Dragomir "Dragan" Karić () is an entrepreneur and politician in Serbia. A close ally of his younger brother Bogoljub Karić, he has been a prominent figure in Serbia's business community since the 1980s. He has served in the National Assembly of Serbia since 2012 as a member of the Strength of Serbia Movement (Pokret snaga Srbije, PSS).
Early life and career Karić was born in Peć, Kosovo, in what was then the People's Republic of Serbia in the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. He graduated from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Organizational Sciences in 1972. Karić later received a Ph.D. from the Institute of Agrarian Economics at the Ukrainian Academy of Agronomy Sciences in 1994, was a founder of the International University of Business and Management in Moscow, and holds a number of academic positions.
Entrepreneur The Karić family was one of the richest in Serbia during the 1990s. More recent reports suggest that their wealth and influence, though reduced, remain significant."Serb businessman proposes Kosovo conference in Belgrade," Associated Press Newswires, 17 May 1999; "Businessman reportedly wants to return to Serbia to "clear his name" in court," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 18 April 2014 (Source: Vecernje novosti website, Belgrade, in Serbian 14 Apr 14). A prominent member of the Braća Karić (Brothers Karić) group and its affiliated companies, Karić has overseen several business initiatives in Russia, Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and other countries."Yugoslav firm plans participation in Kyrgyzstan dam construction," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European - Economic, 9 March 1999 (Source: Beta news agency, Belgrade, in English 0649 gmt 4 Mar 99); "Serbian firms' building plans in Belarus worth 'several billion euros'," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 30 May 2009 (Source: Politika website, Belgrade, in Serbian 27 May 09); "Young Bosnians find jobs as construction workers in Russia, Azerbaijan," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 4 July 2008 (Source: Slobodna Bosna, Sarajevo, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 26 Jun 08 pp 34-37); "Businessman reportedly wants to return to Serbia to "clear his name" in court," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 18 April 2014. Since 2014, he has played a leading role in the Minsk-Mir project in Belarus."Construction of Minsk-Mir project to begin in September or October, says head of Minsk city government," BelaPAN, 7 September 2015; "Civil engineering projects Minsk Mir, Mayak Minsk with Serbian investments stay on schedule," Belarus: Daily News, 30 March 2016.
International diplomacy NATO bombing of Yugoslavia During the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)'s 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia, Karić attended meetings of Russian and American legislators in Vienna in an effort to bring about a peace deal. American representatives Curt Weldon and Bernie Sanders both described Karić as having played an important role in the discussions, with Sanders noting that he "spoke with [Yugoslav president] Milošević repeatedly during the discussions, urging him to take the first step by releasing [three American] POWs." Members of the American team have credited Karić with bringing about the soldiers' release."U.S. official says Belgrade favorably views outline for Kosovo peace deal," Associated Press Newswire, 2 May 1999."Three US Servicemen Freed, Serbs Claim F-16 Shot Down," Business Day, 4 May 1999."Serb businessman proposes Kosovo conference in Belgrade," Associated Press Newswires, 17 May 1999. The negotiating teams reached an arrangement that would have seen a stop to NATO's bombing campaign, the withdrawal of Yugoslav troops from Kosovo, and the introduction of a United Nations peacekeeping force in the province.James Ridgeway, "Mondo Washington," Village Voice, 11 May 1999, p. 32. Ultimately, the initiative was vetoed by the United States Department of State.Clarence J. Robinson Jr., "Fusion center concept takes root as Congressional interest waxes," Signal, 1 April 2000. During this time, Karić also took part in confidential peace talks with German foreign affairs minister Joschka Fischer.Matthew Campbell and Stephen Grey, "Papering over the cracks - War in Europe," Sunday Times, 23 May 1999.
At the conclusion of the conflict, Karić negotiated with various authorities in Russia for the reconstruction of Serbian infrastructure that had been destroyed by NATO bombing."Moscow mayor vows to replace bridge in Serbia's Novi Sad," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Newsfile, 11 June 1999 (Source: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in English 11 Jun 99)."NIZHNY NOVGOROD EXPERTS TO HELP REBUILD YUGOSLAV REFINERY," Petroleum Report, 22 July 1999.
Curt Weldon later sought to bring Karić to the 2003 National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. The State Department and Immigration and Naturalization Service officials refused Karić entry on the grounds that he was prohibited from travelling to European countries.Al Kamen, "Knees Under the Desk, or the Dash," Washington Post, 10 February 2003, A19. Weldon acknowledged having received unflattering information about the Karić family from American intelligence sources, though he offered the view that the brothers provided support for the Milošević regime under duress and were unfairly maligned for their actions.Mark Fazlollah and John Shiffman, "Karen Weldon's ties to Serbs detailed," Philadelphia Inquirer, 2 November 2006.
