Miloš Vučević

Miloš Vučević (Serbian Cyrillic: Милош Вучевић, pronounced [mǐloʃ ʋûːtʃeʋitɕ]; born 10 December 1974) is a Serbian lawyer and politician serving as deputy prime minister of Serbia and minister of defence since 2022 and as president of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) since 2023. He previously served as mayor of Novi Sad from 2012 to 2022.

Miloš Vučević
Милош Вучевић
Official portrait, 2022
Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia
Assumed office
26 October 2022
Prime MinisterAna Brnabić
Preceded byZorana Mihajlović
Minister of Defence
Assumed office
26 October 2022
Prime MinisterAna Brnabić
Preceded byNebojša Stefanović
Mayor of Novi Sad
In office
14 September 2012 – 26 October 2022
Preceded byIgor Pavličić
Succeeded byMilan Đurić
Personal details
Born (1974-12-10) 10 December 1974
Novi Sad, SAP Vojvodina, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Political party
  • SRS (until 2008)
  • SNS (2008–present)
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Novi Sad
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionLawyer

Early life, education and law career

Vučević was born on 10 December 1974 in Novi Sad, SAP Vojvodina, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia.[1] He finished elementary school in Novi Sad and high school in Bački Petrovac. Vučević graduated from the Faculty of Law, University of Novi Sad, in 1999.[2]

He practised law in the family law office until 2012.[1]

Political career

Vučević started his political career as a member of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS) where his father was a high-ranking member. SRS split later in 2008, and Vučević joined the breakaway Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) led by Tomislav Nikolić and Aleksandar Vučić.[3] He is a close associate and confidant of President Aleksandar Vučić and his brother Andrej Vučić.

Mayor of Novi Sad

Following the 2012 local elections, Vučević was elected Mayor of Novi Sad by a new SNS-led majority, even though SNS only won 16.44% of the popular vote.[3][4] He was a member of the board of directors of the National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED) from 2015 to 2016.[2] He was re-elected mayor following the 2016[5] and 2020 local elections.[6]

In November 2021, he was elected vice-president of the party at the SNS party assembly.[7]

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence

On 23 October 2022, the president of the Serbian Progressive Party Aleksandar Vučić announced that his party would recommend Miloš Vučević as the next deputy prime minister and minister of defence of Serbia.[8] He resigned as the Mayor of the City of Novi Sad on 24 October, and was succeeded by Milan Đurić two days later.[9][10] Vučević was sworn in as deputy prime minister and minister of defence on 26 October as part of the third cabinet of Ana Brnabić.[11] It has been speculated that Vučević will succeed Vučić as the president of the Serbian Progressive Party following his potential resignation.[12]

In April 2023, following the Pentagon document leaks, documents alleging that Serbia had agreed to sell weapons to the Ukrainian Army to fight Russian forces were leaked.[13] Vučević denied the allegations, calling them “a lie”. He stated that Serbia had not sold and would not sell arms to either Ukraine or Russia, and suggested that someone was trying to "destabilize his country and involve it in a conflict it did not want to participate in". He also did not rule out the possibility that some Serbian weapons had ended up in the conflict zone by other means.[14]

President of the Serbian Progressive Party

On 27 May 2023, he was elected president of SNS[15] and that that SNS will be the "most reliable partner" to President Aleksandar Vučić. He also confirmed that SNS will join Vučić's announced People's Movement for the State (NPZD) in late June.[16] Journalist Ana Lalić characterised the change as "cosmetic".[17]

Political positions

Foreign policy

Vučević is in favour of Serbia's accession to the European Union, at the same time claiming that Serbia cannot become its member by "being humiliated and ashamed, because then it will never be a good member of the EU".[18] On 24 March 2019, Vučević stated that the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was a war crime.[19] He opposes sanctioning Russia due to its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.[20]

Kosovo question
See also: Political status of Kosovo

Vučević is against the recognition of independence of Kosovo, adding that Kosovo is the "state-forming DNA of our people and our country".[21]

