Zivkovic, Zoran

▪ 2004

      On March 18, 2003, shortly after the assassination of reformist premier Zoran Djindjic, the legislature of Serbia (one of the two republics that constituted Yugoslavia, which in turn was renamed Serbia and Montenegro in early 2003) elected Zoran Zivkovic prime minister. The pro-Western politician and former Yugoslav interior minister had been among Djindjic's closest allies. Prime Minister Zivkovic faced the monumental task of continuing Djindjic's reform platform, which was unpopular with many segments of the population. Zivkovic also lacked the charismatic and often controversial leadership style that had endeared Djindjic to many leaders in the international community. During his first nine months in office, however, Zivkovic governed with a high level of energy and determination, qualities that would be crucial for leading Serbia into economic recovery and civil stability.

      Born in Nis, Yugos., on Dec. 22, 1960, Zivkovic completed an associates degree in economics in 1983 from the Belgrade College of Economics. In 1988 he started a company that offered supplies and maintenance for medical equipment. He began his political career in 1992 as a member of the Democratic Party and rapidly rose through its ranks, becoming party leader in his home town in 1993 and rising to party vice president in 1994. Zivkovic was elected mayor of Nis in 1996. He captured headlines in the winter of 1996–97 as an organizer of protests against Pres. Slobodan Milosevic's refusal to recognize the victory of opposition parties in local elections. In September 2000 Zivkovic was reelected mayor, but he moved to take an appointment as Yugoslav interior minister (in charge of the police) two months later. A staunch opponent of the Milosevic regime, he was a key figure in the protest campaigns that toppled the government in October 2000.

      From 1993 to 1997 Zivkovic also served as a representative to the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, and he was a representative in the Chamber of Citizens of the Federal Assembly in 2000–03. His reputation as a politician capable of dealing with controversy and the most demanding tasks regarding party policy and state affairs earned him the ministerial appointment in 2000. During Zivkovic's tenure Yugoslavia was readmitted to Interpol. In 2002 he was elected president of the Council for Combating Terrorism and was a member of the National Council for Yugoslavia's cooperation with the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. Together with Djindjic, he played a major role in handing indicted war criminals, such as Milosevic, over to the ICTY.

      Zivkovic described the goals of his administration as a “cabinet of continuity,” with a major focus on combating organized crime. He also pledged to pursue pro-market economic reforms and privatization, resolve the status of the province of Kosovo, and create institutions for the new state of Serbia and Montenegro, the loose union inaugurated in February 2003 to replace Yugoslavia. To explain the complicated situation in his country, Zivkovic made several major visits abroad, including a week conferring with U.S. and UN officials in July and a meeting with China's Wen Jiabao (q.v. (Wen Jiabao )) in November.

Milan Andrejevich

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