Milovan Bojić (; born 13 March 1955) is a Serbian medical doctor, administrator, and politician.
At one time a high-ranking member of the Yugoslav Left party, Bojić served as a Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia from 1998 to 2000 and was also the country's Minister of Health in 2000. He resigned from office with the fall of Slobodan Milošević's government. He was re-elected to the National Assembly of Serbia in the 2016 Serbian parliamentary election for the far-right Serbian Radical Party and served until his resignation on 30 August 2017.Current legislature, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 20 September 2017.
He is currently the director of the Dedinje Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases, a position he previously held from 1992 to 2000.
Early life and private career Bojić was born in a small village near Kolašin, in what was then the People's Republic of Montenegro in the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. A gifted student with a strong interest in art and literature, he ultimately chose a career in medicine. He worked several menial jobs to pay for his enrollment at the University of Belgrade, where he eventually earned a Ph.D. After serving as an assistant professor at the University of Priština in Kosovo and Metohija, he returned to Belgrade and in 1992 was appointed as director of the Dedinje Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases,Tamara Skrozza, "Pojava u zavetrini", Vreme, 24 February 2005, accessed 17 March 2017; "Serbian Assembly appoints new health and education ministers," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European - Political, 12 July 2000 (Source: excerpt from report by Yugoslav state news agency Tanjug). a position he held until October 2000."Former health minister sacked from hospital director post," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European - Political, 10 October 2000 (Source: text of report by independent Belgrade-based Radio B2-92 on 10 October); "Swiss Supreme Court approves handover of documents in case of Milosevic loyalist," Associated Press Newswire, 20 August 2003.
Bojić pressed charges against the Montenegrin newspaper Dnevni telegraf in late 1998, after the paper published an article stating that a heart surgeon had been murdered after attempting to warn that "the director (i.e., Bojić) and other officials of the Dedinje surgical centre abused their positions to import medication and equipment." The presiding judge found in Bojić's favour, fining the paper 300,000 dinars and its editor-in-chief 150,000 dinars."Court fines Montenegro-based daily for violating information law," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Service: Central Europe & Balkans, 11 December 1998. A related decision in March 1999 saw the editor-in-chief and two journalists sentenced to five months in prison. The latter judgement was criticized by Amnesty International, which asserted that it was politically motivated."AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: FR Yugoslavia -- Journalists' conviction blow to freedom of expression in Serbia," M2 Presswire, 11 March 1999. A police investigation concluded that Bojić was not linked to the murder referenced in the article."Prominent independent media owner, two reporters sentenced," Associated Press Newswires, 8 March 1999.
Political career
1990–1994: Socialist Party member Bojić joined Slobodan Milošević's Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) in the early 1990s and became president of its municipal committee in the Belgrade neighbourhood of Vračar. He received the twelfth position on the party's electoral list for Belgrade in the 1992 Serbian parliamentary election.ЗБИРНЕ ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 Београд) , Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 20. и 27. децембра 1992. године и 3. јануара 1993. године, Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 1 March 2017. The party won fourteen seats in the city,Извештај о укупним резултатима избора за народне посланике у Народну скупштину Републике Србије, одржаних 20. и 27. децембра 1992. године и 3. јануара 1993. године , Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 20. и 27. децембра 1992. године и 3. јануара 1993. године, Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 1 March 2017. though he was not afterwards selected as part of its parliamentary delegation. (From 1992 to 2000, Serbia's electoral law stipulated that one-third of parliamentary mandates would be assigned to candidates from successful lists in numerical order, while the remaining two-thirds would be distributed amongst other candidates at the discretion of the sponsoring parties.Guide to the Early Election , Ministry of Information of the Republic of Serbia, December 1992, made available by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, accessed 14 July 2017. It was common practice for the latter mandates to be awarded out of numerical order, and Bojić's position on the list did not give him the automatic right to a seat in parliament.) He was not a candidate in the 1993 election.
1994–2003: Yugoslav Left representative Bojić left the Socialist Party in 1994 to join the newly formed and largely complementary Yugoslav Left party, led by Milošević's wife Mirjana Marković. He sought election to the Yugoslav parliament's Chamber of Citizens in the 1996 Yugoslavian election, running on the JUL's list in the Montenegrin division of Bijelo Polje.Tamara Skrozza, "Pojava u zavetrini", Vreme, 24 February 2005, accessed 17 March 2017. The JUL never developed a strong base of support in Montenegro, and the list did not win any seats in the division.ИЗБОРИ '96: ВЕЋЕ ГРАЂАНА САВЕЗНЕ СКУПШТИНЕ, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Department of Statistics (1996), p. 32.
