Zoran Ðindic
Encyclopedia
Zoran Đinđić, Ph.D.
was the Serbia
n Prime minister from 2001 until his assassination in 2003. He was the Mayor of Belgrade
in 1997, and long-time opposition politician
and a doctor in philosophy
.
Đinđić was a founder of the modern Democratic Party
and became its president in 1994. During the 1990s, he was one of the leaders of the opposition to the regime of Slobodan Milošević
, and became Prime Minister of Serbia in 2001 after the overthrow of Milošević. As Prime minister, he advocated pro-democratic reforms and European integrations of Serbia
.
He was assassinated in 2003
by members of the Serbian organised crime
.
, FPR Yugoslavia where his father was stationed as an officer of the Yugoslav People's Army
(JNA). His paternal side hailed from Toplica in southern Serbia. His mother Mila Dušanić, a housewife, raised him and his elder sister Gordana; the family moved according to his father's jobs. Ten years of Zoran's childhood were spent in the town of Travnik
. Eventually, the family moved to capital Belgrade
, after his mother had gained a post there. Đinđić attended Ninth Belgrade Gymnasium, subsequently enrolling in the University of Belgrade
Faculty of Philosophy
, graduating in 1974. During his university days he developed an interest in politics. After being convicted by the communist regime and through Party
-controlled media for his role in his attempt to organize an independent political movement of Yugoslav students, Đinđić emigrated to West Germany
thanks to the intervention of former German Chancellor Willy Brandt
, who persuaded authorities to let Đinđić come to Germany instead of serving his sentence in Yugoslavia. He continued his studies with professor Jürgen Habermas
in Frankfurt
.
In Germany, Đinđić obtained a Ph.D.
in philosophy
from the University of Konstanz
in 1979. He became proficient in German
. Later, while serving as Serbian prime minister, he also mastered English.
to take a teaching post at the University of Novi Sad
, and on 11 December 1989 together with other Serb intellectuals and pro-democracy activists he founded
the liberal
Democratic Party
(DS) based on the similarly conceptualized Democratic Party
that existed in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
. He became the party's Executive Board Chairman in 1990, and got elected to the Parliament of Serbia the same year. In January 1994 he replaced Dragoljub Mićunović
as President of the Democratic Party.
After a massive series of public protests
over election fraud perpetrated by the central government under Slobodan Milošević
during the winter 1996–1997, Đinđić became Mayor of Belgrade
, the first non-communist mayor to hold that post after the Second World War. United only by their political enemy, the coalition "Zajedno" (Together) with Vuk Drašković
's SPO
and Vesna Pešić
's GSS
collapsed only four months after their victory. Đinđić was voted out of his position as Belgrade mayor by the SPO
, SPS
and SRS
.
Đinđić and his party boycotted the 1997 Serbian presidential
and parliamentary elections
, as did others in the "democratic bloc" including Vojislav Koštunica
's Democratic Party of Serbia
. This caused the Socialists and Radicals
to sweep most of the seats, leaving the third largest portion to Vuk Drašković
's SPO. The boycott helped forced a second set of elections when the second round was ruled to have had insufficient turnout. Serbian law at the time mandated at least 50% turnout for a president to be elected. In this case, Vojislav Šešelj
won the second round against the Socialists' Zoran Lilić
; when the election was re-done, Šešelj lost to the Socialists' Milan Milutinović
. This caused Šešelj to allege electoral fraud and lead protests against the government. He changed his mind however when the Kosovo crisis began in early 1998, and his Radicals joined the government as a coalition partner. When Vuk Drašković joined the Yugoslav government in early 1999, this left Đinđić as Serbia's main opposition leader as NATO's war began against Yugoslavia.