Representative of Belarus Karić was appointed as an envoy of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Serbia in 2009."Belarus appoints Serbian businessman as trade envoy to Belgrade," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 19 May 2009. In 2012, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko credited him for "significant personal contribution to the development of trade and economic ties and the strengthening of friendly relations between Belarus and Serbia.""Lukashenka extends official presidential thanks to representative of Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Serbia," BelaPAN, 26 December 2012.
Dragomir Karić is an honorary consul of Belarus in Belgrade.
Jovan Vraniškovski In August 2005, Karić met with Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow in a bid to secure the release of Archbishop of Ohrid Jovan Vraniškovski from a prison in Macedonia. Patriarch Alexy gave his support to Karić's efforts."Russian patriarch upset by "attempt to deepen split" between Serbia, Macedonia," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 13 August 2005 (Source: BKTV, Belgrade, in Serbian 1355 gmt 13 Aug 05).
Politician Karić joined his brother Bogoljub's Strength of Serbia Movement on its formation in 2004 and led the party's electoral list for the City Assembly of Belgrade in the 2004 Serbian local elections.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 48 Number 24 (8 September 2004), p. 19. The list won five mandates,Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 48 Number 27 (20 September 2004), p. 1. and he subsequently served as part of its city assembly delegation.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 48 Number 34 (29 November 2004), p. 1. He appeared in the third position on the party's list in the 2008 local elections,Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 52 Number 12 (30 April 2008), p. 9. in which the party did not cross the threshold to win any mandates.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 52 Number 18 (22 May 2008), p. 1.
The SSP fielded its own electoral list for the national assembly in the 2007 and 2008 parliamentary elections, and Karić appeared on the party's list both times.See Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. јануара и 8. фебрауара 2007. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (Покрет снага Србије - Богољуб Карић) , Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 25 August 2017; and Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 11. маја 2008. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (Покрет СНАГА СРБИЈЕ - Богољуб Карић) , Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 25 August 2017. Karić received the last (250th) position on the list in 2007 and the first position in 2008. His numerical position on the list was, in any event, irrelevant to his chances of election. From 2000 to 2011, parliamentary mandates were awarded to lists rather than to individual candidates, and it was a common practice for mandates to be awarded out of numerical order. See Law on the Election of Representatives, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 35/2000, made available via LegislationOnline, accessed 28 February 2017. In each instance, the list failed to cross the threshold to win representation in the assembly.
Parliamentarian The Strength of Serbia Movement contested the 2012 parliamentary election as part of the Serbian Progressive Party's Let's Get Serbia Moving list. Karić received the thirty-seventh position and was elected when the alliance won seventy-three mandates.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине, 6. мај 2012. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (POKRENIMO SRBIJU - TOMISLAV NIKOLIĆ) , Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 26 January 2017. The Progressive Party emerged as the head of a coalition government after this election, and Karić served as part of its parliamentary majority. The Strength of Serbia Movement's alliance with the Progressive Party continued into the 2014 and 2016 elections; Karić was included on its list both times and was re-elected when the Progressive-led alliance won majority victories.Karić received the fifty-ninth position on the list in 2015 and the 104th position in 2016. See Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 16. и 23. марта 2014. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (ALEKSANDAR VUČIĆ - BUDUĆNOST U KOJU VERUJEMO) , Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 26 January 2017; and Избори за народне посланике 2016. године » Изборне листе (АЛЕКСАНДАР ВУЧИЋ - СРБИЈА ПОБЕЂУЈЕ) , Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 17 February 2017.
Karić was an observer for the 2015 Kazakhstani presidential election, which he described as having "high democratic standards.""Nazarbayev announces five "important" measures if reelected," EFE News Service, 26 April 2015. Karić was also an observer for the 2016 Kazakhstani legislative election, which he described as being fair and "like a holiday" for voters. See "Kazakhstanis treat elections like holiday - Serbian observer," Kazinform International News Agency, 20 March 2016. He also observed the 2015 Belarusian presidential election and the 2016 Belarusian parliamentary election and reached the same conclusion; on the former occasion, he was quoted as saying that in Belarus, "there is freedom, there is democracy and there is no disorder, which is the most important thing.""Serbian observer: Belarusians should take pride in this election," Belarus: Daily News, 12 October 2015; "Observer from Serbia expects high turnout in Belarus parliamentary elections," Belarus: Daily News, 9 September 2016.