G17 Plus was a centre-right political party in Serbia. Founded as a non-governmental organization dealing with economic issues, in 2002 it transformed into a political party that became part of several ruling coalition governments in Serbia throughout the 2000s and early 2010s. In 2013, it merged into United Regions of Serbia.
History G17 Plus was founded in 1997 as a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Serbia, then a federal unit within FR Yugoslavia. The organization consisting of economic experts enjoyed financial support of the United States through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
The organization was registered as a political party on 15 December 2002, with Miroljub Labus as its first president.
At its first electoral showing at the 2003 parliamentary elections, G17 Plus received 11.5% of the popular vote and 34 seats in the National Assembly.
In March 2004, G17+ formed a coalition government with the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) and New Serbia (NS). In May 2006 Miroljub Labus resigned as party leader and was replaced by Mlađan Dinkić. On October 1, 2006, the party quit the governing coalition over its failure to find and extradite ICTY fugitive Ratko Mladić.
In the 2007 elections, the party received 6.82% of the popular vote and 19 seats in the parliament.
G17+ received a single seat in the Community Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija.
In 2010, G17 Plus founded the United Regions of Serbia (URS), a coalition of political parties and groups emphasizing decentralization and regional development of Serbia.Osnovani Ujedinjeni regioni Srbije (in Serbian) After a few years functioning as the centerpiece of the coalition, in April 2013 G17 Plus fully merged with URS, transforming it into a political party.
In the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, G17+ was associated with the European People's Party.
Presidents of the G17 Plus (2002–2013) # President Born–Died Term start Term end 1 Miroljub Labus 1947– 15 December 2002 16 May 2006 2 Mlađan Dinkić 1964– 16 May 2006 21 April 2013
Electoral results
+ National Assembly of Serbia Election # of votes % of vote # of seats +/- Coalition Status 2003 438,422 11.46% 31 with SDP 2007 275,041 6.82% 12 — 2008 1,590,200 38.42% 5 ZES 2012 215,666 5.51% 14 URS
Presidential elections + President of Serbia Election year # Candidate 1st round votes % 2nd round votes % Notes 2002 2nd Miroljub Labus 995,200 27.96 1,516,693 31.62 Election declared invalid due to low turnout 2003 2004 4th Dragan Maršićanin 414,971 13.31 — — Government Coalition 2008 1st Boris Tadić 1,457,030 35.39 2,304,467 50.31 For a European Serbia 2012 5th Zoran Stanković 257,054 6.58% — — United Regions of Serbia
Positions held Major positions held by G17 Plus members:
President of the National Assembly of Serbia YearsPredrag Marković2004–2006 Governor of the National Bankof Yugoslavia / Serbia YearsMlađan Dinkić2000–2003
References
External links Official website