Personal life

Vučević's father Zoran was a lawyer and high-ranking member of SRS who served as the president of the City Assembly of Novi Sad from 2004 to 2007. His father died in 2021.[22] He is of paternal Montenegrin descent and his family hails from the village of Bezjovo near Podgorica and belongs to the Kuči tribe. His paternal great-grandfather died fighting in World War I, while his paternal grandfather died fighting in World War II.[23]

Vučević is married and has two sons.[2]

References
  1. admin. "Miloš Vučević". Istinomer (in Serbian). Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  2. "Biografija | Novi Sad". www.novisad.rs. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  3. "Čovek bez svojstava - Portret savremenika – Miloš Vučević, gradonačelnik Novog Sada i potpredsednik SNS-a - Nedeljnik Vreme". www.vreme.com (in Serbian). 10 March 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  4. "Miloš Vučević novi gradonačelnik Novog Sada". balkans.aljazeera.net (in Bosnian). Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  5. "Novi Sad: Miloš Vučević ponovo gradonačlenik". N1 (in Serbian). 1 July 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  6. "Miloš Vučević ponovo izabran za gradonačelnika Novog Sada". Ekspres.net (in Serbian (Latin script)). Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  7. "Vučić predsednik SNS do izbora, izabrani novi potpredsednici - Politika - Dnevni list Danas" (in Serbian). 27 November 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  8. Ovo je nova Vlada Srbije, Nova.rs, 2022-10-23
  9. Vučević podneo ostavku i najavio kandidata za naslednika na čelu Novog Sada, N1, 2022-10-24
  10. "Milan Đurić novi gradonačelnik Novog Sada". Radio Television of Serbia (in Serbian). 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  11. "Polaganjem zakletve počeo mandat nove vlade Srbije". Novinska agencija Beta (in Serbian). Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  12. "Počela je metamorfoza Vučevića u Vučića, gledali smo prvi čin". NOVA portal (in Serbian). 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  13. "Tajni dokumenti Pentagona: Srbija šalje oružje Ukrajini; Ministarstvo negira - Rat u Ukrajini - Nedeljnik Vreme". www.vreme.com (in Serbian). 12 April 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  14. "Vučević: Laž je da je Srbija slala oružje Ukrajini". www.klix.ba (in Croatian). Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  15. Marić, Dunja (27 May 2023). "Miloš Vučević novi predsednik SNS". NOVA portal (in Serbian). Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  16. Nicović, Boško (27 May 2023). "Miloš Vučević zvanično izabran za novog predsednika SNS". N1 (in Serbian). Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  17. Mitkovski, Ivan (27 May 2023). "Ana Lalić: Vučević samo kozmetička promena, SNS ostaje u rukama porodice Vučić". N1 (in Serbian). Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  18. Vojvodine, Javna medijska ustanova JMU Radio-televizija. "Vučević: Srbiji mesto u EU, ali ne kao ponižena i postiđena". JMU Radio-televizija Vojvodine. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  19. "Vučević: NATO bombardovanje je bilo ratni zločin". N1 (in Serbian). 24 March 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  20. Colic, Nina (22 May 2022). "Vučević: Problemi zbog neuvođenja sankcija Rusiji sve veći - Politika - Dnevni list Danas" (in Serbian). Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  21. Vojvodine, Javna medijska ustanova JMU Radio-televizija. "Vučević: Kosovo i Metohija su duhovni i državotvorni DNK našeg naroda i države". JMU Radio-televizija Vojvodine. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  22. Vojvodine, Javna medijska ustanova JMU Radio-televizija. "Preminuo Zoran Vučević nekadašnji predsednik Skupštine grada Novog Sada". JMU Radio-televizija Vojvodine. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  23. "VUČEVIĆ ponosan na CRNOGORSKO porijeklo: SRBIJA JE SPREMNA DA POMOGNE OPŠTINAMA U CRNOJ GORI". Mondo Crna Gora. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
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