Boris Tadic, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.
“Serbia is in urgent need of a government that will, in the next four years, lead it to the EU, and which will continue the battle for territorial integrity, but also a government that will tackle corruption, crime and conduct a socially responsible policy,” the DS leader explained.”
The current Serbian President, Boris Tadic is quoted above in yesterday’s B92. He is commenting on the delays in forming a government after the May 11 parliamentary elections. No single party or coalition has a majority so the Socialist Party is having talks with the Radical and Pro-European blocs. No agreement has been reached yet after almost a month.
I did a bit of research on Mr. Tadic and I am quite impressed with his background. He is in his second term as President. He was first elected in 2004 and then again for a five-year term in this past February. He is long time politician having served as the Minister of Telecommunication and Defense before becoming President. He is the leader of the Pro-European Democratic Party (DS).
Both of his parents were university professors. He was born in Sarajevo and grew up moving between Paris and Belgrade in his early childhood. He has a degree in psychology from Belgrade University and has worked as a high school teacher, university professor, and clinical psychologist. He is fluent in English and French. It is very nice to see a strong intellectual and cosmopolitan background in a president.
Tadic has always been an independent thinker and idealist. He was fired and arrested from his professorship after giving anti-communist lectures. His grandparents were killed by the Croatian, Nazi-backed Ustase so he must have very strong feelings against oppression of dissent.
He took the following oath during his inauguration ceremony:
I swear that I will invest all my efforts in the preservation of sovereignty and integrity of the territory of the Republic of Serbia, including Kosovo and Metohija as its integral part, as well as the realization of human and minority rights and freedoms, observation and defense of the Constitution and laws, preservation of peace and welfare of all Serbian citizens and that I will fulfill all my duties conscientiously and responsibly.
From what I have learned so far, he seems like a smart, hard-working, and decent fellow. As almost everyone does, he has his own web site although it is only in Serbian cyrillic.
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