Mileta Poskurica (; born 11 July 1954) is an academic, medical doctor, and politician in Serbia. He served in the National Assembly of Serbia from 2004 to 2016 and was also active with municipal politics in Kragujevac. Poskurica entered politics as a member of the far-right Serbian Radical Party and subsequently joined the breakaway Serbian Progressive Party.
Early life and academic career Poskurica was born in Kragujevac, in what was then the People's Republic of Serbia in the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. He graduated in 1978, completed a specialization in internal medicine in 1985, received his master's degree in 1989, and earned a Ph.D. in 1993. In 1998, he completed his subspeciality at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Medicine. He began working at the University of Kragujevac in 1984 and became a full professor in 2004.MILETA POSKURICA, Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 12 September 2020.
Politician Municipal Poskurica was the Radical Party's candidate for Kragujevac's sixth division in the 2000 Serbian local elections and was defeated by a candidate of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (Demokratska opozicija Srbije, DOS). This was the last local election cycle in which assembly members were elected in constituencies; future elections were determined by proportional representation.
Serbia introduced the direct election of mayors in the 2004 local elections, and Poskurica was chosen the Radical Party's candidate for Kragujevac.MILETA POSKURICA, Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 12 September 2020. He received the third position on the electoral list of the Radical Party in the 2008 local electionsSlužbeni List (City of Kragujevac), Volume 18 Number 12 (30 April 2008), p. 9. and was given a new mandate when the party won eighteen seats.Službeni List (City of Kragujevac), Volume 18 Number 16 (27 May 2008), p. 12. (From 2000 to 2011, assembly mandates at the republic and local levels were awarded at the discretion of successful parties, and it was common practice for the mandates to be awarded out of numerical order. While Poskurica was not automatically re-elected by virtue of his list position, he was selected for a new mandate all the same.)
Serbia's electoral system was reformed in 2011, such that mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order. Poskurica had joined the Progressive Party by the 2012 Serbian local elections and received the second position on that party's local list.Službeni List (City of Kragujevac), Volume 22 Number 19 (24 April 2012), p. 8. He was re-elected when the list won eighteen mandates, finishing second against the list of the rival United Regions of Serbia.Službeni List (City of Kragujevac), Volume 22 Number 21 (7 May 2012 2012), p. 16. He did not seek re-election in 2016.
Member of the National Assembly Poskurica was first included on the Radical Party's electoral list at the republic level in the 2000 Serbian parliamentary election, in the 194th position.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 23. децембра 2000. године и 10. јануара 2001. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (Српска радикална странка – др Војислав Шешељ), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 12 September 2020. The list won twenty-three mandates, and he was not included in the party's assembly delegation. He was subsequently included in the party's lists in the national assembly elections of 2003,Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 28. децембра 2003. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (СРПСКА РАДИКАЛНА СТРАНКА - др ВОЈИСЛАВ ШЕШЕЉ), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 12 September 2020. He received the forty-eighth position. 2007,Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. јануара и 8. фебрауара 2007. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (Српска радикална странка - др Војислав Шешељ), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 12 September 2020. He received the 127th position. and 2008Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 11. маја 2008. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (СРПСКА РАДИКАЛНА СТРАНКА - Др ВОЈИСЛАВ ШЕШЕЉ), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 12 September 2020. and was awarded a mandate each time.PRVA SEDNICA, 27.01.2004., Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 12 September 2020.14 February 2007 legislature, National Assembly of Serbia, accessed 12 September 2020.11 June 2008 legislature, National Assembly of Serbia, accessed 12 September 2020. The Radical Party served in opposition throughout this period.
The Radical Party experienced a serious split after the 2008 election, with several members joining the more moderate Forward Serbia parliamentary group under the leadership of Tomislav Nikolić. This movement was subsequently consolidated as the Serbian Progressive Party. Poskurica was among those who sided with Nikolić and joined the Progressives.Поскурица: 'Напред Србијо' није гласала за ССП због става Николића, Radio Television of Vojvodina, 10 September 2008, accessed 12 September 2020. He received the fortieth position on the party's Let's Get Serbia Moving list in the 2012 parliamentary electionИзбори за народне посланике Народне скупштине, 6. мај 2012. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (ПОКРЕНИМО СРБИЈУ - ТОМИСЛАВ НИКОЛИЋ (Српска напредна странка, Нова Србија, Асоцијација малих и средњих предузећа и предузетника Србије, Коалиција удружења избјеглица у Републици Србији, Покрет снага Србије - БК, Народна сељачка странка, Бошњачка народна странка, Демократска партија Македонаца, Ромска партија, Покрет влашког уједињења, Покрет социјалиста, Покрет привредни препород Србије)), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 12 September 2020. and was re-elected when the list won seventy-three mandates. The Progressives subsequently formed a new coalition government with the Socialist Party of Serbia and other parties. There were rumours that Poskurica would be appointed as minister of health in 2013, but this did not occur."Реконструкција владе: Напредњаци спремили нове људе?", srbin.info, 25 July 2013, accessed 12 September 2020.
