Milan Božić () is an academic, administrator, and politician in Serbia. He was a cabinet minister in the Yugoslavian government in 1999, has served in the assemblies of Yugoslavia and Serbia, and at one time was the acting mayor of Belgrade. He now serves as chair of the supervisory board of Telekom Srbija. A member of the Serbian Renewal Movement (Srpski pokret obnove, SPO) for most of his time as an elected official, Božić is now a member of the Serbian Progressive Party (Srpska napredna stranka, SNS).
Early life and career Božić was born in Belgrade, 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 Science and Mathematics in 1975 with a focus on mathematics, received his master's degree in 1978, and earned a Ph.D. in 1983. He became an assistant professor in mathematics in 1984 and was promoted to associate professor in 1991; he also served for a time as dean of the faculty. Božić has published several academic works and has taken part in popular science programming in the Serbian media.
One of his colleagues in the faculty of mathematics was Mirjana Marković, with whom he was on friendly terms. Marković was the wife of Slobodan Milošević and the leader of the Yugoslav Left (Jugoslovenska Levica, JUL) party from 1994 to 2003. Božić's personal association with Marković was a point of controversy during his political career."Milan Božić", Glas javnosti, 20 October 2000, accessed 18 August 2021.
Politician Early years Božić joined the Democratic Party (Demokratska stranka, DS) when multi-party politics was re-introduced to Serbia in 1990 and emerged as a prominent figure in the party. In October 1990, he was part of a group of DS activists who opposed the party leadership's decision to participate in the 1990 Serbian parliamentary election, arguing that conditions for fair elections did not exist.Robert Thomas, Serbia Under Miloševic: Politics in the 1990s, (London: Hurst & Company), 1999, p. 73. On 22 January 1991, Božić and other members of this group left the DS to form the Serbian Liberal Party (Srpska liberalna stranka, SLS).Thomas, Serbia Under Milošević, p. 80.
In 1992, the SLS became part of the Democratic Movement of Serbia (Demokratski pokret Srbije, DEPOS), a broad coalition of parties opposed to the Milošević government. The party left the coalition the following year, when the SLS leadership objected to DEPOS's decision to participate in the 1993 Serbian parliamentary election. Božić, who supported participation, left the SLS and remained within DEPOS as an individual member.Thomas, Serbia Under Milošević, p. 183.
Parliamentarian Božić appeared in the sixth position on the DEPOS electoral list for Belgrade in the 1993 Serbian election and was awarded a mandate when the coalition won eleven seats in the capital.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 19. и 26. децембра 1993. године и 5. јануара 1994. године; ЗБИРНЕ ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (ЗБИРНЕ ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 Београд)), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 26 June 2021.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 19. и 26. децембра 1993. године и 5. јануара 1994. године; Извештај о укупним резултатима избора за народне посланике у Народну скупштину Републике Србије, одржаних 19. и 26. децембра 1993. године и 5. јануара 1994. године, Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 26 June 2021. (From 1992 to 2000, one-third of Serbia's parliamentary mandates were assigned to candidates from successful lists in numerical order, while the remaining two-thirds were distributed amongst other candidates at the discretion of the sponsoring parties and coalitions. Božić did not automatically receive a mandate by virtue of his list position but was nonetheless included in the DEPOS delegation and took his seat when the assembly met in early 1994.)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.Službeni glasnik (Republike Srbije), Volume 50 Number 11 (25 January 1994), p. 193. DEPOS dissolved after the election; Božić joined the SPO, which had been the leading party in the coalition, and became an advisor to its leader Vuk Drašković.Thomas, Serbia Under Milošević, p. 183. The election was won by Milošević's Socialist Party of Serbia (Socijalistička partija Srbije, SPS), and Božić served in opposition.
From 1992 to 2000, the Serbian parliament nominated half the membership (i.e., twenty members) of the Chamber of Republics in the Yugoslavian parliament. By virtue of the coalition's performance in the 1993 election, the parties of DEPOS were allowed to nominate four members to the federal chamber. Božić was selected as a delegate, receiving an appointment in February 1994 for a term that lasted four years."Constituent Session of Serbian Assembly Elects Officials," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Service: Central Europe & Balkans, 15 February 1994 (Source: Tanjug news agency, Belgrade, in Serbo-Croat 1945 gmt 11 Feb 94). He continued to serve in the Serbian parliament during this time.
In March 1995, he spoke favourably of a recent proposal by the Contact Group as the basis for a negotiated end to the Bosnian War. He also indicated that, in the longer term, he would favour the incorporation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Serbian Krajina, and the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia into a reconstituted Yugoslavia."Party Official Calls for Krajina, Bosnia, Macedonia to Link Up with Yugoslavia," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Service: Central Europe & Balkans, 14 March 1995 (Source: Serbian TV, Belgrade, in Serbian 1830 gmt 12 Mar 95).
