Dragiša Burzan
Encyclopedia
Dragiša Burzan is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
, Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia) has been the Serbia and Montenegro ambassador to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
since 2004. Before his diplomatic appointment, he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
between 2003 and 2004.
Burzan attended school in Titograd, then part of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. He attended the University of Montenegro
University of Montenegro
The University of Montenegro is a university located in Podgorica, Montenegro. It was founded in 1974 and is organized in 20 Faculties.-History:...
, where he received a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
, and went on to receive a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in nuclear physics
Nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
from 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...
and a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in theoretical physics
Theoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena...
from the University of Essex
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
He became a professor at the University of Montenegro in the Department of Natural Sciences pursuing research in physics; he there from 1976 through 1998, although he became active in politics by the late 1980s.
In 1989, he founded Democratic Alternative
Democratic Alternative (Serbia)
The Democratic Alternative was a political party in Serbia, founded by secession of pro-democratic members of the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia in 1997. Its President was Nebojša Čović...
, an association at the University of Montenegro promoting democratic reforms in what was then still Yugoslavia.
In 1991, he was a member of Reform Forces of Yugoslavia, led by Ante Markovic
Ante Markovic
Ante Marković was a statesman of the former Yugoslavia. He was the last prime minister of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.- Early life :...
, the last Prime Minister of Yugoslavia
Prime Minister of Yugoslavia
The Prime Minister or the President of the Federal Executive Council of Yugoslavia was the head of government of the Yugoslav state, from the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918 until the end of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992.-Kingdom of...
.
In 1992, he was one of the founders of the Social Democratic Party of Montenegro
Social Democratic Party of Montenegro
The Social Democratic Party of Montenegro is a political party in Montenegro....
(SDP) and was elected to Parliament
Parliament of Montenegro
The Parliament of Montenegro is the unicameral legislature of Montenegro. The Parliament currently has 81 members, each elected for a four-year term. The current Speaker of the Parliament is Ranko Krivokapić, while the deputy speakers are Željko Šturanović and Rifat Rastoder...
, where he served from 1992 through 1996. He also served as the SDP's International Secretary, a post he held continuously apart from an interruption from July 1994 to October 1995, and served as the vice-president of the party from 1996 to 2000.
During his time in Parliament, he participated in and initiated numerous conferences, seminars, initiatives and networks aimed to end the various wars going on in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
at the time. He also organized and supported civil society initiatives in Montenegro and the Balkans in general, with an emphasis on human rights, including co-founding the weekly Monitor newsletter.
In July 1998 he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro, a post he held until June 2001; his portfolio included the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labor and Welfare, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Minor Nations, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Sport, Secretariat of Information, Secretariat for International Culture and Science Cooperation, and Commissariat for Refuges, among others, and he served as the government's leader on refugee matters. Following this post, he was appointed Minister of Labor and Social Welfare from July 2001 through May 2002, at which point he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was appointed Ambassador to London in 2004.
Burzan is married, with two daughters and a son.