Dragan Šormaz () is a Serbian politician who served in the National Assembly of Serbia on an almost continuous basis from 2001 to 2022. At one time a leading member of the Democratic Party of Serbia (Demokratska stranka Srbije, DSS), he later joined the Serbian Progressive Party (Srpska napredna stranka, SNS) and was its member from 2010 to 2023.
Early life, career, and private life Šormaz was born in Drvar, in what was then the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. His father was a judge and his family moved frequently in his youth; he lived at different times in Lebane, Negotin, Velika Plana, and Požarevac. He now lives in Smederevo and has a background in labour relations.DRAGAN ŠORMAZ, Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 22 June 2018.
Šormaz is a huge fan of hard rock and heavy metal. According to an article in Danas, he once told his colleagues of his disappointment at having to attend a political meeting while Metallica and Def Leppard were playing in Sofia, Bulgaria.D. Petrović, "Ličnost Danas: Dragan Šormaz", Danas, 13 May 2010, accessed 22 June 2018.
Political career Democratic Party of Serbia Šormaz joined the DSS on its formation in 1992. He was an opponent of Slobodan Milošević's administration throughout the 1990s and led the DSS municipal committee in Smederevo in 2000; in an interview from this period, he said that police had threatened members of his party with arrest if they took part in an anti-Milošević protest."Police threaten opposition against supporting independent media," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Service: Central Europe and Balkans, 20 May 2000 (Source: Beta news agency, Belgrade, in Serbo-Croat 1507 gmt 18 May 00). Milošević was defeated by DSS leader Vojislav Koštunica in the September 2000 Yugoslavian presidential election, an event that precipitated a large-scale change in Yugoslavian and Serbian politics.
The DSS contested the subsequent 2000 Serbian parliamentary election as part of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS), a broad and ideologically diverse coalition of parties that had opposed Milošević's regime. Šormaz received the sixty-first position on the DOS's electoral list and was awarded a mandate after the list won a landslide victory with 176 out of 250 seats.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 23. децембра 2000. године и 10. јануара 2001. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (Демократска опозиција Србије – др Војислав Коштуница (Демократска странка, Демократска странка Србије, Социјалдемократија, Грађански савез Србије, Демохришћанска странка Србије, Нова Србија, Покрет за демократску Србију, Лига социјалдемократа Војводине, Реформска демократска странка Војводине, Коалиција Војводина, Савез војвођанских Мађара, Демократска алтернатива, Демократски центар, Нова демократија, Социјалдемократска унија, Санxачка демократска партија, Лига за Шумадију, Српски покрет отпора – Демократски покрет) , Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 30 March 2017. (From 2000 to 2011, parliamentary mandates were awarded to sponsoring parties or coalitions rather than to individual candidates, and the mandates were often awarded out of numerical order. Šormaz did not automatically receive a mandate by virtue of his position on the list.)Serbia's Law on the Election of Representatives (2000) stipulated that parliamentary mandates would be awarded to electoral lists (Article 80) that crossed the electoral threshold (Article 81), that mandates would be given to candidates appearing on the relevant lists (Article 83), and that the submitters of the lists were responsible for selecting their parliamentary delegations within ten days of the final results being published (Article 84). 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. He took his seat when the assembly met in early 2001.PRVA KONSTITUTIVNA SEDNICA, 22.01.2001., Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 22 June 2018. After the election, the DOS formed a new administration under the leadership of Democratic Party (Demokratska stranka, DS) leader Zoran Đinđić. In 2002, the DSS left the DOS and moved to the opposition, emerging as prominent rivals of the DS. The parliamentary mandates of several DSS members, including Šormaz, were nullified at the discretion of the DOS on 12 June 2002,DRUGO VANREDNO ZASEDANJE, 12.06.2002., Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 13 January 2021. although this decision was subsequently revoked and the mandates restored.
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was officially reconstituted as the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in February 2003, and the Assembly of Serbia and Montenegro was established as its legislative branch. The first members of this body were chosen by indirect election from the republican parliaments of Serbia and Montenegro, with each parliamentary group allowed representation proportional to its numbers. Only sitting members of the Serbian assembly or the Montenegrin assembly, or members of the Federal Assembly of Yugoslavia at the time of the country's reconstitution, were eligible to serve. The DSS was permitted seventeen members in the federal assembly, and Šormaz was included in the party's delegation."Poslanici nove države", Glas Javnosti, 20 February 2003, accessed 31 May 2018. He served in this role until a new federal assembly delegation was selected in early 2004; he also continued to serve in the National Assembly during this time.
