Slavica Đukić Dejanović ( sr-Cyrl, Славица Ђукић Дејановић, ; born 4 July 1951) is a Serbian politician who served as

minister of education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

from 2023 to 2025. A long-time member of the

Socialist Party of Serbia The Socialist Party of Serbia (, abbr. SPS) is a populist political party in Serbia. Ivica Dačić has led SPS as its president since 2006. SPS was founded in 1990 as a merger of the League of Communists of Serbia and Socialist Alliance ...

, she previously served as minister of family care in the

transitional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

of Milomir Minić,

president of the National Assembly of Serbia The president of the National Assembly of Serbia () is the presiding officer of the National Assembly of Serbia. The president is elected by members of each new assembly for a term lasting four years. The president of the National Assembly s ...

from 2008 to 2012, acting

president of Serbia 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 ...

after the resignation of

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 ...

minister of health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

from 2012 to 2014, and

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

in charge of demography and population policy from 2016 to 2020. Dejanović is the second woman who served as president of the National Assembly, after Nataša Mićić, who served the role from 2001 to 2004, and the first one in the independent

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. She was also the first woman to hold the post of head of state of Serbia since independence in 2006.

Early life

Dejanović was born on 4 July 1951 in Rača near

Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the List of cities in Serbia, fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Se ...

, where she finished her elementary and secondary school. She graduated 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 ...

School of Medicine, where she received her M.A. in 1983. and Ph.D. in 1986.

Career

Professional

Dejanović has worked at the University of Kragujevac Medical School since 1982, where she was first assistant, then

docent The term "docent" is derived from the Latin word , which is the third-person plural present active indicative of ('to teach, to lecture'). Becoming a docent is often referred to as habilitation or doctor of science and is an academic qualifi ...

and then as of 1992 she was an

assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

. In 1996 Dejanović became a

full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...

. She also served as the Director of Clinical-Hospital Center in Kragujevac from 1995 to 2001. when she was removed from management functions but she remained to work as a doctor. Dejanović is the director of the Clinic for Psychiatry in Kragujevac and vice dean of Medical School and the vice president of the Association of Psychiatrists of Serbia. She was the president of the Commission for Drugs and a member of the Governing Board of Medical research within Section of science and technology.

Politics

Parallel with her doctor's career, Dejanović was building a political career as well. She became a member of the

League of Communists of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, was the founding and ruling party of SFR Yugoslavia. It was formed in 1919 as the main communist opposition party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats ...

when she was 18 years old. Dejanović was the chairman of Standing Action Conference of the League and a member of the Municipal Committee of the League for Kragujevac. Dejanović has been a member of the Socialist Party of Serbia since 12 September 1990. She was a member of the Main Board, the executive committee of the SPS and the chairwoman of Kragujevac Regional Committee of the SPS. She was elected for the vice-president of SPS for the first time in 1996 and remained in that position until April 1997. She was elected for the same function again on 12 May 2002 and reelected on 4 December 2006. In two terms she served as the MP in the National Assembly of Serbia and two terms as a Federal Deputy. In the interim Serbian government between October 2000 and January 2001 she was the minister for the care of the family. On 25 June 2008, Dejanović was elected the

President of the National Assembly of Serbia The president of the National Assembly of Serbia () is the presiding officer of the National Assembly of Serbia. The president is elected by members of each new assembly for a term lasting four years. The president of the National Assembly s ...

. Following the decision of President

to resign and seek re-election in Serbian presidential elections on 6 May 2012, Slavica Đukić Dejanović became Acting President of Serbia on 5 April 2012. She served as

from 27 July 2012 to 27 April 2014 and as

from 2016 to 2020. After leaving the government, she began working at the Acibadem Bel Medic hospital. In June 2023, she was proposed by the government of Serbia to become the

after Branko Ružić's resignation.

Political positions

She was previously a staunch defender 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 ...

. While speaking to the Crime and Corruption Reporting Network (KRIK) about her assets, she has said that "officials should be completely exposed to the public and the truth in detail. People should know who their ministers and officials are, especially with regards to their properties". She has declared herself to be supportive of the

LGBT community The LGBTQ community (also known as the LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIA+, or queer community) comprises LGBTQ people, LGBTQ individuals united by LGBTQ culture, a common culture and LGBTQ movements, social movements. These Community, comm ...

and pride parades, even participating in the Belgrade Pride in 2016. She supports

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their p ...

, but has also said that "there would be even more of us if there were no abortions".

Personal life

Besides Serbian, she speaks English and Russian. Her husband, Ranko Dejanović, took part in the controversial privatisation of Zastava Elektro that occurred in the 2000s and an indictment was brought against him in

Court.

References

External links

Official Biography of The President of the National Assembly of Serbia
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dukic Dejanovic, Slavica 1951 births 20th-century Serbian politicians 20th-century Serbian women politicians 21st-century Serbian politicians 21st-century Serbian women politicians Female heads of state Government ministers of Serbia Living people Members of the National Assembly (Serbia) People from Rača Presidents of Serbia Presidents of the National Assembly (Serbia) Socialist Party of Serbia politicians University of Belgrade Faculty of Medicine alumni Women government ministers of Serbia Women members of the National Assembly (Serbia) First women presidents Women presidents in Europe