The JUL contested the 1997 Serbian parliamentary election in an alliance with the SPS and New Democracy. Bojić led the alliance's electoral list for the Voždovac division and was elected when the list won four mandates for the division.ЗБИРНЕ ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (2 Вождовац) and Извештај о укупним резултатима избора за народне посланике у Народну скупштину Републике Србије, одржаних 21. и 28. септембра и 5. октобра 1997. године, Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. и 28. септембра и 5. октобра 1997. године, Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 1 March 2017. The alliance won the election, and Bojić served as a supporter of the government. He was also elected by the Serbian parliament as a delegate to the Yugoslav parliament's Chamber of Republics in 1998. Bojić welcomed the resignation of Radoje Kontić as prime minister of Yugoslavia in May 1998, arguing that it would strengthen the country's union."Left party believes premier's removal will strengthen federal state," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Service: Central Europe & Balkans, 20 May 1998 (Source: Beta news agency, Belgrade, in Serbo-Croat 1453 gmt 18 May 98).
Bojić was part of a Serbian government negotiating team that took part in what were ultimately unsuccessful negotiations with representatives of Albanian political parties in Kosovo throughout 1998."Ethnic Albanians fail to appear for talks with Serbian delegation," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Service: Central Europe & Balkans, 13 March 1998 (Source: text of report by the Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA); "Government invites Kosovo Albanians to talks on 7th April," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Service: Central Europe & Balkans, 2 April 1998 (Source: Tanjug news agency, Belgrade, in English 1645 gmt 31 Mar 98); Milan Dragovic, "Milosevic, Rugova agree to begin talks on future of Kosovo," Agence France-Presse, 15 May 1998; "Kosovo Albanians fail to turn up for talks with Serbian president - Serbian radio," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European - Political, 18 November 1998 (Source: text of report by Radio Pristina correspondent for Serbian radio on 18 November). After one meeting in which the Albanian delegates failed to appear, Bojić remarked, "I would like the Albanian representatives to know that someone is trying to use them, they are not aware of the game they are being dragged into and they have nowhere to hide." He called for "an open dialogue without any preconditions" between the two sides."Government party says Kosovo Albanians playing "very dangerous" game," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Service: Central Europe & Balkans, 14 March 1998 (Source: Serbian Radio, Belgrade, in Serbo-Croat 1200 gmt 13 Mar 98).
In October 1998, Bojić was chosen as inaugural chair of the JUL's Committee of the University Left of Yugoslavia."Yugoslav president's wife sets up "committee of the University Left"," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European - Political, 12 November 1998 (Source: excerpt from report by Serbian radio on 12 October.) The following month, a media report identified him as chair of the party directorate's social policy committee."Serbian deputy premier blames international community for social crisis," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European - Political, 9 November 1998 (Source: excerpts from report by Serbian radio on 9 November).
Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia (1998–2000)
Before the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia On 24 March 1998, Bojić was sworn in as one of five deputy prime ministers of Serbia in a coalition government led by Mirko Marjanović. This administration had two deputy prime ministers each from the Socialist Party of Serbia and the Serbian Radical Party; Bojić was the sole JUL representative in the role."SERBIA GOVERNMENT LIST," Reuters News, 24 March 1998.
Bojić asserted in June 1998 that the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) was perpetrating "terrorism" in Kosovo and that the government of Serbia was defending its territory and citizens via its conflict with the organization. He further asserted that the Serbian government was committed to defend the rights of national minorities, that the KLA was intent on the secession of Kosovo, and that "the Albanian separatist movement, in continuity, has in fact carried out the greatest ethnic cleansing and exodus of Serbs in the past one hundred years.""Serbia defends the right of minorities in Kosovo - deputy premier," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Service: Central Europe & Balkans, 18 June 1998 (Source: Tanjug news agency, Belgrade, in English 0913 gmt 16 Jun 98). He later welcomed the arrival of an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe mission in Kosovo, saying that it would confirm that there were no grounds for ethnic Albanian revolt."Deputy premier says OSCE mission will see truth in Kosovo," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Service: Central Europe & Balkans, 20 July 1998 (Source: Tanjug news agency, Belgrade, in English 1120 gmt 17 Jul 98).
As tensions increased in Kosovo throughout 1998, various western governments accused the Serbian state of conducting massacres against Albanians in the province, and some diplomats and politicians recommended air strikes against Serbia as a means of resolving the situation. Bojić responded by inviting international forensic experts into Kosovo to investigate all alleged massacres, including those against Serbs, and said he was confident that massacres were being staged by the KLA to provoke intervention from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).Gordana Kukic, "Serbia urges West to investigate Kosovo massacres," Reuters News, 2 October 1998.