Miodrag Perišić ( sr-Cyrl, Миодраг Перишић; 31 July 1948 – 6 May 2003) was a Serbian writer, literary critic and politician. He was one of the founders and a vice-president of the Serbian modern-day Democratic Party, the first Minister of Information of 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 ...

and the country's ambassador to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

from 2001 until his death in May 2003.

Biography

Although born in

Subotica Subotica (, ; , , ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Central Europe and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, contemporary Sub ...

, Perišić completed primary and secondary school education 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 ...

. He received a BA degree in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Belgrade University The University of Belgrade () is a 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 merged with the Krag ...

's faculty of arts and sciences, department of philosophy. During his studies he participated in editing and publishing of the journals ''Student'' and ''Vidici'', and later worked as editor of the journal ''

Književna reč ''Književna reč'' was a literary magazine that was published first in Yugoslavia, and then in Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , nat ...

'' (Literary Word). Perišić freelanced until 1978 when he started to work as secretary of the Ivo Andrić Foundation in

until 1984. From 1984 to 1992 he was editor-in-chief of the journal, ''Književne novine'' (Literary Gazette). He was an active member in the Serbian PEN Centre and a vice president of the

International PEN PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internati ...

, the worldwide association of writers. In fall 1991, Perišić was a guest of the

Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace and formerly The Hoover Institute and Library on War, Revolution, and Peace) is an American public policy think tank which promotes personal and economic ...

at the

University of Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and the ...

(California). In fall and winter 1991-92 he was a guest at several universities in

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and gave lectures about roots of Yugoslav crisis, role of the intellectuals, and causes of

SFR 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 ...

's disintegration. In November and December 1999, he visited the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

and gave lectures at William Howard Taft University. Perišić authored several books, and published anthology of modern Serbian poetry. His latest book was ''Razvaline ideološkog raja'' (''The Ruins of Ideological Paradise''), published in 1995.

Political career

With a group of like-minded activists, including

Zoran Đinđić Zoran Đinđić ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран Ђинђић, ; 1 August 1952 – 12 March 2003) was a Serbian politician and philosopher who served as the Prime Minister of Serbia, prime minister of Serbia from 2001 until Assassination of Zoran Đinđić, ...

and

Vojislav Koštunica Vojislav Koštunica ( sr-cyrl, Војислав Коштуница, ; born 24 March 1944) is a Serbian former politician who served as the last President of Serbia and Montenegro, president of FR Yugoslavia from 2000 to 2003 and as the Prime Min ...

, Perišić re-established the Democratic Party in Serbia in 1989. In summer 1992 he was elected as a member of the first Federal Government of the

as the Minister of Information in the Cabinet of

Milan Panić Milan Panić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Панић, ; born 20 December 1929) is a Serbian businessman, humanitarian and former politician. He served as the Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1992 to 1993. During and after his t ...

. In the same year, he was elected as the Democratic Party representative in the Federal Parliament. From 1994 to 2000 he was a Vice President of the Democratic Party, and in the period from 1996 to 2000 he was a federal representative elected by the Coalition "Zajedno" ("Together"). Perišić co-founded the Council for Democratic Changes in Serbia, a non-governmental organization where he was the president of the Political Committee until December 2000. On 5 October 2000, he was among the citizens who welcomed the overthrow of

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 ...

on the stairway of the Federal Parliament building. He was appointed an Ambassador of

FR 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 ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Canada in 2001, where he was highly appreciated by the Serbian immigration, working steadily on greater interconnectedness of the diaspora and its integration into political and social life of

Serbia and Montenegro 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 ...

. Former Foreign Minister

Goran Svilanović Goran Svilanović ( sr-Cyrl, Горан Свилановић; born 22 October 1963) is a Serbian politician and diplomat who was the Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), from 1 January 2013 until 31 December 2018, follow ...

emphasized that Perišić "with his dignity of an intellectual, had opened many doors which for others had been closed, in such a way succeeding to bring one small country, as it is Serbia and Montenegro, into the society of the great".

Family

He was married to the former Žaneta Đukić; the couple had twin daughters.

Death

Perišić died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on a

treadmill A treadmill is a device generally used for walking, running, or climbing while staying in the same place. Treadmills were introduced before the development of powered machines to harness the power of animals or humans to do work, often a type of ...

during a workout at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

, one month short of his two-year mandate. He was 54 years old. He is interred 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, ...

References

External links

Interview for ''Vreme News Digest'', 1996
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perisic, Miodrag 1948 births 2003 deaths Politicians from Subotica Writers from Subotica Serbian literary critics Literary critics of Serbian Democratic Party (Serbia) politicians University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy alumni Ambassadors of Serbia to Canada Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery