Cedomir Jovanovic
Encyclopedia
Čedomir "Čeda" Jovanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Чедомир "Чеда" Јовановић) (born April 13, 1971 in Belgrade
) is a Serbia
n politician and president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
He completed Ivan Gundulić Primary School with average grades. Afterwards, he started attending the 9th Belgrade Gymnasium, but quickly transferred to the 3rd Economics High School, from which he eventually graduated. He then enrolled at the University of Belgrade
's Faculty of Economics, but after only a week of classes, decided to quit. Jovanović eventually started attending Belgrade's Arts University
dramaturgy
program, from which he graduated in 1998 at the age of 27. He never actually worked in his chosen profession, writing only a couple of plays that were never staged or published. During his student days he also worked as a journalist.
during the winter of 1996/97. His charisma, ambition and high energy made him stand out among the mass of thousands of student protesters at the time. He soon took the reins of the entire street revolt and became one of its most recognizable protagonists. Female protesters could be seen sporting badges proclaiming "Marry me, Čedo!". This newfound popularity did not go unnoticed by police officers, as he was arrested, questioned and roughed up several times.
Throughout the 3-month demonstration he also grew close to the Democratic Party
(DS) and its then leader Zoran Đinđić. After the protest was over, Jovanović and several other Belgrade University students (Čedomir Antić
, Igor Žeželj, Vladimir Dobrosavljević, and Aleksandar Ćirić) formed a student organization called Student Political Club (Studentski politički klub, SPK). At the time Jovanović described SPK as "a political organization whose goal it is to go a step further than the student protests did". However, SPK didn't last long and its almost entire membership joined the DS party in 1998 (Dobrosavljević was the only one who joined the DSS
party).
Now an official DS member, Jovanović quickly rose up the party ladder, eventually becoming its vice-president in 2001.
in the December 23, 2000 parliamentary elections
, on the list of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia
(DOS), and also held the post of DOS' parliamentary caucus leader until 2003. At only 29, he was the youngest person ever in Serbian politics to hold such a position.
During his days as a parliamentary chief, he led an extremely eventful life. On March 31, 2001, after a masked government unit stormed the fortified Villa Mir attempting to arrest its resident Slobodan Milošević
, Jovanović was at the scene, negotiating with the former Yugoslav president and urging him to surrender. He was reportedly shot at from a pistol by Milošević's daughter Marija.
Other more colourful episodes around the same time included Jovanović's 4x4 vehicle being blown up with an explosive device and the order to have a pedestrian crosswalk painted across Belgrade
's Kralja Milana thoroughfare in front of the parliamentary building after TV cameras caught him crossing the street illegally. The crosswalk later became known derisively as "Čeda's zebra".
. It has been alleged that during his mandate as Member of Parliament, in addition to his regular duties, Jovanović assumed the role of Prime Minister Đinđić's government liaison - dealing with, and meeting individuals connected to Serbian organized crime circles.
When the press got a hold of this information, a storm of controversy was created by raising many questions about Jovanovic's role in Government's dealing with the mafia. Political opponents directly accused him of criminal involvement and of providing favours for shady individuals such as Dušan Spasojević
(late leader of the Zemun mafia clan) and Milorad Ulemek
(now convicted as the person who organized the assassination of Zoran Đinđić). Various rumours, mostly carried and exploited by daily tabloids, included even those that he is using heavy drugs.
After continuous pressure from the media, Jovanović admitted to attending some meetings, but denied any wrongdoing, claiming that these contacts were made on behalf of the government in order to curb mafia activities and to secure political stability from the individuals left over from the Milošević
's era. During one of his speeches, he stated: "my hands are dirty because I was cleaning up Serbia".
The electorate did not exactly see it that way and Jovanović's popularity dropped drastically as a result of this episode.
Realizing this, the Democratic Party brass marginalized his role within its ranks before the parliamentary elections in December 2003
by not even entering his name on the party's electoral ballot. He did not complain, at least not publicly, opting to instead focus on the coming party congress in February 2004 that was to determine its new post-Đinđić leadership. Jovanović was hoping to get a seat on the main board, but did not receive enough delegate support.
, Jovanović criticized him publicly, most notably for his policy of political cohabitation with Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica
's government. Being a fierce Koštunica opponent, Jovanović felt that the Democratic Party should actively seek ways to bring down his government, especially when Boris Tadić was elected President of the Republic in June 2004. A couple of months after Tadić's inauguration, Jovanović wrote his party colleague an open public letter on a per tu basis criticizing his political choices. Tadić never even acknowledged the letter publicly until he was directly asked about it during an interview on a weekly political TV talk show Utisak nedelje. He admitted that he had not really bothered to read it and added: "When someone writes a letter, supposedly to me, by first making sure it gets published in the papers, then that's really not a letter but a political bid".
- knowingly breaching the party statute. The act was obviously not welcomed by the leadership and he was eventually expelled on December 3, 2004.
In the following period, Jovanović's political activity became distinctly more direct. He gave bombastic interviews and in his strongly worded press releases frequently went after PM Koštunica
's government officials, Koštunica himself, and the Serbian security apparatus. He repeatedly criticized the Serbian Orthodox Church
, calling it dishonest, backward and dogmatic, protesting what he sees to be the its interference in the country's politics.
Parallel to all of this Jovanović also founded a non-governmental organization
called Center for Modern Politics (Centar za modernu politiku, CMP), but its activities were sporadic at best and it eventually folded.
In July 2005, Jovanović published a book, Moj sukob sa prošlošću (My Confrontation with the Past). In this period he also came out in favour of Kosovo
's independence, thus becoming the only notable Serbian political party leader to do so and because of that he gained sympathies from many Albanians
.
Soon after, in December, he was a subject of a lengthy, very affirmative piece penned by Zoran Ćirjaković in the influential American weekly magazine Newsweek
which, among other things, Jovanović used to further reiterate his stance on Kosovo and to declare his opinion that Bosnian Serb ties with Belgrade should effectively be severed.
The first parliamentary elections Jovanović led his party in were held in January 2007. LDP's electoral list also featured several minority parties and Nenad Čanak
's League of Vojvodina's Socialdemocrats (LSV). With an aggressive "Od nas zavisi" campaign, he was hoping to ensure enough votes for LDP to become a significant factor when it comes to forming the ruling coalition. However, LDP received about 5-6% of the total vote, barely clearing the %5 threshold required to enter the parliament.
held in January. He was running under the slogan "Život je zakon!" (eng. "Life Rules") while emphasizing his determination to bring down every person inside or outside the Serbian government who "oppose the idea of providing a better life for the people of Serbia
". Once again, Jovanović has directly accused Miroslav Mišković
, a Serbian tycoon, of being one of the most responsible persons for the underdevelopment of Serbia in the recent years.
He finished fifth with 5.34% of the total votes, well behind Boris Tadić
and Tomislav Nikolić
who went into the second round runoff. Ahead of the second round vote, despite expectations from some circles, Jovanović decided not to throw his support behind Tadić, opting instead to stay neutral. Tadić ended up winning the election regardless.
visits of Africa that "instead of going to the cannibals in Africa, should react to the plight of the civilians in Libya". The remark provoked strong protests from diplomats from the African continent.
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
) is a Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n politician and president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
Early life
Born and raised in a middle-class family (his father Jovica was an architect and economist, while his mother Milena Mršić was also an economist) young Čedomir grew up in New Belgrade.He completed Ivan Gundulić Primary School with average grades. Afterwards, he started attending the 9th Belgrade Gymnasium, but quickly transferred to the 3rd Economics High School, from which he eventually graduated. He then enrolled at the University of Belgrade
University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...
's Faculty of Economics, but after only a week of classes, decided to quit. Jovanović eventually started attending Belgrade's Arts University
University of Arts in Belgrade
The University of Arts in Belgrade is a public university in Belgrade, founded in 1957 as the Academy of Arts to unite four academies...
dramaturgy
Dramaturgy
Dramaturgy is the art of dramatic composition and the representation of the main elements of drama on the stage. Dramaturgy is a distinct practice separate from play writing and directing, although a single individual may perform any combination of the three. Some dramatists combine writing and...
program, from which he graduated in 1998 at the age of 27. He never actually worked in his chosen profession, writing only a couple of plays that were never staged or published. During his student days he also worked as a journalist.
Early years in politics
Jovanović got involved in politics as a leader of student protests in Belgrade1996-97 protests in Serbia
Anti-Milošević protests in Serbia in winter of 1996/1997 refers to the mass protests organized by the Serbian opposition and university students, in response to electoral fraud attempted by the regime of Slobodan Milošević after 1996 local elections.The protests started 17 November 1996 in Niš...
during the winter of 1996/97. His charisma, ambition and high energy made him stand out among the mass of thousands of student protesters at the time. He soon took the reins of the entire street revolt and became one of its most recognizable protagonists. Female protesters could be seen sporting badges proclaiming "Marry me, Čedo!". This newfound popularity did not go unnoticed by police officers, as he was arrested, questioned and roughed up several times.
Throughout the 3-month demonstration he also grew close to the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Serbia)
The Democratic Party is a political party in Serbia. It is described as a social liberal or social democratic party.-Pre-war history:The Democratic Party was established on 16 February 1919 from unification of Sarajevo parties independent radicals, progressives, liberals and the Serbian part of...
(DS) and its then leader Zoran Đinđić. After the protest was over, Jovanović and several other Belgrade University students (Čedomir Antić
Čedomir Antić
Čedomir Antić, PhD, is a Serbian historian, politician, and former student leader.-Student activism:...
, Igor Žeželj, Vladimir Dobrosavljević, and Aleksandar Ćirić) formed a student organization called Student Political Club (Studentski politički klub, SPK). At the time Jovanović described SPK as "a political organization whose goal it is to go a step further than the student protests did". However, SPK didn't last long and its almost entire membership joined the DS party in 1998 (Dobrosavljević was the only one who joined the DSS
Democratic Party of Serbia
The Democratic Party of Serbia is a political party in Serbia.-Foundation:The Democratic Party of Serbia was founded when a faction of the Democratic Party that supported its involvement in the Democratic Movement of Serbia split from the party and formed their own in 1992.Soon after the March...
party).
Now an official DS member, Jovanović quickly rose up the party ladder, eventually becoming its vice-president in 2001.
DOS parliamentary caucus chief
He was elected to the Serbian ParliamentNational Assembly of Serbia
The National Assembly of Serbia is the unicameral parliament of Serbia. It is composed of 250 proportionally elected deputies elected in general elections by secret ballot, on 4 years term. The National Assembly elects the President of the National Assembly who presides over the sessions...
in the December 23, 2000 parliamentary elections
Serbian parliamentary election, 2000
The first free democratic parliamentary election after the fall of Slobodan Milošević was held in the Republic of Serbia on 23 December 2000.-Results:...
, on the list of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia
Democratic Opposition of Serbia
The Democratic Opposition of Serbia was a wide alliance of political parties in Serbia , formed as a coalition against the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia and its leader, Slobodan Milošević in 2000...
(DOS), and also held the post of DOS' parliamentary caucus leader until 2003. At only 29, he was the youngest person ever in Serbian politics to hold such a position.
During his days as a parliamentary chief, he led an extremely eventful life. On March 31, 2001, after a masked government unit stormed the fortified Villa Mir attempting to arrest its resident Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
, Jovanović was at the scene, negotiating with the former Yugoslav president and urging him to surrender. He was reportedly shot at from a pistol by Milošević's daughter Marija.
Other more colourful episodes around the same time included Jovanović's 4x4 vehicle being blown up with an explosive device and the order to have a pedestrian crosswalk painted across Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
's Kralja Milana thoroughfare in front of the parliamentary building after TV cameras caught him crossing the street illegally. The crosswalk later became known derisively as "Čeda's zebra".
Deputy Prime Minister
In March 2003, following the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić, Jovanović advanced to the position of Deputy Prime Minister in the government of the new PM Zoran ŽivkovićZoran Živkovic (politician)
Zoran Živković is a former Prime Minister of Serbia who replaced assassinated Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić in March 2003. He was born on December 22, 1960 in Niš where he finished high-school Bora Stanković. Živković received a community college diploma in Economics in Belgrade and worked as...
. It has been alleged that during his mandate as Member of Parliament, in addition to his regular duties, Jovanović assumed the role of Prime Minister Đinđić's government liaison - dealing with, and meeting individuals connected to Serbian organized crime circles.
When the press got a hold of this information, a storm of controversy was created by raising many questions about Jovanovic's role in Government's dealing with the mafia. Political opponents directly accused him of criminal involvement and of providing favours for shady individuals such as Dušan Spasojević
Dušan Spasojevic
Dušan Spasojević, also known by his widely used nicknames Šiptar and Duća, was the head of one of the largest Serbian criminal groups on record, the Zemun clan....
(late leader of the Zemun mafia clan) and Milorad Ulemek
Milorad Ulemek
Milorad "Legija" Ulemek , also known as Milorad Luković is a former commander of the Serbian secret police special unit, the Red Berets , convicted of the assassinations of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic and former Serbian President Ivan Stambolic and organiser of the attempted murder of the...
(now convicted as the person who organized the assassination of Zoran Đinđić). Various rumours, mostly carried and exploited by daily tabloids, included even those that he is using heavy drugs.
After continuous pressure from the media, Jovanović admitted to attending some meetings, but denied any wrongdoing, claiming that these contacts were made on behalf of the government in order to curb mafia activities and to secure political stability from the individuals left over from the Milošević
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
's era. During one of his speeches, he stated: "my hands are dirty because I was cleaning up Serbia".
The electorate did not exactly see it that way and Jovanović's popularity dropped drastically as a result of this episode.
Realizing this, the Democratic Party brass marginalized his role within its ranks before the parliamentary elections in December 2003
Serbian parliamentary election, 2003
Parliamentary elections were held in the Republic of Serbia on December 28, 2003. The Republic of Serbia then was one of the two federal units of Serbia and Montenegro, formerly known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....
by not even entering his name on the party's electoral ballot. He did not complain, at least not publicly, opting to instead focus on the coming party congress in February 2004 that was to determine its new post-Đinđić leadership. Jovanović was hoping to get a seat on the main board, but did not receive enough delegate support.
In opposition 2004-present
Dissatisfied with the party's new direction under the leadership of Boris TadićBoris Tadic
Boris Tadić is the President of Serbia and leader of the Democratic Party. He was elected to a five-year term on 27 June 2004, and was sworn into office on 11 July. He was re-elected for a de facto second five-year term on 3 February 2008 and was sworn in on 15 February...
, Jovanović criticized him publicly, most notably for his policy of political cohabitation with Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica is a Serbian politician, statesman and the president of the Democratic Party of Serbia. He was the last President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, succeeding Slobodan Milošević and serving from 2000 to 2003...
's government. Being a fierce Koštunica opponent, Jovanović felt that the Democratic Party should actively seek ways to bring down his government, especially when Boris Tadić was elected President of the Republic in June 2004. A couple of months after Tadić's inauguration, Jovanović wrote his party colleague an open public letter on a per tu basis criticizing his political choices. Tadić never even acknowledged the letter publicly until he was directly asked about it during an interview on a weekly political TV talk show Utisak nedelje. He admitted that he had not really bothered to read it and added: "When someone writes a letter, supposedly to me, by first making sure it gets published in the papers, then that's really not a letter but a political bid".
Leaving DS
After his unsuccessful attempt to take over the DS leadership, Jovanović formed the "Liberal Democratic faction" within DSDemocratic Party (Serbia)
The Democratic Party is a political party in Serbia. It is described as a social liberal or social democratic party.-Pre-war history:The Democratic Party was established on 16 February 1919 from unification of Sarajevo parties independent radicals, progressives, liberals and the Serbian part of...
- knowingly breaching the party statute. The act was obviously not welcomed by the leadership and he was eventually expelled on December 3, 2004.
In the following period, Jovanović's political activity became distinctly more direct. He gave bombastic interviews and in his strongly worded press releases frequently went after PM Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica is a Serbian politician, statesman and the president of the Democratic Party of Serbia. He was the last President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, succeeding Slobodan Milošević and serving from 2000 to 2003...
's government officials, Koštunica himself, and the Serbian security apparatus. He repeatedly criticized the Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
, calling it dishonest, backward and dogmatic, protesting what he sees to be the its interference in the country's politics.
Parallel to all of this Jovanović also founded a non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
called Center for Modern Politics (Centar za modernu politiku, CMP), but its activities were sporadic at best and it eventually folded.
In July 2005, Jovanović published a book, Moj sukob sa prošlošću (My Confrontation with the Past). In this period he also came out in favour of Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
's independence, thus becoming the only notable Serbian political party leader to do so and because of that he gained sympathies from many Albanians
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
.
Founding LDP
Finally, on November 5, 2005, Jovanović and his supporters founded the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to much fanfare, and Jovanović was elected as its first president at the age of 34.Soon after, in December, he was a subject of a lengthy, very affirmative piece penned by Zoran Ćirjaković in the influential American weekly magazine Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
which, among other things, Jovanović used to further reiterate his stance on Kosovo and to declare his opinion that Bosnian Serb ties with Belgrade should effectively be severed.
The first parliamentary elections Jovanović led his party in were held in January 2007. LDP's electoral list also featured several minority parties and Nenad Čanak
Nenad Canak
Nenad Čanak is a Serbian politician...
's League of Vojvodina's Socialdemocrats (LSV). With an aggressive "Od nas zavisi" campaign, he was hoping to ensure enough votes for LDP to become a significant factor when it comes to forming the ruling coalition. However, LDP received about 5-6% of the total vote, barely clearing the %5 threshold required to enter the parliament.
2008 Presidential candidacy
Čedomir Jovanović was a candidate at the 2008 Serbian Presidential electionsSerbian presidential election, 2008
A pre-term presidential election was held in Serbia on January 20 and February 3, 2008. Incumbent President Boris Tadić was reelected as President of Serbia in the second round with 51.61 percent of the votes cast, defeating challenger Tomislav Nikolić....
held in January. He was running under the slogan "Život je zakon!" (eng. "Life Rules") while emphasizing his determination to bring down every person inside or outside the Serbian government who "oppose the idea of providing a better life for the people of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
". Once again, Jovanović has directly accused Miroslav Mišković
Miroslav Miškovic
Miroslav Mišković is a Serbian businessman, the owner of Delta Holding...
, a Serbian tycoon, of being one of the most responsible persons for the underdevelopment of Serbia in the recent years.
He finished fifth with 5.34% of the total votes, well behind Boris Tadić
Boris Tadic
Boris Tadić is the President of Serbia and leader of the Democratic Party. He was elected to a five-year term on 27 June 2004, and was sworn into office on 11 July. He was re-elected for a de facto second five-year term on 3 February 2008 and was sworn in on 15 February...
and Tomislav Nikolić
Tomislav Nikolic
Tomislav "Toma" Nikolić is a Serbian politician, President of the Serbian Progressive Party. He is also a former member of the Serbian Radical Party, where he served as Deputy Leader of the party and parliamentary leader during the absence of Vojislav Šešelj...
who went into the second round runoff. Ahead of the second round vote, despite expectations from some circles, Jovanović decided not to throw his support behind Tadić, opting instead to stay neutral. Tadić ended up winning the election regardless.
Controversies
In March 2011, during a parliamentary session about the Libyan Civil War, Jovanović commented Serbian Foreign minister Vuk JeremićVuk Jeremic
Vuk Jeremić is a Serbian politician and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Government of Serbia. He was sworn in on May 15, 2007 and reelected on July 7, 2008.-Education:Jeremić was born in Belgrade in 1975 to Miško Jeremić and Sena Buljubašić...
visits of Africa that "instead of going to the cannibals in Africa, should react to the plight of the civilians in Libya". The remark provoked strong protests from diplomats from the African continent.
External links
- Lik i delo - Čedomir Jovanović, VremeVremeVreme is a weekly newsmagazine based in Belgrade, Serbia.After being prepared for seven months throughout 1990 by liberal Serbian intellectuals dissatisfied with the regime's control of the media, its first issue came out on October 29, 1990. Most of its original staff were journalists from...
, (issue# 523), January 11, 2001 LDP official site - Official Facebook page