Branislav "Brana" Crnčević ( sr-cyr, Бранислав Брана Црнчевић, ; 8 February 1933 – 14 April 2011) was a Serbian writer and politician. Throughout his decades-long career, he wrote novels, aphorisms, short stories, TV dramas, poems and children's literature.

Biography

Crnčević was born on 8 February 1933 in

Kovačica Kovačica ( sr-cyrl, Ковачица, ; ; ; ) is a town and municipality located in the South Banat District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the town has a population of 5,398, while the municipali ...

and was raised in

Ruma Ruma (; ) is a town and municipality in the Srem District of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022, the town has a population of 27,747, while the municipality has a population of 48,621. History Traces of organized human life ...

. After the death of his father, he spent his childhood in orphanages and foster homes. He graduated from the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

Faculty of Philosophy A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

. He began his career as an employee of the

Zrenjanin Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; ; ; ; ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Central Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city urban area has a population of 67,129 inh ...

brewery regional office in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

. He then worked as a journalist and editor in the newspapers ''Jež'' and '' Duga'' along with the newspaper for children called ''Mali jež''. He also published columns in various newspapers and magazines such as '' NIN'' and ''

Politika ( sr-Cyrl, Политика, lit=Politics) is a Serbian daily newspaper, published in Belgrade. Founded in 1904 by Vladislav F. Ribnikar, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in the Balkans. Publishing and ownership is publ ...

''. In the meantime, he published his first children's book ''Bosonogi i nebo'' and later his first collection of

aphorism An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by tra ...

s ''Piši kao što ćutiš''. He entered into the literary scene under the pseudonyms Vinon Rumski and Branislav BIP. He was also one of the screenwriters for the 1987 film '' The Harms Case''. In addition to his literary career, Crnčević was also engaged politically and was friends with

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 ...

. In 1990, he was elected president of the ''Matica iseljenika Srbije'' (Heritage Foundation of Serbia). He was a member of the Serb Democratic Party, and an advocate of the innocence of

Radovan Karadžić Radovan Karadžić ( sr-Cyrl, Радован Караџић, ; born 19 June 1945) is a Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian Serb politician who was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes by the International Criminal ...

before the Hague Tribunal. After the departure of

Vojislav Šešelj Vojislav Šešelj ( sr-Cyrl, Војислав Шешељ, ; born 11 October 1954) is a Serbian politician and convicted war criminal. He is the founder and president of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS). Between 1998 and 2000, he was a D ...

to The Hague, he joined the

Serbian Radical Party The Serbian Radical Party (, abbr. SRS) is a Far-right politics in Serbia, far-right, Ultranationalism, ultranationalist List of political parties in Serbia, political party in Serbia. Founded in 1991, its co-founder, first and only leader is ...

, but after the split of that party into two political options, he followed

Tomislav Nikolić Tomislav Nikolić ( sr-Cyrl, Томислав Николић, ; born 15 February 1952) is a Serbian former politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2012 to 2017. A former member of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS), he di ...

to 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 ...

. Crnčević was chosen as a member of the Senate of Republika Srpska in 1996 and was awarded the Order of Njegoš (first degree).

Death and legacy

Crnčević died on 14 April 2011 after a long illness. He is interred in the Alley of Distinguished Citizens in the

Belgrade New Cemetery The New Cemetery ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Ново гробље, Novo groblje) is a cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, ...

in a joint plot with Milutin Čolić, Mladen Srbinović and

Momo Kapor Momčilo "Momo" Kapor ( sr-cyr, Момчило Момо Капор; 8 April 1937 – 3 March 2010) was a Serbian novelist and painter. He authored several screenplays, over forty novels, short stories, travel and autobiographic books and essays. ...

.International graves
/ref> The cultural center in

is named after him. In September 2016, a street in the

Vračar Vračar ( sr-Cyrl, Врачар, ) is an affluent urban area and Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality of the city of Belgrade known as the location of many embassies and museums. According to the 2022 census results, the municipality has a popul ...

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of the city of

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 ...

was named after him.

Works

* 1963. ''Bosonogi i nebo'' * 1963. ''Cipelice od krokodilske kože'' * 1963. ''Njen prvi čaj'' * 1965. ''Devojka sa tri oca'' * 1965. ''Kafanica, sudnica, ludnica'' (also performed as a performance in

Atelje 212 Atelje 212 ( sr-Cyrl, Атеље 212) is a theatre located in Belgrade, Serbia. Established in 1956 on the premises of the '' Borba'' building in front of 212 chairs, its opening play was the staging of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's '' Faust'' dir ...

) * 1965. ''Piši kao što ćutiš'' * 1968. ''Dunavo'' * 1967 – 1971 ''Zanati'' * 1971. ''Kapetan i lula'' * 1971, 1981, 1989, 2006. ''Dnevnik jednog...'' * 1978. ''Peta strana sveta'' * 1982. ''Sibiri'' * 1982. ''Emigrant i igra'' * 1984. ''Mrav dobra srca'' * 1985. ''Snovi bez tumačenja'' * 1990, 2006. ''Srpska posla'' * 1992, 2006. ''Srpska i hrvatska posla'' * 1994. ''Glasnik'' * 1997. ''Crni đavo, crveni rep I-II 2001. III'' * 2001. ''Pesme'' * 2003. ''Zaštitnica umetnosti i druge pripovetke'' * 2005. ''Zemlja nadimaka'' * 2006. ''Knjiga zadušnica'' * 2006. ''Obećani svet'' * 2007. ''Sedam mokrih majica i drugi zapisi'' * 2008. ''Ima da nas nema'' * 2009. ''Čuvari pepela'' * 2010. ''Šta ima'' * 2010. ''Piši kao što ćutiš'' (amended, supplemented and expanded edition) * 2011. ''Crni đavo, crveni rep I-II * 2011. ''Zaštitnica umetnosti i druge pripovetke'' * 2012. ''Trosobna samica / Трёхкомнатная одиночка,'' drama

References

External links

Interview for Politika
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crncevic, Branislav 1933 births 2011 deaths People from Kovačica Aphorists Serbian screenwriters Serbian male screenwriters Serbian children's writers Serbian male poets Serbian journalists Serbian politicians Serbian nationalists Serbian anti-communists Serbian people of Montenegrin descent Members of the Serbian Orthodox Church University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy alumni Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery Politicians of Vojvodina