Smiljko Kostić
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Smiljko Kostić ( sr-Cyrl, Смиљко Костић; born 22 February 1945) is a retired politician and administrator in
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 ...
. From 1984 to 1998, he was the general manager of the tobacco firm '' Duvanska industrija Niš'' (DIN) in
Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...
. He served in 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 ...
from 1991 to 1993 and was the mayor of mayor of Niš from 2004 to 2008. 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 ...
(''Socijalistička partija Srbije'', SPS) for most of the 1990s, he later fell out of favour with
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 ...
's administration, left the party, and was elected mayor in 2004 with an endorsement from New Serbia (''Nova Srbija'', NS).


Early life and career

Kostić was born in
Žitorađa Žitorađa ( sr-cyr, Житорађа, ) is a town and municipality located in the Toplica District of southern Serbia. The municipality includes 30 settlements. According to the 2022 census, the population of the municipality is 13,782 inhabitan ...
in southern Serbia in the closing phases of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, shortly before the establishment of the
People's 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=" / " ...
within the
Federal People's 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 raised in the community and graduated from the
University of Niš The University of Niš () is a public university in Serbia. It was founded in 1965. As of the 2018-19 school year, it consists of 13 faculties with 1,492 academic staff and around 20,500 students. It has a university library "Nikola Tesla"; th ...
's Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Kostić began working at DIN in 1971, initially as a warehouse employee and later as a workshop manager and chief engineer. In 1984, he was promoted to general manager. He resisted calls for the company's privatization in the 1990s.Smiljko Kostić
''Južne vesti'', 15 May 2017, accessed 28 December 2021.


Politician and administrator


Parliamentarian and DIN general manager (1990–98)

Kostić was elected to the national assembly for Niš's third division in the 1990 Serbian parliamentary election. The SPS won a majority government, and Kostić served for the next two years as a government supporter. He was not a candidate in the 1992 parliamentary election. In December 1991, Kostić announced that DIN had signed a forty-five million dollar contract with the
Russia 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 ...
n cigarette company Prodintorg, in which DIN agreed to modernize existing Russian facilities and construct new factories. During the
sanctions against Yugoslavia During the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s and early 2000s, several rounds of international sanctions were imposed against the former Yugoslav republics of Serbia and Montenegro that formed a new country called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. San ...
in the 1990s, Kostić expanded the construction of new DIN plants in Serbia. In May 1994, he said that the smuggling of cigarettes into Serbia was a serious threat to domestic producers, and at the end of 1997 he complained that smuggling had effectively killed the industry.


Arrest and acquittal (1998–2003)

Kostić was arrested on 9 February 1998 on suspicion of having embezzled several million dinars. It was widely believed that the charges against him were politically motivated. Some rumours suggested that the arrest was prompted by a clash with Slobodan Milošević's son Marko and by his own links with business interests close to Montenegrin president
Milo Đukanović Milo Đukanović (, ; born 15 February 1962) is a Montenegrin politician who served as the President of Montenegro from 2018 to 2023, previously serving in the role from 1998 to 2002. He also served as the Prime Minister of Montenegro (1991–19 ...
; another rumour suggested that Kostić was removed from office to facilitate the privatization of DIN. Zoran Živković, at the time the mayor of Niš, said, "The arrest of Smiljko Kostić is a purely political act. He was unable to do anything without the knowledge of Slobodan Milošević." Following Kostić's arrest, pro-government media alleged that he had sold cigarettes in the country's illegal economy. In November 1999, a court in Niš convicted him of three charges and sentenced him to a total of six years in prison. In November 2000, after the fall of the Milošević regime, he was released pending an appeal. The Supreme Court of Serbia acquitted Kostić of the main charges against him in 2003 while upholding the lesser charge of "unscrupulous work in the economy," which carried a two-year sentence. As he had already served this time, he was not required to return to prison.


Mayor of Niš (2004–08)

