Mirko Cvetković ( sr-Cyr, Мирко Цветковић, ; born 16 August 1950) is a Serbian economist and former

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as the

prime minister of Serbia The prime minister of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, премијер Србије, premijer Srbije; feminine gender, feminine: премијерка/premijerka), officially the president of the Government of the Republic of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, председн ...

from 2008 to 2012 and as finance minister from 2007 to 2008, and again from 2011 to 2012. Cvetković became the prime minister as an

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

endorsed by

For a European Serbia For a European Serbia () was a big tent and pro-EU electoral alliance, led by Boris Tadić, which participated in the 2008 Serbian parliamentary election. It received 38.42% of the popular vote, translating into 102 seats in the 250-seat Parliamen ...

coalition, which declared Serbia's accession to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

(EU) as its main goal. During his government run, the EU has abolished

visas Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...

for Serbian citizens traveling to the

Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...

countries, Serbia received an EU candidate status, as well as, completed obligations to the

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes in the Yugoslav Wars, war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to tr ...

(ICTY). The period of his premiership was marked by the challenges of the Kosovo declaration of independence and the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

, leading to low rates of economic growth.

Biography

Mirko Cvetković was born in the small city of

Zaječar Zaječar ( sr-Cyrl, Зајечар, ; or ) is a city and the administrative center of the Zaječar District in eastern Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city administrative area had a population of 48,621 inhabitants. Zaječar is widely ...

in eastern Serbia on 16 August 1950. His father Srboljub was an economist while his mother Stana worked as a

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...

. His grandfather, Mirko, a

school teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, was killed in 1941, by German soldiers during the

Kragujevac massacre The Kragujevac massacre was the mass murder of between 2,778 and 2,794 mostly Serb men and boys in Kragujevac, by German soldiers on 21 October 1941. It occurred in the German-occupied territory of Serbia during World War II, and came as a ...

. He completed his elementary and high school education in

. Mirko Cvetković 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 Economics where he also received his MComm and

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

. Cvetković worked at the Mining Institute for ten years and later at the Economics Institute for another six years, followed by seven years at the advisory and research firm CES Mecon where he worked as a consultant. In the 1980s he was external consultant for the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

on a number of projects in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and worked on the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

(UNDP) in

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

. As of 2013, Cvetkovic has reestablished himself as a consultant for the

. In the period 1998–2001 he was employed as adviser for economic issues at the Mining Institute, and in 2005 he became the Special Advisor at CEO Intercom Consulting. He has published a number of papers and articles on

privatization Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...

in Serbia and abroad. Cvetković is married and has two children. Apart from his native tongue, he speaks English and French fluently and, as a hobby, plays piano, saxophone and clarinet.

Political career

Early years

After the

overthrow of Slobodan Milošević The Overthrow of Slobodan Milošević began in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia after the general election on 24 September 2000 and culminated in the downfall of Slobodan Milošević's government on 5 October 2000. As such, it is commonly ...

, from January 2001 Cvetković worked as Deputy Minister of Economy and Privatisation 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 ...

of Zoran Djindjić. From 2003 to 2004 he was the Director of the Privatisation Agency. After the fall of Zoran Živković's government on 2003 elections, Cvetković withdrew from politics. Cvetković served as the Minister of Finance from 15 May 2007 to July 2008 in the coalition government of

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 ...

. He was best remembered as being the first to doubt the way money from the central budget was spent in Kosovo. Back then, he told his colleagues in the government: "You can raise the salaries of employees in Kosovo if you give up a part of your salary".

Prime minister

On 27 June 2008, President

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 ...

named Mirko Cvetković as the new prime minister following the

parliamentary elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

that were held in May. Other possible candidates were the current foreign minister

Vuk Jeremić Vuk Jeremić ( sr-Cyrl, Вук Јеремић, ; born 3 July 1975) is a Serbian politician and diplomat who served as the president of the United Nations General Assembly from 2012 to 2013 and as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia from 2 ...

and the current President of the Executive Council of Vojvodina Bojan Pajtić. Mirko Cvetković is the first prime minister of Serbia since the introduction of the multiparty system who had not previously been in a high position in one of the ruling parties. He was sworn in on 7 July after taking the oath of office in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

. In his exposé keynote address Cvetković said that one of the first moves of the new Government will be to submit the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the

to the parliament for ratification and that it will not accept

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 ...

's unilaterally declared independence. He also stated that the government will strengthen the economy and social responsibility and lead a decisive battle against crime and corruption, and in favor of international justice. He also said that one of the first lawmaking initiatives will be the ratification of the energy arrangement with the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Cvetković is seen by many as an expert in the economy, a man of compromise, respected by the Democratic Party but by other political parties as well. Western news agencies describe him as a "Democrat" (indicating support for the pro-Western Democratic Party) and a "low profile technocrat" likely to prefer improving Serbia's economy rather than concentrating on difficult political issues. His political policies combined

authority Authority is commonly understood as the legitimate power of a person or group of other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' may be practiced by legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government,''The New Fontana Dictionary of M ...

and moderate

economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...

– that is, the support of

laissez-faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( , from , ) is a type of economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies or regulations). As a system of thought, ''laissez-faire'' ...

economic policies.

References

External links