth to a boy; Brnabić is the first openly gay prime minister whose partner gave birth while the prime minister was in office.


Education and business career

Brnabić was raised in Belgrade, Serbia, where she attended the Belgrade Fifth Gymnasium. In addition to her Serbian education, Brnabić holds a
Bachelor of Business Administration A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is an undergraduate degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of four years and typically 120 credits of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of busine ...
(BBA) diploma of Northwood University, Michigan, USA, and an
MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...
of the
University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...
, England, UK, and worked for over a decade with international organizations, foreign investors, local self-government units, and the public sector in Serbia. Prior to Brnabić's appointment to the Government of Serbia, she was director of Continental Wind Serbia, where she worked on the implementation of the investment of €300 million into a windpark in
Kovin Kovin (, ) is a town and municipality located in the South Banat District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 11,623, while the municipality has 28,141 inhabitants (2022 census). Other names In Rom ...
. She was a member of the managing board of the non-profit foundation Peksim. She has been engaged in different US consulting companies that implemented
USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian United States foreign aid, foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 19 ...
-financed projects in Serbia. She was deputy manager of the Serbia Competitiveness Project, the expert on the Local Self-government Reform Program in Serbia and the senior coordinator of the Program of Economic Development of Municipalities. She was active in the foundation of the National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED) in 2006. During that engagement, she participated in the introduction of the concept of local economic development in Serbia and building of potentials of municipalities to improve the business environment at the local level with active promotion of investments. She became a member, and thereafter the president, of the managing board of NALED.


Politics

In August 2016, she was appointed the Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government. In addition, she is the president of the Council for Innovative Entrepreneurship and Information Technologies of the
Government of Serbia The government of Serbia ( sr-cyrl, Влада Србије, Vlada Srbije), formally the Government of the Republic of Serbia ( sr-cyrl, Влада Републике Србије, Vlada Republike Srbije), commonly abbreviated to Serbian Governme ...
, as well as of the Republic Council for National Minorities and the vice president of the Republic Council for Public Administration Reform. Brnabić described herself as a
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''. Pol ...
and technocratic prime minister. She explained that the priorities for her government are
modernization Modernization theory or modernisation theory holds that as societies become more economically modernized, wealthier and more educated, their political institutions become increasingly liberal democratic and rationalist. The "classical" theories ...
,
education reform Education reform is the goal of changing public education. The meaning and educational methods have changed through debates over what content or experiences result in an educated individual or an educated society. Historically, the motivations for ...
and digitization. On the other hand, Brnabić has been criticised because she is the head of a
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
and
nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
government which also includes openly anti-Western and
pro-Russian Russophilia is the identification or solidarity with, appreciation of, or support for the Russia, country, Russians, people, Russian language, language, and history of Russia. One who espouses Russophilia is called a russophile. Its Opposite ...
ministers. In May 2018, Brnabić took over the
Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
until the new Minister was appointed, following the resignation of Dušan Vujović. On 29 May 2018, she appointed Siniša Mali as Vujović's successor on that position. On 26 July 2018, Brnabić hosted a ceremony at the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
in Washington, which was held to mark the 100th anniversary of raising the Serbian flag in front of the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
. In October 2019, the Prime Minister confirmed she had joined the ruling
Serbian Progressive Party The Serbian Progressive Party (, SNS) is a major populist, catch-all party, catch-all List of political parties in Serbia, political party in Serbia. It has been the Ruling party, ruling party since 2012. Miloš Vučević, the former prime mi ...
. On 25 October 2019, Brnabić signed a Free Trade Agreement between Serbia and the member states of the
Eurasian Economic Union The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU or EEU)EAEU is the acronym used on thorganisation's website However, many media outlets use the acronym EEU. is an economic union of five post-Soviet states located in Eurasia. The EAEU has an integrated single ...
(EAEU), extending the list of Serbian products that can be exported to the EAEU territory. After the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
spread to Serbia in March 2020, Brnabić was appointed for the head of the Health Crisis Committee. After president Vučić declared a
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
on 15 March, the government issued regulations on measures during a state of emergency with the aim of suppressing the consequences of the outbreak. A
curfew A curfew is an order that imposes certain regulations during specified hours. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to remain indoors during the evening and nighttime hours. Such an order is most often issued by public authorit ...
was introduced for the first time in Serbia since
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 ...
. Brnabić was elected as vice president of SNS in November 2021. Her third cabinet was elected on 26 October 2022. She was elected president of the National Assembly of Serbia on 20 March 2024. As first deputy prime minister, Dačić assumed the role of acting prime minister until the election of a new government.