Serbia introduced the direct election of
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
s for the 2004 local elections, and Kostić was elected mayor of Niš as the nominee of New Serbia (although, as a self-described leftist, he was not actually a member of the right-wing and monarchist party at the time). He defeated incumbent Democratic Party (''Demokratska stranka'', DS) mayor Goran Ćirić by a significant margin in the second round of voting; many commentators observed that his victory was due in large part to a local split in the DS ranks. New Serbia won only four out of sixty-one seats in the
City Assembly of Niš The City Assembly of Niš is the legislature of the City of Niš, third largest city in Serbia. It is a representative body that executes the essential functions of the local government stipulated by the legislation and the City Charter. Composit ...
, and Kostić did not initially have a working majority; in December 2004, his nominees for city council (i.e., the executive branch of the city government) were defeated by the assembly. The DS briefly formed an assembly majority with the
Democratic Party of Serbia The New Democratic Party of Serbia (, , abbr. NDSS), known as the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) until 2022, is a national-conservative political party in Serbia. Miloš Jovanović serves as the current president of NDSS. DSS was formed as ...
(''Demokratska stranka Srbije'', DSS) and
G17 Plus G17 Plus was a centre-right List of political parties in Serbia, political party in Serbia. Founded as a non-governmental organization dealing with economic issues, in 2002 it transformed into a political party that became part of several ruling ...
, but this fell apart in early 2005. Eventually, Kostić and New Serbia were able to form a working majority with the DSS, G17 Plus, the SPS, and the
Serbian Renewal Movement The Serbian Renewal Movement (, abbr. SPO) is a liberal and monarchist political party in Serbia. It was founded in 1990 by writer Vuk Drašković, who served as the party's president until 2024. Aleksandar Cvetković is the incumbent leader. ...
(''Srpski pokret obnove'', SPO)."Kad gradonačelnik ostane bez vlasti"
''Politika'', 29 June 2007, accessed 28 December 2021.
In early 2005, Kostić organized a reception in support of
Vladimir Lazarević Vladimir Lazarević ( sr-Cyrl, Владимир Лазаревић, born 23 March 1949) is a Serbian colonel general of the Third Army Corps, and later the commander of the Priština Corps of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Early life Gene ...
, before the latter's departure for
The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
to face
war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...
charges at 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). He later donated a car for use by a member of Lazarević's family. These actions prompted a diplomatic incident later in the year, when
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
ambassador to
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 ...
David Gowan described the gift as an abuse of office, and both he and the
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
ambassador refused to meet with Kostić. New Serbia leader
Velimir Ilić Velimir "Velja" Ilić ( sr-cyr, Велимир "Веља" Илић, ; born 28 May 1951) is a Serbian politician and founder and president of the New Serbia party. He served as the Minister of Capital Investments from 2004 to 2008, Ministry of ...
described the matter as a misunderstanding that had been blown out of proportion by media coverage. In September 2005, Kostić announced that Russia's
Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐsˈprom) is a Russian State-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational Energy industry, energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. The Gazprom name is a contract ...
was interested in financing a natural gas pipeline in southern Serbia and a new energy plant in Niš as part of a proposed deal between the two countries. He urged the Serbian government to approve the arrangement. The following year, he met with
Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...
mayor Trifun Kostovski and
Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
mayor
Boyko Borisov Boyko Metodiev Borisov (, born 13 June 1959) is a Bulgarian politician who served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria on three separate occasions, serving a total of 9 years between 2009 and 2021, making him the country's longest-serving post-communi ...
on increasing ties between the cities. Kostić survived a
recall election A recall election (also called a recall referendum, recall petition or representative recall) is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of office has ended. Recalls ...
initiated by the DS in December 2005, with about sixty per cent of eligible voters opposing his removal from office. The following year, he made the unilateral decision of ending the city's financial support to the local daily ''Niške Narodne Novine'', due to his dissatisfaction with its coverage of local politics and its decision to remove the city's coat of arms from its front page. While Kostić was not a member of New Serbia at the time of his election as mayor, media reports indicate that he later joined the party. New Serbia contested the
2007 Serbian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Serbia on 21 January 2007 to elect members of the National Assembly of Serbia, National Assembly. The first session of the new National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia was held on 14 February 2007. The elec ...
in an alliance with the DSS, and Kostić was given the 125th position out of 250 on their combined
electoral list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...
. The list won forty-seven seats, and he was not subsequently included in New Serbia's parliamentary delegation. (From 2000 to 2011, all parliamentary mandates were awarded to sponsoring parties or coalitions rather than to individual candidates, and it was common practice for the mandates to be distributed out of numerical order. Kostić's list position had no specific bearing on his chances of election.) In June 2007, Kostić and New Serbia lost the support of their coalition partners in the Niš city assembly, which approved measures to significantly reduce the powers of the mayor's office. It was generally accepted during this time that Niš's political divisions had led to a form of administrative paralysis, which caused the city to fall behind economically. Serbia abolished the direct election of mayors for the 2008 local elections; mayors were instead to be chosen by assembly members elected under
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
. New Serbia contested the election in an alliance with the DSS, which vetoed Kostić's inclusion on their list. Kostić announced his retirement from politics, and his term in office ended in July 2008.


Since 2012

Kostić visited and gave his support to two hunger strikers from the
Serbian Progressive Party The Serbian Progressive Party (, SNS) is a major populist, catch-all party, catch-all List of political parties in Serbia, political party in Serbia. It has been the Ruling party, ruling party since 2012. Miloš Vučević, the former prime mi ...
(''Srpska napredna stranka'', SNS) in Niš in April 2011. In October 2021, he expressed interest in building a tobacco factory in
Leskovac Leskovac ( sr-Cyrl, Лесковац, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Jablanica District in Southern Serbia (Geographical Region), southern Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a p ...
."Smiljko Kostić namerava da gradi fabriku duvana u Leskovcu"
''Jugmedia'', 28 October 2021, accessed 28 December 2021.


Electoral record


Local (City of Niš)


National Assembly of Serbia


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kostic, Smiljko 1956 births Living people People from Žitorađa Mayors of Niš Members of the National Assembly (Serbia) Socialist Party of Serbia politicians New Serbia politicians