Maja Popović (; born 1972) is a Serbian lawyer and politician who served as

minister of justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

from 2020 to 2025. An

independent politician An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or Bureaucracy, bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicia ...

, she was previously an advisor to Bratislav Gašić, the director of

Security Intelligence Agency The Security Intelligence Agency (; abbr. БИА / BIA) is a national security and intelligence agency of Serbia. The agency is responsible for collecting, reporting and disseminating intelligence, and conducting counterintelligence in the interes ...

(BIA).

Biography

Career

Maja Popović was born in 1972 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 ...

which at that time was a part of the

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 ...

. She finished elementary school in her hometown, and high school in an international school in the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, where she was a student of the generation. Classes at this school were conducted in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

. In 1989, she enrolled at the

Faculty of Law 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 ...

at 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 ...

and graduated within the age of 21. She passed the bar exam and defended her master's thesis at the

at the

University of Novi Sad The University of Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Универзитет у Новом Саду, Univerzitet u Novom Sadu; ) is a public university in Novi Sad, Serbia. Alongside nationally prestigious University of Belgrade, University of Novi Sad is ...

with an average grade of 9.80. She started her law career in the office of lawyer Vesna Kušić. She then transferred to the District Court in Belgrade, where she worked as a trainee judge and judicial associate. At the age of 26, she became the youngest elected judge in the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

. She then started working as an investigating judge in the First Municipal Court in Belgrade. She later became a judge in the Civil Division of this court. From 2000 to 2012, she had her own law office and represented a variety of cases, from commercial and non-litigious disputes, through high-tech crime to organized crime. In 2012, she became an assistant for non-medical affairs, director of the City Institute for Emergency Medical Aid in Belgrade. She held that position until 2014, when she became an employee of the

(BIA). There she performed various tasks (international cooperation, human resources and housing issues). She was also the head of the Department for system-legal, normative, property-legal and housing relations. Then she was the head of the Cabinet of the Director Aleksandar Đorđević, and later she was a special advisor to the Director of the BIA Bratislav Gašić.

Minister of Justice

On 28 October 2020, she took office of the

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

in 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 the second cabinet of

Ana Brnabić 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, she previously served as prime ministe ...

Personal life

She is married and has two minor children. Her parents are lawyers Jevđo and Vesna Kušić, and her husband is Judge Rastko Popović. She is fluent in English, Italian, Spanish and French.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popovic, Maja 1972 births 20th-century Serbian judges 21st-century Serbian lawyers 21st-century Serbian politicians 21st-century Serbian women politicians Female justice ministers Government ministers of Serbia Independent politicians in Serbia Justice ministers of Serbia Lawyers from Belgrade Living people Politicians from Belgrade University of Belgrade Faculty of Law alumni University of Novi Sad alumni Women government ministers of Serbia