After former secret policeman, anti-Milošević publisher and journalist Slavko Ćuruvija
was murdered on Orthodox Easter during NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, Đinđić sought safety and fled to temporary exile in Montenegro
, allegedly because he was next on the assassination list of then-President Slobodan Milošević's secret service. In September 1999, Đinđić was named by Time
magazine as one of the most important politicians at the beginning of the 21st century. Photos of his handshake with Bill Clinton
at time of the bombings have been used to portray him as a traitor, as well as by the opposition to show his and accordingly Belgrade's possible international recognition. Upon his return to the country in July 1999, Đinđić was charged with endangering state security in a trial that was closed to the public and subsequently found out to be rigged.
A series of mysterious assassinations included the shooting of Yugoslav Defence Minister Pavle Bulatović
on 7 February 2000 in a restaurant. Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav Šešelj maintained during his testimony at the Slobodan Milošević trial that this murder was carried as a prelude to the successful hijacking of the Montenegrin People's Party
in October 2000 by Predrag Bulatović
, who successfully reversed the parliamentary majority won by Milošević and his allies, moving his party in alliance with Đinđić's Democratic Opposition of Serbia
(DOS). In April, JAT chairman and Yugoslav United Left member Žika Petrović
was gunned down as he was walking his dog. In late August, former Serbian President Ivan Stambolić
disappeared; he had been murdered on Fruška Gora
mountain by members of Serbia's Special Operations Unit. Đinđić and his allies openly accused Milošević of these events, claiming that he had either ordered them or was no longer able to maintain control and should therefore step down.
Đinđić played a prominent role in the September 2000 presidential elections
in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and in the 5th October uprising that overthrew the Milošević regime. While the nationalist Koštunica headlined the effort in October, Đinđić lead the broad-based 19-party Democratic Opposition of Serbia
coalition to its victory in Serbian elections of December 2000
. He became the Prime Minister of Serbia on 25 January 2001.
In 2001, Đinđić played a key role in sending Milošević to the ICTY in The Hague
. Later, Đinđić said that he became disillusioned with the protracted trial of Milošević, qualifying it as a "circus". Đinđić said the court in The Hague was "allowing Milošević to behave like a demagogue and to control the trial".
In August 2001, after meeting with Koštunica's cabinet, former Serbian State Security officer Momir Gavrilović was murdered. Koštunica claimed that Gavrilović was briefing his cabinet about connections of some members of Serbian government with organized crime. This caused Koštunica and his 45 DSS members of parliament to withdraw from DOS and the government. Đinđić attempted to expel the DSS members from parliament, referring to the existence of imperative mandate
that places all deputies under the control of the party elected to parliament. Meanwhile, Koštunica and his party openly accused Đinđić of involvement with organised crime.
Đinđić was received favorably by Western nations. His meetings with Western leaders George W. Bush
, Tony Blair
, Jacques Chirac
and others strongly indicated that the West supported his politics. Đinđić had constant disagreements with his ex-coalition partner and then-Yugoslav federal president Vojislav Koštunica, who was his biggest political rival in Serbia itself. His earlier close relationship with Montenegrin president Milo Đukanović had also cooled because of Đukanović's aspiration for an independent Montenegro state.
that were still loyal to ousted President Slobodan Milošević. That was a main reason for the following events. At the order of former commander of Special Operations Unit of Yugoslavia's secret police, Milorad "Legija" Ulemek
, Đinđić was assassinated by Ulemek's soldier Zvezdan Jovanović
in Belgrade on 12 March 2003. Jovanović shot him from the building across from the main Serbian government building at 12:23 PM, hitting him once in the chest. The high-power bullet of a Heckler & Koch
G3
assault rifle penetrated his heart and killed him almost instantly. He was rushed to a hospital where he was treated, but pronounced dead one hour later. Ulemek was blamed as the mastermind of the crime. He was also one of the leading persons in the Zemun clan
, a leading organized crime group in Serbia. He was later prosecuted and convicted of being involved in some of the mysterious assassinations and assassination attempts that marked Yugoslavia in the months before Đinđić took power.