Poskurica became the leader of Serbia's delegation to the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy in 2013."Бајатовић шеф делегације Србије при НАТО, Дрецун при ОДКБ", Nova srpska politička misao, 27 February 2013, accessed 12 September 2020. He ceded this position to Aleksandar Čotrić in 2014 but continued to serve in the delegation until his assembly term ended in 2016.Delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy (16 April 2014 legislature), National Assembly of Serbia, accessed 12 September 2020.
Poskurica received the twenty-eighth position on the Progressive Party's Aleksandar Vučić — Future We Believe In list in the 2014 Serbian parliamentary electionИзбори 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 18 August 2020. and was elected to a fifth term when the list won a landslide victory with 158 seats. In 2015, he brought forward an amendment to Serbia's Law on Protection of the Population from Infectious Diseases that granted doctors the discretion to provide vaccinations for children. He said that the amendment was meant to send a message that parents should vaccinate their children and not be subject to misinformation from the anti-vaccination lobby."Вакцинација деце без пристанка родитеља?", Novosti, 16 April 2015, accessed 12 September 2020. The amendment was unanimously approved by the assembly's health and family committee."Посланици сложно о обавезној вакцинацији", Radio Television of Serbia, 15 April 2015, accessed 12 September 2020.
During his fifth term in parliament, Poskurica served on the health and family committee and the committee on education, science, technological development, and the information society, and was a member of the parliamentary friendship groups with Croatia, Cuba, Greece, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Russia, and Slovenia.Mileta Poskurica, Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy, accessed 12 September 2020.
He was given the 154th position on the Progressive list in the 2016 Serbian parliamentary election.Избори за народне посланике 2016. године » Изборне листе, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (АЛЕКСАНДАР ВУЧИЋ - СРБИЈА ПОБЕЂУЈЕ), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 18 August 2020. The list won 131 mandates, and he was not returned. He has not sought a return to politics since this time.
Electoral record Local (City of Kragujevac) + 2004 City of Kragujevac electionMayor of Kragujevac - First and Second Round Results"Gradska izborna komisija saopštila konačne rezultate lokalnih izbora u Kragujevcu", , Glas Kragujevca, 20 September 2004, accessed 11 March 2022. "Veroljub Stevanović i zvanično izabran za gradonačelnika Kragujevca", , Glas Kragujevca, 5 October 2004, accessed 11 March 2022. Candidate Party or Coalition Votes % Votes % Veroljub Stevanović Verko Together for Kragujevac 22,032 38.59 32,610 73.72 Dragutin Radosavljević Democratic Party–Boris Tadić 9,856 17.26 11,624 26.28 Slavica Đukić Dejanović Socialist Party of Serbia 6,232 10.92 Mileta Poskurica Serbian Radical Party–Tomislav Nikolić 5,822 10.20 Dragan Bataveljić Strength of Serbia Movement–Bogoljub Karić 3,288 5.76 Goran Davidović Democratic Party of Serbia–Vojislav Koštunica 2,899 5.08 Vladan Vučićević New Serbia 2,479 4.34 Dobrica Milovanović For Our City 2,253 3.95 Miroslav Marinković G17 Plus–Miroljub Labus 1,094 1.92 Radiša Pavlović Workers' Resistance 574 1.01 Branislav Kovačević Cole League for Šumadija 562 0.98 Total valid votes 57,091 100 44,234 100
+ 2000 City of Kragujevac electionCity Assembly of Kragujevac: Division 6Kandidati za izbor odbornika u Skupstini grada Kragujevca, NGO Millennium, accessed 4 April 2000; SPISAK ODBORNIKA – SKUPŠTINE GRADA KRAGUJEVCA, , City of Kragujevac, accessed 28 April 2004. Dejan Ilić Democratic Opposition of Serbia (Affiliation: New Democracy) Elected Dragan Mirković Socialist Party of Serbia–Yugoslav Left Mileta Poskurica Serbian Radical Party Arsenije Vujišić Together for Kragujevac
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