Debate on constitutional roles

Political scientist Krzysztof Zuba listed Brnabić as an example of head of government with extensive political dependence on a leader of the governing party. He defined a situation in which the Prime Minister does not have their own political position as the chief of the executive as a “surrogate government”, explaining that a distribution of power that is contrary to constitutional determinants is a characteristic of non-democratic systems. In February 2019,
Freedom House Freedom House is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. It is best known for political advocacy surrounding issues of democracy, Freedom (political), political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, wi ...
reported that Serbia's status declined from ''Free'' to ''Partly Free'' due to deterioration in the conduct of elections, continued attempts by the government and allied media outlets to undermine independent journalists through legal harassment and smear campaigns, and Vučić's accumulation of executive powers that conflict with his constitutional role. Opposition leaders and some observers describe her as a mere
puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...
of Vučić, whose presidency, according to the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
, is largely ceremonial with no significant executive power. Brnabić never denied this, and even said that Vučić should act as a "mentor" of the prime minister.


Kosovo

In December 2018, commenting on the announced transformation of the
Kosovo Security Force The Kosovo Security Force (KSF) is the military of Kosovo. The KSF is tasked with defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kosovo, military support for civilian authorities, and participation in international Peacekeeping, peacekee ...
into the Kosovo Armed Forces, Brnabić said: "I hope we won’t have to use our military, but at the moment, that's one of the options on the table because one cannot witness a new
ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making the society ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal such as deportation or population transfer, it ...
of the Serbs and new Storms — although
Edi Rama Edi Rama (born Edvin Kristaq Rama; 4 July 1964) is an Albanian politician, artist and writer who has been serving as the 33rd and incumbent prime minister of Albania since 2013 and chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania since 2005. He was M ...
is calling for them. When someone knows you have a strong army, then they have to sit down and talk to you." In May 2019, Kosovo's Foreign Minister, Behgjet Pacolli, stated his refusal to permit the entry of Brnabić into Kosovo, citing her alleged adherence to a perceived racist ideology. Brnabić, during the handover of a
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
2019 progress report, said: " Haradinaj, Thaçi and Veseli are competing to see who the biggest
nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
and chauvinist is. What scares me most is that we are dealing with irrational people, the worst kind of populist, people who literally walked out of the woods." This was met with strong criticism, particularly by Twitter users, who campaigned with the hashtag ''#literallyjustemergedfromthewoods'' in order to mock the Prime Minister. On 20 January 2020, the governments of Serbia and Kosovo agreed to restore flights between their capitals for the first time in more than two decades. The deal came after months of diplomatic talks by Richard Grenell, the United States ambassador to Germany, who was named special envoy for Serbian-Kosovar relations by President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
the year before.


Srebrenica genocide remarks

In an interview on 14 November 2018 with the German public broadcaster
Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...
, Brnabić denied that the July 1995 massacres of Bosniaks by Bosnian Serb forces in Srebrenica had been an act of genocide. Two weeks later, the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
adopted a resolution saying that the parliament regretted the continuing denial of the Srebrenica genocide by parts of the Serbian authorities and recalled that full cooperation with 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 ...
and its successor mechanism included accepting its judgements. The Hague Court criticised Brnabić for denial of the Srebrenica genocide.


LGBT rights

After she was appointed prime minister, Brnabić said that she did not want to be branded Serbia's gay prime minister and that she did not plan "to push LGBT legal reforms at this stage" because she wanted to prioritise other policy reforms. In September 2017, Brnabić took part in the pride parade in Belgrade and became the first Serbian prime minister to attend a pride parade. At the event, Brnabić said: "The government is here for all citizens and will secure the respect of rights for all citizens." Brnabić says that she advocates
inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...
rights of same-sex couples. In February 2019, Milica Đurđić, Brnabić's partner, gave birth to a son named Igor, but
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
is constitutionally banned and LGBT parenting is not regulated in Serbia. Some journalists and LGBT activists have concluded that Brnabić has failed to advocate for LGBT equality in Serbia.


Awards and other activities

She has been awarded a number of plaudits for the development projects on which she worked, for the promotion of socially accountable business operation and tolerance. She has been awarded the Order of the Republika Srpska. Brnabić was named the honorary citizen of
Šabac Šabac ( sr-Cyrl, Шабац, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river ...
in 2024. Brnabić is a member of the Executive Advisory Board of the World.Minds Foundation, where she participates in high-level discussions on leadership, innovation, and democratic governance.


See also

*
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 ...
* First cabinet of Ana Brnabić * Second cabinet of Aleksandar Vučić * List of elected and appointed female heads of state and government * List of the first LGBT holders of political offices * List of openly LGBT heads of state and government


References


External links


Prime Minister of Serbia
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Brnabic, Ana 1975 births 21st-century Serbian LGBTQ people 21st-century Serbian women politicians Women prime ministers in Europe Alumni of the University of Hull Lesbian politicians LGBTQ heads of government LGBTQ conservatism Living people Members of the National Assembly (Serbia) Northwood University alumni Politicians from Belgrade Presidents of the National Assembly (Serbia) Prime ministers of Serbia Serbian lesbians Serbian LGBTQ politicians Serbian people of Croatian descent Serbian Progressive Party politicians Women government ministers of Serbia Women legislative speakers First women prime ministers Deniers of the Bosnian genocide