Nataša Mićić
, then acting President of Serbia
, declared a state of emergency immediately. Zoran Živković
was elected by the Serbian Democratic Party
as Đinđić's successor.
On 23 May 2007, twelve men were convicted for assassination of Zoran Đinđić. Among the convicted defendants was Ulemek, who, during the four years preceding the murder of Zoran Đinđić, had travelled to Switzerland
, Austria
, the Republic of Macedonia
, Greece
, Singapore
and Croatia
using a fraudulent passport that had been one of a batch of blank passports stolen from the Croatian Consulate in Mostar
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
in 1999. Ulemek, along with Zvezdan Jovanović, was charged with being the ringleader of the assassination plot carried out on 12 March 2003, when Zoran Đinđić was fatally shot. Three of twelve men convicted are still on the run and remain the subject of INTERPOL
Red notice
s. Specialist officers in INTERPOL’s Fugitive Investigative Support Unit continue to liaise with and assist member countries in the investigation of various leads for the following individuals wanted by Serbian authorities: Milan Jurišić, Ninoslav Konstantinović and Vladimir Milisavljević.
Books published in Serbian:
Đinđić and Koštunica realised that they both needed each other for their respective goals. Koštunica believed that Serbia needed to join the West so that it could keep Kosovo and so that Republika Srpska
could be maintained. Vojislav Koštunica
, who served as Đinđić's political opponent and critic during his premiership, acknowledged his work two years later with these words:
Following his death, a small but influential movement emerged throughout Serbia and the Serbian diaspora organized around a short documentary about Zoran Đinđić (created by Belgrade director Aleksandar Mandić). The documentary – "Ako Srbija Stane" (If Serbia stops) – was a collection of edited speeches given by Đinđić on a speaking tour in Serbia shortly before his death. A movement called "Kapiraj" created a network of students and other young people who were committed to copying and distributing the documentary free of charge. This campaign was known by the slogan "Kapiraj-kopiraj" (which means "Catch on and Copy" in Serbian) and its purpose was to have a "non-party initiative to have as many people as possible hear Đinđić's message, to put an end to the fleeing from responsibility, and to do the most for oneself so that Serbia does not stop."
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...
was the 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 Prime minister from 2001 until his assassination in 2003. He was the Mayor of 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...
in 1997, and long-time opposition politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and a doctor in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
.
Đinđić was a founder of the modern 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...
and became its president in 1994. During the 1990s, he was one of the leaders of the opposition to the regime of 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...
, and became Prime Minister of Serbia in 2001 after the overthrow of Milošević. As Prime minister, he advocated pro-democratic reforms and European integrations of Serbia
Accession of Serbia to the European Union
The accession of Serbia to the European Union is the process of the Republic of Serbia being admitted into the framework of the European Union as a full-fledged member state.Serbia officially applied for European Union membership on 22 December 2009...
.
He was assassinated in 2003
Assassination of Zoran Đinđić
The assassination of Zoran Đinđić, the Prime Minister of Serbia, took place on Wednesday, March 12, 2003, in Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro.- Background :The assassination of Đinđić was preceded by several unsuccessful attempts on his life...
by members of the Serbian organised crime
Serbian mafia
Serbian Organized Crime or Naša Stvar are various criminal organizations based in Serbia or composed of ethnic Serbs in the Serbian Diaspora. Serbian mafiosos are very active in European Union countries...
.
Early life and education
Đinđić was born in Bosanski Šamac, Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, FPR Yugoslavia where his father was stationed as an officer of the Yugoslav People's Army
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
(JNA). His paternal side hailed from Toplica in southern Serbia. His mother Mila Dušanić, a housewife, raised him and his elder sister Gordana; the family moved according to his father's jobs. Ten years of Zoran's childhood were spent in the town of Travnik
Travnik
Travnik is a city and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, 90 km west of Sarajevo. It is the capital of the Central Bosnia Canton, and is located in the Travnik Municipality. Travnik today has some 27,000 residents, with a metro population that is probably close to 70,000 people...