Đinđić was assassinated in early 2003, an event that ultimately led to further divisions in the DOS and a new parliamentary election in December of the same year. Šormaz received the thirty-sixth position on the DSS's list and was awarded a mandate when the list won fifty-three seats.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 28. децембра 2003. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (ДЕМОКРАТСКА СТРАНКА СРБИЈЕ - ВОЈИСЛАВ КОШТУНИЦА) , Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 28 April 2017.PRVA SEDNICA, 27.01.2004., Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 24 June 2018. The DSS emerged as the leading party in a new coalition government formed after this election, and Vojislav Koštunica was selected as Serbia's new prime minister. Šormaz served as a member of the assembly's defence and security committee in the parliament that followed."Serbian state security probing foreign investors, say economists," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European (Source: Radio B92 text web site, Belgrade, in English 2128 gmt 28 Dec 04). In March 2004, he criticized Dušan Mihajlović, the minister of internal affairs in the previous government, for restructuring the ministry and appointing allies to key positions just before the DSS-led coalition took power."Serbian interior minister's allegations are a criminal offence - DSS official," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 1 March 2004 (Source: FoNet news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 1355 gmt 1 Mar 04). The article title does not refer to Šormaz's comments. Šormaz was part of Dragan Maršićanin's campaign headquarters in the 2004 Serbian presidential election."Serbian DSS official denies dismissal of election HQ manager," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 21 May 2004 (Source: Beta news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 0947 gmt 21 May 04).
Following the election of Ramush Haradinaj as prime minister of Kosovo in late 2004, Šormaz stated that Kosovo Albanian authorities wanted to ethnically cleanse Kosovo and Metohija and urged the international community to "be able to respond adequately" if there was a repeat of the 2004 unrest in the disputed territory. He also stated that Serbia could resolve the status of Kosovo by military means if it so chose, provided the international community did not interfere, although he added, "that is not the option we choose." He argued in favour of a political solution with Kosovo and Metohija receiving greater autonomy as a province in Serbia."Serbian politicians cautious over Radical assertion of possible conflict," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 19 December 2004 (Source: Politika, Belgrade, in Serbian 15 Dec 04 p 3).
In an early 2005 interview, former Zoran Đinđić aide Vladimir Popović charged that Vojislav Koštunica was supporting the hardline nationalists who had killed the former prime minister. Šormaz, speaking on behalf of his party, responded that any such suggestions were "pure lies."Dusan Stojanovic, "Prime Minister Kostunica backed nationalists who killed his predecessor, Djindjic's aide says," Associated Press Newswires, 1 February 2015.
During the 2006 Montenegrin parliamentary election, Šormaz urged the newly formed Serb List alliance to unite with a coalition led by the Socialist People's Party of Montenegro in a bid to defeat Milo Đukanović's administration. Šormaz was at this time the deputy chair of the DSS's executive committee."Belgrade ruling parties support Serbian coalition in Montenegro," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 11 August 2006 (Source: Dan, Podgorica, in Serbian 11 Aug 06 p4).
Šormaz received the forty-ninth position on an electoral list led by the DSS and New Serbia in the 2007 parliamentary election and was given a third mandate after the alliance won forty-seven seats.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. јануара и 8. фебрауара 2007. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (Демократска странка Србије - Нова Србија - др Војислав Коштуница) , Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 26 April 2017.14 February 2007 legislature, National Assembly of Serbia, accessed 22 June 2018. This election resulted in an unstable coalition government led by the DSS and the DS, with Koštunica continuing in the role of prime minister. Šormaz served as deputy chair of the defence and security committee and was a member of Serbia's delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (where Serbia has observer status)."Analyst sees 'rift' in Serbian government on joining NATO," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Europe, 17 August 2007 (Source: Glas javnosti, Belgrade, in Serbian 16 Aug 07 p2); "Serbian politician calls for Russian military presence in Kosovo," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 27 December 2007 (Source: Politika, Belgrade, in Serbian 20 Dec 07). He opposed the suggestion that Serbia should join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and remarked that even Serbia's co-operation with NATO was threatened by the latter's attitude toward the status of Kosovo and Metohija. On one occasion, he accused NATO of ignoring United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, saying, "They are not doing any work down there [in Kosovo and Metohija]; they are sitting in pubs and bars while Serbs are being killed and their property destroyed.""Analyst sees 'rift' in Serbian government on joining NATO," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Europe, 17 August 2007 (Source: Glas javnosti, Belgrade, in Serbian 16 Aug 07 p2). Some in the DS said these comments were harmful to Serbia's interests; Šormaz rejected this and added that the DSS "could not care less" about criticism from their coalition partners. This controversy led to a serious rift between the parties."Serbian president's party sees criticism of NATO as 'party politics'," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 21 August 2007 (Source: Glas javnosti, Belgrade, in Serbian 20 Aug 07).