Jelena Begović

Jelena Begović (Serbian Cyrillic: Јелена Беговић; born 1970) is a Serbian molecular biologist serving as the minister of science, technological development and innovation since 2022.

Jelena Begović
Јелена Беговић
Minister of Science, Technological Development and Innovation
Assumed office
26 October 2022
Prime MinisterAna Brnabić
Preceded byOffice established[lower-alpha 1]
Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia
In office
1 August 2022 – 3 August 2022
Personal details
Born1970
Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Political partyIndependent

Early life and academic career

Begović was born in Belgrade, in what was then the Socialist Republic of Serbia in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Her family relocated to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for a few years after her birth before returning to Belgrade, where she was raised. After studying for a time at the University of British Columbia in Canada, she graduated from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Biology (Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology), earning a bachelor's degree in 1998, a master's degree in 2002, and a Ph.D. in 2008.[1][2] She has published widely in her field.

Begović became the chair of the University of Belgrade's Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering in 2014. During the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia, she oversaw the opening of the "Fire Eye" lab, which tested numerous samples.[3][4] In late 2021, she opened the Centre for Sequencing and Bioinformatics.[5]

Politician

In the 2022 Serbian parliamentary election, the governing Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) reserved the lead positions on its Together We Can Do Everything electoral list for non-party cultural figures and academics.[6] Begović was given the third position on the list; this was tantamount to election, and she was indeed elected when the list won a plurality victory with 120 out of 250 mandates.[7] She featured prominently in the SNS's billboard campaign in Belgrade during the election.[8] When the assembly convened, she was appointed as a member of the committee on the rights of the child; a deputy member of the committee on education, science, technological development, and the information society; and a deputy member of the environmental protection committee.[9] Her term in the assembly was brief; she resigned her seat on 3 August 2022.[10]

When Serbia's new government was established on 26 October 2022, she was appointed as the minister of science, technological development and innovation.[11]

In January 2023, she encouraged recipients of Serbia's Fund for Young Talents Studying Abroad to return to Serbia after their studies to contribute to the development of the country.[12]

Notes
  1. The minister of education, science and technological development in the previous administration was Branko Ružić.

References
  1. Marija Gavrilović, "Dr JELENA BEGOVIĆ je prešla put od Etiopije i Kanade do SRBIJE: Sada radi sa NAJOPASNIJIM virusima na svetu i otkriva kako je razvila “Vatreno oko”", najzena.rs, 9 March 2022, accessed 18 April 2022.
  2. Jelena Begović, Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering, accessed 18 April 2022.
  3. Marija Gavrilović, "Dr JELENA BEGOVIĆ je prešla put od Etiopije i Kanade do SRBIJE: Sada radi sa NAJOPASNIJIM virusima na svetu i otkriva kako je razvila “Vatreno oko”", najzena.rs, 9 March 2022, accessed 18 April 2022.
  4. "Feature: Chinese "Fire Eye" helps Serbia detect coronavirus", Xinhua Net, 3 May 2020, accessed 18 April 2022.
  5. "Genome sequencing center opens in Serbia, in cooperation with China," Xinhua English Multimedia Newswire Service, 10 December 2021.
  6. "OVAKO VUČIĆ KROJI VRH IZBORNE LISTE SNS", Blic, 14 February 2022, accessed 17 April 2022.
  7. "Ko su kandidati SNS za narodne poslanike?", Danas, 17 February 2022, accessed 17 April 2022.
  8. Aleksandra Popović, "Lica sa bilborda SNS: Ko su Milan Bosnić i Jelena Begović i zašto su istaknuti u kampanji?", Danas, 6 March 2022, accessed 18 April 2022.
  9. JELENA Dr BEGOVIC, Archived 3 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 15 September 2022.
  10. Current Legislature, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 15 September 2022.
  11. "Izglasana nova Vlada Srbije, premijerka i ministri položili zakletvu", Radio Television of Serbia, 26 October 2022, accessed 4 January 2023.
  12. "Ministarka ohrabrila studente u inostranstvu da se vrate u zemlju", Politika, 5 January 2023, accessed 5 January 2023.
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