. Eventually, the family moved to capital 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...
, after his mother had gained a post there. Đinđić attended Ninth Belgrade Gymnasium, subsequently enrolling in 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...
Faculty of Philosophy
University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy
The University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Serbia, founded in the early 19th century within the Belgrade Higher School...
, graduating in 1974. During his university days he developed an interest in politics. After being convicted by the communist regime and through Party
League of Communists of Yugoslavia
League of Communists of Yugoslavia , before 1952 the Communist Party of Yugoslavia League of Communists of Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croatian: Savez komunista Jugoslavije/Савез комуниста Југославије, Slovene: Zveza komunistov Jugoslavije, Macedonian: Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na...
-controlled media for his role in his attempt to organize an independent political movement of Yugoslav students, Đinđić emigrated to West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
thanks to the intervention of former German Chancellor Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt, born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm , was a German politician, Mayor of West Berlin 1957–1966, Chancellor of West Germany 1969–1974, and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany 1964–1987....
, who persuaded authorities to let Đinđić come to Germany instead of serving his sentence in Yugoslavia. He continued his studies with professor Jürgen Habermas
Jürgen Habermas
Jürgen Habermas is a German sociologist and philosopher in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. He is perhaps best known for his theory on the concepts of 'communicative rationality' and the 'public sphere'...
in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
.
In Germany, Đinđić obtained 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 philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
from the University of Konstanz
University of Konstanz
The University of Konstanz is a university in the city of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was founded in 1966, and the main campus on the Gießberg was opened in 1972. As one of nine German Excellence Universities today University of Konstanz is counted among Germany's most prestigious...
in 1979. He became proficient in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. Later, while serving as Serbian prime minister, he also mastered English.
Political career
In 1989, Đinđić returned to SFR YugoslaviaSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
to take a teaching post at the University of Novi Sad
University of Novi Sad
The University of Novi Sad is a university located in Novi Sad, the capital of Serbian province of Vojvodina and the second largest city in Serbia....
, and on 11 December 1989 together with other Serb intellectuals and pro-democracy activists he founded
The Founding Committee of the Democratic Party
The Founding Committee of the Democratic Party were a group of pro-democracy activists and intellectuals who believed in transforming the communist one-party state of Yugoslavia into a modern democratic civil society...
the liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
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) based on the similarly conceptualized Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Yugoslavia)
The Yugoslav Democratic Party, State Party of Serbian, Croatian and Slovene Democrats and Democratic Party was the name of a series of social-liberal political parties that existed in succession in the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and the Kingdom...
that existed in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
. He became the party's Executive Board Chairman in 1990, and got elected to the Parliament of Serbia the same year. In January 1994 he replaced Dragoljub Mićunović
Dragoljub Micunovic
Dragoljub Mićunović, PhD is a prominent Serbian politician and philosopher.-Early life:...
as President of the Democratic Party.
After a massive series of public protests
1996-97 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...
over election fraud perpetrated by the central government under 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...
during the winter 1996–1997, Đinđić became Mayor of Belgrade
Mayor of Belgrade
The Mayor of Belgrade is the head of the City of Belgrade . He acts on behalf of the City, and performs an executive function in the City of Belgrade. The position of the Belgrade mayor is important as the city is the most important hub of economics, culture and science in Serbia...
, the first non-communist mayor to hold that post after the Second World War. United only by their political enemy, the coalition "Zajedno" (Together) with Vuk Drašković
Vuk Draškovic
Vuk Drašković , leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement, is a Serbian politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Yugoslavia and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of State Union of Serbia and Montenegro and Serbia.He graduated from the University of Belgrade's Law School in 1968...
's SPO
Serbian Renewal Movement
The Serbian Renewal Movement is a political party in Serbia.It was founded in 1990.In 1997 a dissident group abandoned the party and formed New Serbia....
and Vesna Pešić
Vesna Pešic
Vesna Pešić is a Serbian politician, one of the leaders of opposition movement in Serbia....
