Vladislav Dajković (; born 13 January 1992) is a Montenegrin Serb politician serving as a member of the

City Assembly of Podgorica City Assembly of the Capital City of Podgorica () is the legislature of Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro. The assembly elects the mayor of Podgorica Mayor of Podgorica () is the head of the City of Podgorica (capital of Montenegro). He acts o ...

since 12 April 2023. He was one of the founders and former secretary general of the

True Montenegro The True Montenegro (; abbr. Права / Prava or ПЦГ / PCG) is a right-wing populist political party in Montenegro, formed in January 2018 from the political movement ''Resistance to Hopelessness'' (OB), prior to the March 2018 presidentia ...

, a right-wing populist pro-Serbian political party in Montenegro, which he left in 2019, after which he founded another right-wing party, Free Montenegro (''Slobodna Crna Gora'').

Biography

Early life and education

Dajković was born in 1992 in

Cetinje Cetinje ( cnr-Cyrl, Цетиње, ) is a List of cities and towns in Montenegro, town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital ( cnr-Latn-Cyrl, prijestonica, приjестоница, separator=" / ") of Montenegro and is the location of sev ...

, which at the time was a part 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 ...

. He finished high school in

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

and later graduated from the Faculty of Economics, University of Belgrade and the

Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM; ), also known as Technological Institute of Monterrey () or just Tec, is aresearch university based in Monterrey, Mexico, which has grown to include 35 campuses located across 25 cit ...

at their

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

campus. He also received his master's degree at the

Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade The Faculty of Political Sciences (, abbreviated FPN) is a constituent institution of the University of Belgrade which focuses on education and research in the fields of political science, international relations, journalism and communication stu ...

. He practiced his

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

skills in

Washington D.C Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. He declares himself a Montenegrin but also a

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

. He said that for him a Montenegrin represents a Serb, and a Serb represents a Montenegrin.

Political career

In 2014, Dajković joined the " Movement for Neutrality" and served in the main board of the movement. He was also а member of the centre-right

DEMOS Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * Plural for Demo (computer programming ...

. In September 2015, he was beaten up outside of a bar in the center of Podgorica. He gave a statement to police where he said that the manager of the bar beat him up. After the incident, Dajković stated that the manager of the bar is closely related to then Prime Minister and the current President of Montenegro,

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 ...

. He also stated that he will not stop his political activism until Đukanović leaves office. He also appeared in a TV talk show hosted by a Serbian-Canadian director

Boris Malagurski Boris Malagurski ( sr-Cyrl, Борис Малагурски; born 11 August 1988) is a Serbian-Canadian film director, producer, writer, political commentator, television host, and activist. His films include the documentary series '' The Weig ...

. Dajković has established himself as a fierce critic of the ruling DPS of Milo Đukanović, as well as the accession of Montenegro to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

. In 2018, he was one of the founders and was named the general secretary of the

, a

right-wing populist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right populism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establishm ...

political party in Montenegro which is led by Marko Milačić, also a former member of the "Movement for Neutrality". In September 2019, Dajković and Milačić were arrested after Milačić climbed on the roof of the car and gave a speech he was supposed to give in front of the prosecutor's office. The Police Administration announced that he prevented the officers of the Communal Inspection from performing their official duties. In late 2019, Milačić removed Dajković from his position as the general secretary due to the "insurmountable loss of professional and personal trust". He has participated in numerous protests against the government including the Montenegrin religious protests in 2019-2020. For the

2020 Montenegrin parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Montenegro on 30 August 2020. They were the fifth parliamentary in Montenegro since 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, gaining its independence in 2006. Eighty-one members of the Parliament of Monten ...

s, he endorsed the coalition

For the Future of Montenegro For the Future of Montenegro (, ZBCG) is a mainly cultural conservative and Serbs of Montenegro, Serb political coalition in Montenegro, formed for the 2020 Montenegrin parliamentary election, 2020 and 2023 Montenegrin parliamentary election, 2023 ...

, and its leader

Zdravko Krivokapić Zdravko Krivokapić ( Serbo-Croat Cyrillic: Здравко Кривокапић; born 2 September 1958) is a Montenegrin professor and former politician who served as Prime Minister of Montenegro from 2020 to 2022. In addition to his professorsh ...

. He also announced that he will be joining the campaign of the coalition. He has received media attention for posting many anti-government humorous videos on hi
Facebook
page which numbers more than 100,000 followers. He holds good relations with a

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 ...

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

politician,

Miša Vacić Miša Vacić (; born 5 June 1985) is a Serbian politician who is currently serving as the president of the Serbian Right, a far-right Serbian nationalist political party. Early life He was born in 1985 in Belgrade. When he was 16, he moved ...

and a

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, ; also referred to as the Republic of Srpska or Serb Republic) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other bein ...

politician,

Draško Stanivuković Draško Stanivuković (; born 21 May 1993) is a Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian Serb politician serving as mayor of Banja Luka since December 2020. He is the current president of the Party of Democratic Progress. From 2018 to 2020, Stan ...

with whom he participated in an anti-government rally in

Nikšić Nikšić (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Никшић, ), is the second largest city in Montenegro, with a total population of 32,046 (2023 census) located in the west of the country, in the centre of the spacious Nikšić field at the foot of Trebjesa ...

on 28 August 2020. In October 2020, Dajković went to Belgrade to pick up his master's diploma. His car also ended up keyed with the inscription "MNE" (abbreviation for Montenegro). He accused the people close to President Đukanović for this incident. On 26 May 2021, Dajković announced that he is ready to run for mayor of

. During the 2021 North Kosovo protests, Dajković visited the local Serbs protesting against the ban of Serbian license plates in

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 ...

. Following his visit he received death threats. In October 2021, Dajković founded Free Montenegro, a right-wing populist political party, announcing his candidacy for the

mayor of Podgorica Mayor of Podgorica () is the head of the City of Podgorica (capital of Montenegro). He acts on behalf of the City, and performs an executive function in the Podgorica Capital City Podgorica Capital City (Serbo-Croatian: Glavni grad Podgorica / � ...

office, at the next

Capital City A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...

local election in May 2022. Dajković was elected member of the

as part of the

Democratic Front Democratic Front is a name used by political parties and alliances in several countries, such as: *Democratic Front (Albania) *Democratic Front for the Liberation of Angola *Democratic Front (Bosnia and Herzegovina) * Democratic Front (Cyprus) * Dem ...

coalition at the 2022 local elections and was sworn in on 12 April 2023. In August 2023, the mayor Olivera Injac appointed him the head of the Service for Citizens of Podgorica.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dajkovic, Vladislav 1992 births Living people Politicians from Cetinje Politicians from Podgorica Serbs of Montenegro University of Belgrade Faculty of Economics alumni Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education alumni Serbian nationalists