Dragan Marković ( sr-cyr, Драган Марковић; 2 May 1960 – 22 November 2024), commonly known as Palma ( sr-cyr, Палма, lit=
palm tree
The Arecaceae () is a family of perennial, flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are colloquially c ...
), was a Serbian businessman and politician. He served as a member 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 ...
and was the founder and the party leader of
United Serbia
United Serbia (, abbr. JS) is a national-conservative political party in Serbia. It split from the Party of Serbian Unity in 2004. The party has supported every government formed since its creation, and was briefly in government in 2022–23. ...
(''Jedinstvena Srbija'').
Biography
Marković was the mayor of
Jagodina
Jagodina ( sr-cyrl, Јагодина, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Pomoravlje District in central Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Belica (river), Belica River, in the geographical region of ...
from 2004 until 2012.
In June 2024, after the
2024 Serbian local elections, Marković was elected President of the City Assembly of Jagodina, the position he held until his death.
Marković died on 22 November 2024, at the age of 64.
Controversies
Due to public statements against the
LGBT population, Marković was sentenced by the First Basic Court in Belgrade in November 2011 for "severe discrimination", defined as "inciting inequality, hatred and intolerance based on sexual orientation".
On 19 April 2021, vice president of the
Party of Freedom And Justice,
Marinika Tepić, accused Palma and his partners of "prostitution of women and girls" in Jagodina. Tepić also revealed a video of the testimony of an anonymous man who is informed of the prostitution case. In the video he explained how everything was organized, who knew everything about cheating minors and which government members attended parties where prostitution was happening, claiming that all of this was happening in Hotel Končarevo whose "real owner" is Palma. Palma responded to these claims by calling them "lies" and announced that he will sue Tepić. Prosecutors announced that they would investigate the claims. On 23 April 2021, rector of the
Megatrend University
Megatrend University () is a private university located in New Belgrade, the city of Belgrade, Serbia. It was founded in 1989 as the Megatrend Business School, which later became Megatrend University.
In 2015, the Council of Megatrend University ...
,
Mića Jovanović, stated that he was a present at a party where Palma "prostituted girls between the ages of 18 and 20 to state and municipal officials".
References
External links
DRAGAN D. MARKOVIC National Assembly of Serbia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Markovic, Dragan
1960 births
2024 deaths
Politicians from Jagodina
United Serbia politicians
Mayors of places in Serbia
Members of the National Assembly (Serbia)
Party of Serbian Unity politicians