's GSS
Civic Alliance of Serbia
Civic Alliance of Serbia was a social-liberal party in Serbia.Known widely by its three-letter acronym in Serbian, GSS was founded and registered in 1992...
collapsed only four months after their victory. Đinđić was voted out of his position as Belgrade mayor by the SPO
Serbian Renewal Movement
The Serbian Renewal Movement is a political party in Serbia.It was founded in 1990.In 1997 a dissident group abandoned the party and formed New Serbia....
, SPS
Socialist Party of Serbia
The Socialist Party of Serbia is officially a democratic socialist political party in Serbia. It is also widely recognized as a de facto Serbian nationalist party, though the party itself does not officially acknowledge this...
and SRS
Serbian Radical Party
The Serbian Radical Party is a far-right Serbian nationalist political party in Serbia, founded in 1991. Currently the second-largest party in the Serbian National Assembly, it has branches in three of the nations that currently border Serbia – all former federal republics of Yugoslavia...
.
Đinđić and his party boycotted the 1997 Serbian presidential
Serbian presidential election, December 1997
Presidential election was held in December 1997 for the new President of the Republic of Serbia -References:*...
and parliamentary elections
Serbian parliamentary election, 1997
The elections for the Parliament of the Republic of Serbia held on 21 September 1997. Out of a total 7,210,386 voters, 4.139.080 voted. 164,307 ballots were invalid:...
, as did others in the "democratic bloc" including 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 Democratic Party of Serbia
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...
. This caused the Socialists and Radicals
Serbian Radical Party
The Serbian Radical Party is a far-right Serbian nationalist political party in Serbia, founded in 1991. Currently the second-largest party in the Serbian National Assembly, it has branches in three of the nations that currently border Serbia – all former federal republics of Yugoslavia...
to sweep most of the seats, leaving the third largest portion to Vuk Drašković
Vuk Draškovic
Vuk Drašković , leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement, is a Serbian politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Yugoslavia and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of State Union of Serbia and Montenegro and Serbia.He graduated from the University of Belgrade's Law School in 1968...
's SPO. The boycott helped forced a second set of elections when the second round was ruled to have had insufficient turnout. Serbian law at the time mandated at least 50% turnout for a president to be elected. In this case, Vojislav Šešelj
Vojislav Šešelj
Vojislav Šešelj, JD is a Serbian politician, writer and lawyer. He is the founder and president of the Serbian Radical Party and was vice-president of Serbia between 1998 and 2000...
won the second round against the Socialists' Zoran Lilić
Zoran Lilic
Zoran Lilić is a Serbian. He served as President of the National Assembly of Serbia in 1993 and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1993 to 1997....
; when the election was re-done, Šešelj lost to the Socialists' Milan Milutinović
Milan Milutinovic
Milan Milutinović is a former President of Serbia. He served as Director of the National Library of Serbia , Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to Greece, Yugoslavia's Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs , and as President of Serbia from 1997 until 2002.After his presidential term...
. This caused Šešelj to allege electoral fraud and lead protests against the government. He changed his mind however when the Kosovo crisis began in early 1998, and his Radicals joined the government as a coalition partner. When Vuk Drašković joined the Yugoslav government in early 1999, this left Đinđić as Serbia's main opposition leader as NATO's war began against Yugoslavia.
After former secret policeman, anti-Milošević publisher and journalist Slavko Ćuruvija
Slavko Curuvija
Slavko Ćuruvija was a Serbian journalist and newspaper publisher. His brutal murder on 11 April 1999 in Belgrade, Serbia provoked international outrage and wide condemnation...
was murdered on Orthodox Easter during NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, Đinđić sought safety and fled to temporary exile in 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...
