Krstimir Pantić ( sr-Cyrl, Крстимир Пантић; born 1972) is a
Kosovo Serb
Kosovo Serbs form the largest ethnic minority group in Kosovo (5–6%). The precise number of Kosovo Serbs is difficult to determine as they have boycotted national censuses. However, it is estimated that there are about 95,000 of them, nearly ...
politician. He served as
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of
northern Kosovska Mitrovica from 2010 to 2013. He was re-elected to the position following the
2013 Brussels Agreement but refused to take the formal
oath of office
An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before assuming the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations. Suc ...
as the document was in the name of the
Republic of Kosovo
Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
, which Serbia
does not recognize. He subsequently served in 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 ...
from 2014 to 2016 as 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 ...
.
Early life and private career
Pantić was born in
Kosovska Mitrovica
Mitrovica (Albanian language, Albanian Definiteness, indefinite Albanian morphology#Nouns (declension), form: ''Mitrovicë''; sr-Cyrl, Митровица, Mitrovica), also referred to as Kosovska Mitrovica ( sr-Cyrl, Косовска Митр� ...
, in what was then the
Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo
The Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Socijalistička Autonomna Pokrajina Kosovo, Социјалистичка Аутономна Покрајина Косово, separator=" / "; ; . Also abbreviated as SAP Kosovo. referre ...
in the
Socialist Republic of Serbia
The Socialist Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Социјалистичка Република Србија, Socijalistička Republika Srbija), previously known as the People's Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / " ...
,
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...
. He is a graduate of the
University of Priština Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy.
Politician
Mayor of northern Kosovska Mitrovica
Following the 1999
Kosovo War
The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...
, Kosovska Mitrovica became divided between the predominantly Serb north and the predominantly
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
south. Pantić became mayor of northern Kosovska Mitrovica in 2010, when the Progressive Party and the
Democratic Party of Serbia
The New Democratic Party of Serbia (, , abbr. NDSS), known as the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) until 2022, is a national-conservative political party in Serbia. Miloš Jovanović serves as the current president of NDSS.
DSS was formed as ...
formed a new local administration. At this time, the administration of northern Kosovska Mitrovica was not recognized by the
government of Kosovo
The Government of Kosovo (, ) exercises executive authority in the Republic of Kosovo. It is composed of government ministers, and is led by the prime minister. The prime minister is elected by the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo. Ministe ...
. Like most Kosovo Serb politicians, Pantić considers Kosovo to be a part of Serbia and does not recognize
Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence.
In July 2011,
Kosovo Police
The Kosovo Police (Albanian language, Albanian: ''Policia e'' ''Kosovës'') is the national police, policing law enforcement agency of Kosovo. It was established in 1999 and took its current form with the 2008 police law. It consists of five dep ...
crossed into the predominantly Serb areas of
northern Kosovo
North Kosovo (, ); also known as the Ibar Kolašin (, or ''Kollashini i Ibrit''); earlier Old Kolašin, (, or ''Kollashini i Vjetër'') and colloquially known as the North (, ) is a region in the northern part of Kosovo, generally understood ...
in an attempt to gain control of the border crossings between Kosovo and Central Serbia, without consulting Serbia or the international forces of
KFOR KFOR may refer to:
* KFOR (AM), a radio station (1240 AM) licensed to Lincoln, Nebraska, United States,
* KFOR-TV, a television station (channel 4 analog/27 digital) licensed to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States,
* KFOR-TV (Nebraska), a defun ...
/
EULEX
The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, known as EULEX Kosovo or simply as EULEX,[About EULEX]
accessed 15 Jan ...
. This action, ultimately unsuccessful, was met with strong opposition from the local Serb community, which established
roadblock
A roadblock is a temporary installation set up to control or block traffic along a road. The reasons for one could be:
* Roadworks
*Temporary road closure during special events
* Police chase
*Robbery
* Sobriety checkpoint
* Protests
In peaceful ...
s in the area. These events became known as the
North Kosovo crisis. Pantić was among the Kosovo Serb mayors who organized and supported the roadblock protest. In late 2011, he rejected an appeal from
Serbian president
The president of Serbia (), officially styled as President of the Republic (), is the head of state of Serbia. The current officeholder is Aleksandar Vučić, who was elected in 2017 and has held the role since 31 May 2017.
According to the C ...
Boris Tadić
Boris Tadić, (born 15 January 1958) is a Serbian politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2004 to 2012.
Born in Sarajevo, he graduated from the University of Belgrade with a degree in psychology. He later worked as a journalist ...
to remove the barricades. He also rejected suggestions that the Serb municipalities of North Kosovo had mandated citizens to remain at the barricades, saying that all citizens at the barricades were participating voluntarily.
Against the backdrop of this crisis, Pantić called for representatives of the Serb communities to North Kosovo be included in ongoing negotiations between the governments of Serbia and Kosovo in Brussels. In early 2012, he played a leading role in
organizing a referendum for Serbs in North Kosovo on whether or not to accept the institutions of Republic of Kosovo. The result was 99.74% opposed. In March 2012, Pantić indicated that he had forwarded the result to
United Nations secretary-general
The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...