1996 local elections and after The SPO participated in the 1996 Serbian local elections with the DS and the Civic Alliance of Serbia (Građanski savez Srbije, GSS) in a new opposition alliance called Zajedno (English: Together). The alliance won victories in several major cities, including Belgrade, but the results were not initially recognized by the Serbian government. Following an extended standoff and several weeks of protest, the government belatedly recognized the victories of Zajedno in February 1997. DS leader Zoran Đinđić became mayor of Belgrade; Božić, who had been elected to the City Assembly of Belgrade for a division in Vračar,Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 43 Number 3 (22 February 1997), p. 1. He was also elected to the Vračar assembly in the concurrent municipal election. See Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 43 Number 4 (21 March 1997), p. 51. was chosen as deputy mayor as well as being appointed as president of the managing board for Belgrade's television station Studio B.Caroline Smith, "Belgrade TV station names new bosses," Reuters News, 25 February 1997, 05:42. During this time, journalist Seamus Martin described Božić as "the most influential person" in developing the policies of Zajedno.Seamus Martin, "Redefining the Presidency in 'Another Serbia'," Irish Times, 7 February 1997, p. 9.
The Zajedno coalition fell apart at the republic level before 1997 was over. One of the points of controversy was participation in the 1997 Serbian parliamentary election, which the SPO supported and the DS opposed. Božić was re-elected to the Serbian parliament in the 1997 election after appearing in the second position on the SPO's list in Palilula; the party won three seats, and he was again awarded one its optional mandates.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. и 28. септембра и 5. октобра 1997. године – ЗБИРНЕ ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 Палилула), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 18 August 2021.[РЕЗУЛТАТИ ИЗБОРА – Извештај о укупним резултатима избора за народне посланике у Народну скупштину Републике Србије, одржаних 21. и 28. септембра и 5. октобра 1997. године], Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 28 August 2021.
Soon after the 1997 parliamentary election, the Zajedno alliance in the Belgrade assembly completely dissolved. On 30 September 1997, Božić presided over an assembly session that removed Đinđić as mayor via a SPO motion supported by the SPS and the far-right Serbian Radical Party (Srpska radikalna stranka, SRS)."Belgrade assembly removes Mayor Djindjic," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Service: Central Europe & Balkans, 1 October 1997 (Source: Tanjug news agency, Belgrade, in English 1117 gmt 30 Sep 97). The SPO subsequently occupied all of the main positions in the city government. The position of mayor was not initially filled by the assembly; as deputy mayor, Božić served as the city's acting mayor until January 1999.Božić stood down as chair of the managing board of Studio B after becoming acting mayor. He was replaced by fellow party member Aleksandar Čotrić. See "Belgrade city council reshuffles Studio B TV board," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Service: Central Europe & Balkans, 2 October 1997 (Source: Beta news agency, Belgrade, in Serbo-Croat 1022 gmt 30 Sep 97).
He suffered injuries while attending a basketball game in November 1997, after he was hit by a tracer rocket fired by someone in the audience."Hoop Tumult in Yugoslavia," New York Times, 25 November 1997, Page 2 Column 6. Media reports did not indicate that this was a deliberate attack.
Božić was chosen for a new term in the Yugoslavian Chamber of Republics in 1998.Dušan Bogdanović and Biljana Kovačević Vučo, Institutions Abused: Who Was Who in Serbia, 1987–2000, (Belgrade: Biljana Kovačević Vučo Fund), 2011, pp. 50-51.
During the early period of the Kosovo War, Božić stated that "the whole of Serbia [would] be up in arms and react" if ethnic Albanians in Kosovo did not realize that "they live in Serbia, where they can and should exercise all their rights.""Serbian Renewal Movement says Albanians must realize they live in Serbia," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Service: Central Europe & Balkans, 4 March 1998 (Source: Beta news agency, Belgrade, in Serbo-Croat 1410 gmt 2 Mar 98).
Yugoslavian cabinet minister and after In January 1999, the SPO joined a coalition government in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia that was led by the SPS, the JUL, and the Socialist People's Party of Montenegro. Vuk Drašković became a deputy prime minister, and Božić was among the SPO members appointed to the cabinet, serving as a minister without portfolio."Government List," Reuters News, 18 January 1999, 13:44. A month after his appointment, Božić joined Drašković in representing the SPO in the Rambouillet talks that sought a negotiated end to the Kosovo War."Yugoslav deputy premier visits Paris," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Newsfile, 10 February 1999.
The Rambouillet talks did not lead to a successful outcome, and the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia began shortly thereafter. As deputy mayor of Belgrade, Božić played a prominent role in attempting to ensure that the city's services remained as functional as possible."Belgrade city authorities say prepared for attack," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European – Political, 23 March 1999 (Source: Beta news agency, Belgrade, in Serbo-Croat 2147 gmt 23 Mar 99. In an interview on American television during the bombing, Božić accused NATO of attacking civilian targets and of having created a "humanitarian catastrophe [...] in the very downtown of Belgrade."Bradley Graham and Dana Priest, "Allies to Begin Flying Refugees Abroad; Yugoslav Army Pursues Remnant of Kosovo Forces," Washington Post, 5 April 1999, A01.