, allegedly because he was next on the assassination list of then-President Slobodan Milošević's secret service. In September 1999, Đinđić was named by Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine as one of the most important politicians at the beginning of the 21st century. Photos of his handshake with Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
at time of the bombings have been used to portray him as a traitor, as well as by the opposition to show his and accordingly Belgrade's possible international recognition. Upon his return to the country in July 1999, Đinđić was charged with endangering state security in a trial that was closed to the public and subsequently found out to be rigged.
A series of mysterious assassinations included the shooting of Yugoslav Defence Minister Pavle Bulatović
Pavle Bulatovic
Pavle Bulatović, was Yugoslavia's foreign minister from 1994 and later defense minister, was shot dead in Belgrade on the evening of February 7, 2000. The shooting took place at a restaurant in the suburb Banjica and Bulatovic later died at a military hospital...
on 7 February 2000 in a restaurant. Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav Šešelj maintained during his testimony at the Slobodan Milošević trial that this murder was carried as a prelude to the successful hijacking of the Montenegrin People's Party
Socialist People's Party of Montenegro
The Socialist People's Party of Montenegro is a socialist opposition political party in Montenegro. It has 16 MPs in the Parliament of Montenegro, which it won on the 2009 parliamentary election...
in October 2000 by Predrag Bulatović
Predrag Bulatovic
Predrag Bulatović is a Montenegrin politician. He was the president of the Socialist People's Party of Montenegro and unofficial leader of the Bloc Together for Changes and the entire "half of the Montenegrin world in favor of Serbia"...
, who successfully reversed the parliamentary majority won by Milošević and his allies, moving his party in alliance with Đinđić's 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). In April, JAT chairman and Yugoslav United Left member Žika Petrović
Žika Petrović
Živorad "Žika" Petrović was a Serbian engineer and business executive. He was assassinated during spring 2000 while performing the CEO duties at Serbian flag carrier Jat Airways...
was gunned down as he was walking his dog. In late August, former Serbian President Ivan Stambolić
Ivan Stambolic
Ivan Stambolić was a Communist Party of Yugoslavia official and the President of the Republic of Serbia in the 1980s who was later victim of an assassination....
disappeared; he had been murdered on Fruška Gora
Fruška Gora
Fruška Gora is a mountain in north Syrmia. Most part of the territory is located within Vojvodina, Serbia, but a smaller part on its western side overlaps the territory of Croatia...
mountain by members of Serbia's Special Operations Unit. Đinđić and his allies openly accused Milošević of these events, claiming that he had either ordered them or was no longer able to maintain control and should therefore step down.
Đinđić played a prominent role in the September 2000 presidential elections
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia presidential election, 2000
Presidential elections were held in Yugoslavia on 24 September 2000. They were won by Vojislav Koštunica of the Democratic Opposition, who beat Slobodan Milošević in the first round of voting.-Results:...
in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and in the 5th October uprising that overthrew the Milošević regime. While the nationalist Koštunica headlined the effort in October, Đinđić lead the broad-based 19-party 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...
coalition to its victory in Serbian elections of December 2000
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:...
. He became the Prime Minister of Serbia on 25 January 2001.
In 2001, Đinđić played a key role in sending Milošević to the ICTY in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. Later, Đinđić said that he became disillusioned with the protracted trial of Milošević, qualifying it as a "circus". Đinđić said the court in The Hague was "allowing Milošević to behave like a demagogue and to control the trial".
In August 2001, after meeting with Koštunica's cabinet, former Serbian State Security officer Momir Gavrilović was murdered. Koštunica claimed that Gavrilović was briefing his cabinet about connections of some members of Serbian government with organized crime. This caused Koštunica and his 45 DSS members of parliament to withdraw from DOS and the government. Đinđić attempted to expel the DSS members from parliament, referring to the existence of imperative mandate
Imperative mandate
Imperative mandate is a political system in which parliamentary deputies can only enact policies in accordance with concretely transmitted preference by their electors. The institution of imperative mandate has been rarely applied. Some political scientists have argued an imperative mandate would...
that places all deputies under the control of the party elected to parliament. Meanwhile, Koštunica and his party openly accused Đinđić of involvement with organised crime.
