Slobodan Cvetković (; born 28 June 1974) is a Serbian politician who served as

minister of economy A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

from 2023 to 2024. A 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 ...

(SPS), he previously held high-ranking positions inside the SPS branch in

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

Early life

Slobodan Cvetković was born on 28 June 1974 in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

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 was educated in his hometown; he earned his master's degree at the University "Braća Karić", a university owned by businessmen

Bogoljub Karić Bogoljub Karić ( sr-Cyrl, Богољуб Карић, ; born 17 January 1954) is a Serbian businessman and politician. Early life and education Bogoljub was born to Janićije Karić and Danica Kuzmanović. He earned a degree in Geography at the ...

and

Dragomir Karić Dragomir "Dragan" Karić ( sr-Cyrl, Драгомир Драган Карић; born 21 October 1949) is an entrepreneur and politician in Serbia. A close ally of his younger brother Bogoljub Karić, he has been a prominent figure in Serbia's busine ...

. After earning his master's degree, Cvetković began working at the Faculty of Enterprising Management of the University "Braća Karić".

Career

Cvetković previously served as director of "Sport Centre" in

Beočin Beočin ( sr-Cyrl, Беочин, ; ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The population of the town is 7,274, whilst Beočin's municipality population is 13,875 (2022 ce ...

and as the assistant provincial secretary for Culture and Public Information in the

government of Vojvodina The Provincial Government of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina () is the executive organ of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, within the Republic of Serbia. For its actions it is accountable to the Assembly of Vojvodina. The rights and duti ...

. In 2014, he was appointed director of the Novi Sad Fair and he served in that role until his appointment in the government of Serbia in 2023. The Anti-Corruption Agency reported that Cvetković's monthly earning for that role was RSD 235,000. Cvetković joined the

(SPS) in 2007 and became a member of its provincial branch in 2011. In 2012, he was elected president of the SPS board in Novi Sad. He also served as a member of the executive board of the main board and executive board of the provincial board of SPS. He is a staunch supporter of the current president of SPS,

Ivica Dačić Ivica Dačić ( sr-cyrl, Ивица Дачић, ; born 1 January 1966) is a Serbian politician serving as deputy prime minister of Serbia since 2022 and minister of internal affairs since 2024. He has been the leader of the Socialist Party of ...

Minister of Economy

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 ...

presented Cvetković to 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 ...

as a candidate for the minister of economy in July 2023. The position was previously held by

Rade Basta Rade Basta ( sr-cyrl, Раде Баста; born 21 February 1979) is a Serbian politician who served as minister of economy from 2022 to 2023. A former member of United Serbia (JS), he served as a member of the National Assembly of Serbia from ...

until he was dismissed in June 2023. Basta was then succeeded by

Siniša Mali Siniša Mali ( sr-Cyrl, Синиша Мали, ; born 25 August 1972) is a Serbian economist and politician serving aFirst Deputy Prime minister of Serbiasince 2024 and as minister of finance since 2018. A member of the Serbian Progressive Part ...

who served in the acting capacity. Cvetković was elected by the National Assembly on 6 September with 148 votes in favour. Opposition parties did not vote in Cvetković's election; they also criticised his appointment due to not having previous experience in the area of economics. He was succeeded by

Adrijana Mesarović Adrijana Mesarović (; born 1981) is a Serbian politician, economist and local government activist. A member of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), she has served as minister of economy since May 2024 and deputy prime minister of Serbia since A ...

on 2 May 2024.

Personal life

Cvetković has stated in his biography that he was previously a

kayaker ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word ''qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be a ...

. Alongside his native Serbian, he also speaks English.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cvetkovic, Slobodan 1974 births Living people Government ministers of Serbia Socialist Party of Serbia politicians 21st-century Serbian politicians Politicians from Novi Sad