. The referendum was not sanctioned by 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 ...
and was not recognized by the governments of either Serbia or Kosovo.
Pantić was appointed as a deputy director of Serbia's
Office for Kosovo and Metohija
The Office for Kosovo and Metohija (; ) is a coordination body of the Government of Serbia. It was constituted on 2 August 2012 after the dissolution of Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija. The current office director is Petar Petković.
Organizatio ...
following its creation in 2012. In this capacity, he took part in the discussions that led to the 2013 Brussels Agreement, which normalized some relations between the governments of Serbia and Kosovo without resolving the status of the territory. He rejected accusations from the rival Democratic Party of Serbia that he was in a conflict-of-interest situation by virtue of serving as both mayor and deputy director.
2013 mayoral election
The government of Serbia dissolved the municipal assembly of northern Kosovska Mitrovica in September 2013 and appointed Pantić as the leader of a provisional administration pending new municipal elections.
Pantić sought re-election as mayor in the
2013 Kosovan local elections
Local elections were held in Kosovo on 3 November 2013, with a second round on 1 December. These were the first elections which the Serbs of Northern Kosovo participated in since the Kosovo, Republic of Kosovo 2008 Kosovo declaration of independen ...
as the candidate of the
Civic Initiative "Srpska". He urged Serbs to participate in the election and to reject calls by some in the community for a
boycott
A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...
, arguing that a successful vote would strengthen the status of Kosovo Serb institutions internationally and would lead to the creation of the
Community of Serb Municipalities
The Community of Serb Municipalities (, ZSO; , AKS) is a planned inter-municipal association of Serbs in Kosovo, ethnic Serb majority Municipalities of Kosovo, municipalities in Kosovo.
The proposal for the association came as a result of the 20 ...
in Kosovo. During the election, he was physically attacked in front of his home by unidentified parties; he has said that he believed the attackers wanted to kill him. Pantić was elected in the second round of voting, defeating rival candidate
Oliver Ivanović
Oliver Ivanović ( sr-cyr, Оливер Ивановић; 1 April 1953 – 16 January 2018) was a Kosovo Serb politician.
Ivanović served as the State Secretary of the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija from 2008 to 2012 and was also a member of ...
.
Pantić refused to take the oath of office as mayor in January 2014 because the
emblem of Kosovo and the inscription "Kosovo Republika" appeared on the government paper that included the oath. In announcing this decision, he also resigned as deputy director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, citing obstructions to creating to the Community of Serb Municipalities and accusing the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...
(OSCE), which organized the municipal elections, of violating its neutrality by recognizing Kosovo as independent. He subsequently accused
Aleksandar Vulin
Aleksandar Vulin (born 2 October 1972) is a Serbian politician and lawyer who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia from 2024 to 2025. He served as the director of the Security Intelligence Agency (BIA) from 1 December 2022 until 3 Novemb ...
, the Serbian minister responsible for Kosovo and Metohija, of undermining Serbia's interests in Kosovo in order to advance those of his political party.
In a 2016 interview, he said that he regretted not taking the oath of office.
Member of the National Assembly
Pantić received the 160th position on the Progressive Party's ''
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 ...
— Future We Believe In''
electoral list
An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...
for the national assembly in the
2014 Serbian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Serbia on 16 March 2014, with nineteen electoral lists competing for 250 members of the National Assembly. The election was called early, after tensions in the coalition led by the ruling Serbian Progressive ...
. He narrowly missed direct election when the list won a landslide victory with 158 mandates and was able to enter the assembly on 26 August 2014 as the replacement for another party member.
In 2015, Pantić and fellow parliamentarian
Marijan Rističević
Marijan Rističević ( sr-cyr, Маријан Ристичевић, born 1 March 1958) is a Serbian politician and leader of the People's Peasant Party. He has been a member of the National Assembly of Serbia since 2014.
Political career
He was ...
put forward a draft resolution to condemn all crimes committed in and around
Srebrenica
Srebrenica ( sr-cyrl, Сребреница, ) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a small mountain town, with its main industry being salt mining and a nearby spa.
During the Bosnian War in 1995, Srebr ...
during the
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...
and to further condemn what were described the misuse of war crimes for propaganda purposes and selective justice in prosecuting the perpetrators of these crimes. This resolution, which was not passed by the Serbian parliament, was a response to calls for a motion specifically condemning the crimes committed by Serb forces in the
Srebrenica massacre
The Srebrenica massacre, also known as the Srebrenica genocide, was the July 1995 genocidal killing of more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in and around the town of Srebrenica during the Bosnian War. It was mainly perpetrated by unit ...
.
Pantić received the 151st position on the Progressive list in the
2016 parliamentary election.
Избори за народне посланике 2016. године » Изборне листе, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (АЛЕКСАНДАР ВУЧИЋ - СРБИЈА ПОБЕЂУЈЕ)
Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 18 August 2020. The list won 131 mandates; he was not returned and did not serve in the parliament that followed.
Electoral record
Municipal
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pantic, Krstimir
1972 births
Living people
Kosovo Serbs
Politicians from Mitrovica, Kosovo
Members of the National Assembly (Serbia)
Serbian Progressive Party politicians
Serb Civic Initiative politicians