Đinđić was received favorably by Western nations. His meetings with Western leaders George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
and others strongly indicated that the West supported his politics. Đinđić had constant disagreements with his ex-coalition partner and then-Yugoslav federal president Vojislav Koštunica, who was his biggest political rival in Serbia itself. His earlier close relationship with Montenegrin president Milo Đukanović had also cooled because of Đukanović's aspiration for an independent Montenegro state.
Assassination
Despite Koštunica's accusations of Đinđić being close to organised crime, the latter always insisted that he was determined to clean Serbia, and created the "Special Tribunal" with a witness protection program. This alarmed organized crime leaders who were intertwined with elements of the Serbian secret policeSecret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
that were still loyal to ousted President Slobodan Milošević. That was a main reason for the following events. At the order of former commander of Special Operations Unit of Yugoslavia's secret police, Milorad "Legija" 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...
, Đinđić was assassinated by Ulemek's soldier Zvezdan Jovanović
Zvezdan Jovanovic
Zvezdan Jovanović , also known as Zveki and Zmija assassinated former Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić on 12 March 2003....
in Belgrade on 12 March 2003. Jovanović shot him from the building across from the main Serbian government building at 12:23 PM, hitting him once in the chest. The high-power bullet of a Heckler & Koch
Heckler & Koch
Heckler & Koch GmbH is a German defense manufacturing company that produces various small arms. Some of their products include the SA80, MP5 submachine gun, G3 automatic rifle, the G36 assault rifle, the HK 416, the MP7 personal defense weapon, the USP series of handguns, and the high-precision...
G3
Heckler & Koch G3
The G3 is a 7.62mm battle rifle developed in the 1950s by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned design and development agency CETME ....
assault rifle penetrated his heart and killed him almost instantly. He was rushed to a hospital where he was treated, but pronounced dead one hour later. Ulemek was blamed as the mastermind of the crime. He was also one of the leading persons in the Zemun clan
Zemun Clan
The Zemun Clan is one of the Belgrade clans of the Serbian Mafia. The name is based on the base of the clan i.e. Zemun, a municipality of Belgrade....
, a leading organized crime group in Serbia. He was later prosecuted and convicted of being involved in some of the mysterious assassinations and assassination attempts that marked Yugoslavia in the months before Đinđić took power.
Nataša Mićić
Nataša Micic
Nataša Mićić is a Serbian politician. She is an MP in the Serbian parliament and the vice-president of the Liberal Democratic Party ....
, then acting President of Serbia
President of Serbia
The President of Serbia is the head of state of Serbia. Presently serving as the head of state is Boris Tadić. He was elected with a narrow majority of 50.31% in the 2008 Serbian presidential elections.-Authority, legal and constitutional rights:...
, declared a state of emergency immediately. Zoran Živković
Zoran 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...
was elected by the Serbian 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...
as Đinđić's successor.
On 23 May 2007, twelve men were convicted for assassination of Zoran Đinđić. Among the convicted defendants was Ulemek, who, during the four years preceding the murder of Zoran Đinđić, had travelled to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, the Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
using a fraudulent passport that had been one of a batch of blank passports stolen from the Croatian Consulate in Mostar
Mostar
Mostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest and one of the most important cities in the Herzegovina region and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
in 1999. Ulemek, along with Zvezdan Jovanović, was charged with being the ringleader of the assassination plot carried out on 12 March 2003, when Zoran Đinđić was fatally shot. Three of twelve men convicted are still on the run and remain the subject of INTERPOL
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
Red notice
Red notice
An Interpol notice or international notice is issued by Interpol to share information between its members. There are seven types, six of which are known by their colour codes: Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Black, Orange....
s. Specialist officers in INTERPOL’s Fugitive Investigative Support Unit continue to liaise with and assist member countries in the investigation of various leads for the following individuals wanted by Serbian authorities: Milan Jurišić, Ninoslav Konstantinović and Vladimir Milisavljević.
Literary work
He published four books and more than a hundred articles and essays on various themes.Books published in Serbian:
- Subjektivnost i nаsilje, Nаstаnаk sistemа u filozofiji nemаčkog ideаlizmа, Istrаživаčko-izdаvаčki centаr SSO Srbije, Izаzovi, 1982, drugo izdаnje Novi Sаd, Dnevnik, 2003.
- Jesen dijаlektike, Kаrl Mаrks i utemeljenje kritičke teorije društvа, Mlаdost, V Velikа edicijа idejа, 1987.
- Jugoslаvijа kаo nedovršenа držаvа, Književnа zаjednicа Novi Sаd, Anthropos, 1988.
- Srbijа ni nа istoku ni nа zаpаdu, Cepelin, 1996.
- Jedna srpska vizija, Ateneum, 2004
Personal life
Đinđić was married to Ružica, with whom he had a daughter and a son, Jovana and Luka, both minors at the time of his death.Legacy
His state procession and funeral, held on 15 March 2003, was attended by hundreds of thousands of citizens and by foreign delegations. Đinđić's death represented a political and moral tragedy to many Serbs who saw in him a statesman of hope who offered peaceful coexistence with neighboring nations, integration to Europe and the rest of the world, economic prosperity and a brighter future. He appealed to people in Serbia whose goal is for their country to join the West, to join the European Union, and to become "normal Europeans" with normal lives.Đinđić and Koštunica realised that they both needed each other for their respective goals. Koštunica believed that Serbia needed to join the West so that it could keep Kosovo and so that Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
could be maintained. 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...
, who served as Đinđić's political opponent and critic during his premiership, acknowledged his work two years later with these words:
Zoran Đinđić was the first to take this difficult task to lead government in very unstable times. Probably his energy and commitment made it possible for things to move forward. It is one thing to watch it from the sidelines and it is completely different to be a part of it. I understand that now when I am Prime Minister and watch things a bit differently. He was very important for the whole process.
Following his death, a small but influential movement emerged throughout Serbia and the Serbian diaspora organized around a short documentary about Zoran Đinđić (created by Belgrade director Aleksandar Mandić). The documentary – "Ako Srbija Stane" (If Serbia stops) – was a collection of edited speeches given by Đinđić on a speaking tour in Serbia shortly before his death. A movement called "Kapiraj" created a network of students and other young people who were committed to copying and distributing the documentary free of charge. This campaign was known by the slogan "Kapiraj-kopiraj" (which means "Catch on and Copy" in Serbian) and its purpose was to have a "non-party initiative to have as many people as possible hear Đinđić's message, to put an end to the fleeing from responsibility, and to do the most for oneself so that Serbia does not stop."
Quotes
- We can tell the citizens we will fight for their rights and we can say that this is going to be the first government that will not be dealing with itself but with the interests of the citizens.
- Being here today is the bravest thing in Europe. But this will be the biggest victory in Europe because this is the last dictatorship in Europe - and we will crush it.
- It's pretty clear we have won.
- If someone thinks the law and the reforms can be stopped by eliminating me, then that is a huge delusion.
- Don't ask what your country can do for you. Ask yourself what you can do for yourself, and your country will help you do it.'
Media
External links
- Fund "Dr Zoran Djindjic"
- Obituary by Gabriel Partos, BBC News OnlineBBC News OnlineBBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. The website is the most popular news website in the United Kingdom and forms a major part of BBC Online ....
Official memorial website - Srbija u Evropi – four documentaries about Zoran Djindjic directed by Aleksandar Mandic
- "Kapiraj" Movement
- VIDEO: The Killing of Zoran Djindjic - Documentary