Aleksandar Prodanović (; born 13 February 1969) is a Serbian politician. He has served in the National Assembly of Serbia and the Assembly of Serbia and Montenegro and has held high municipal office in Sremska Mitrovica. From 2007 to 2012, he was the head of Serbia's water directorate. Prodanović was a member of the Democratic Party (DS) until 2013, when he joined Together for Serbia (ZZS).
Private career Prodanović was born in Sremska Mitrovica, in what was then the Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in the Socialist Republic of Serbia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He graduated from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and later owned a private business and worked for Srem gas."Прeдсeдник Скупштинe грaдa", , City of Sremska Mitrovica, accessed 16 August 2023.
Politician Late Milošević years (1999–2000) Prodanović was the leader of the Democratic Party's municipal committee in Sremska Mitrovica in 1999."Local office of Serbian opposition party reportedly ransacked," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European - Political, 12 December 1999 (Source: Radio B2-92, Belgrade, in Serbo-Croat 0800 gmt 12 Dec 99). During this period, the DS was part of the Alliance for Change, a coalition of parties opposed to Slobodan Milošević's administration.
The Alliance for Change was succeeded by the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) in January 2000. DOS candidate Vojislav Koštunica defeated Milošević in the 2000 Yugoslavian presidential election, a watershed moment in Serbian and Yugoslavian politics. The DOS won a majority victory in Sremska Mitrovica in the concurrent 2000 Serbian local elections, and Prodanović was chosen afterward as the leader of the assembly's executive board (i.e., effectively the prime minister of the municipal government).Izbori, 2000. Za Odbornike Skupština Opština i Gradova, Bureau of Statistics – Republic of Serbia, p. 49."'Smećar' za čistije ulice," Glas javnosti, 1 February 2002, accessed 16 August 2023.
Parliamentarian and local official (2000–06) Prodanović received the 214th position (out of 250) on the DOS's electoral list for the 2000 Serbian parliamentary election, which was held three months after the Yugoslavian election.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 23. децембра 2000. године и 10. јануара 2001. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (4 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), Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 2 July 2021. The alliance won a majority victory with 176 seats, and he was not initially included in its assembly delegation. (From 2000 to 2011, Serbian parliamentary mandates were awarded to sponsoring parties or coalitions rather than to individual candidates, and it was common practice for the mandates to be awarded out of numerical order. Prodanović could have been given a mandate despite his low position on this list, but he was not.)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 received a mandate under somewhat dubious conditions as the replacement for another parliamentarian on 12 June 2002, when the DOS withdrew the accreditation for several Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) delegates. This took place against the backdrop of the DSS's formal departure from the DOS. "DSS napustio parlament", Glas javnosti, 13 June 2002, accessed 16 August 2023. The removal of the DSS delegates was later annulled on technical grounds, and Prodanović's mandate was revoked.Milan Milošević, "Mrtve duše živih poslanika", Vreme, 8 August 2002, accessed 18 July 2021.
The DOS alliance ended in late 2003, and the DS contested the 2003 Serbian parliamentary election at the head of its own coalition. Prodanović appeared in the twenty-second position on the party's list and received a mandate after the list won thirty-seven seats.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 28. децембра 2003. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (5. ДЕМОКРАТСКА СТРАНКА – БОРИС ТАДИЋ), Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 2 July 2021."Podrška neoročenoj vladi", Glas javnosti, 15 January 2004, accessed 16 August 2023. His term was brief. By virtue its performance in the 2003 election, the DS had the right to appoint thirteen members to the federal assembly of Serbia and Montenegro. Prodanović was chosen as one of his party's federal representatives on 12 February 2004 and so resigned from the national assembly."Izbor poslanika u Skupštinu SCG" , Glas javnosti, 12 February 2004, accessed 16 August 2023.
The DS was not included in the government of Serbia and Montenegro in April 2004, and its members left the assembly before the new ministers were voted in. Prodanović later mocked the appointment of Vuk Drašković as the federation's minister of foreign affairs, saying, "how will Vuk, when he comes down from Ravna Gora with a knife in one hand and a dagger in the other hand, explain to the international community that we are a civilized nation.""Tesna većina za ministre iz Srbije", Glas javnosti, 17 April 2004, accessed 16 August 2023.
In May 2004, Prodanović was appointed to Serbia and Montenegro's powerful security services committee."Serbia-Montenegro Assembly appoints commission for control of security services," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 5 May 2004 (Source: Beta news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 1346 gmt 5 May 04). He served in the federal assembly until May 2006, when it ceased to exist following Montenegro's declaration of independence.
Prodanović was re-elected to the Sremska Mitrovica assembly in the 2004 Serbian local elections. The DS, DSS, and other parties formed a local coalition government, and Prodanović served as president of the municipal assembly.The DS won eleven out of fifty-seven seats. See Direktorijum lokalnih samouprava u Srbiji, Center for Free Elections and Democracy (CESID), September 2005, p. 322-324.
State administrator and local official (2007–12) Prodanović appeared in the 195th position on the DS's mostly alphabetical electoral list in the 2007 Serbian parliamentary election.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. јануара и 8. фебрауара 2007. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 Демократска странка – Борис Тадић), Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 10 July 2021. The DS formed an unstable coalition government with the DSS and other parties after the election. Prodanović was not given an assembly mandate but was instead appointed to head Serbia's water directorate in October 2007.14 February 2007 legislature, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 16 August 2023.32. sednica Vlade Republike Srbije, 11. oktobar 2007. godine, Otvorena Vlada, accessed 16 August 2023.
The DS–DSS alliance broke down in early 2008, and a new parliamentary election was held in May of that year. The DS contested the election at the head of the For a European Serbia (ZES) alliance, and Prodanović appeared on the alliance's list.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 11. маја 2008. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 ЗА ЕВРОПСКУ СРБИЈУ – БОРИС ТАДИЋ), Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 10 July 2021. Prodanović was given the 177th position on the list, which was again mostly alphabetical. ZES won 102 seats, becoming the largest group in the assembly but falling short of a majority. After complicated negotiations, the DS-led alliance formed a new coalition government with the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS). Prodanović was again not given an assembly mandate but continued to head the water directorate.11 June 2008 legislature, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 16 August 2023."Prodanović: Poboljšan kvalitet vode u Dunavu", Radio Television of Vojvodina, 30 October 2008, accessed 16 August 2023.
Prodanović also appeared in the second position on the ZES alliance's list in the 2008 Serbian local elections in Sremska Mitrovica and was granted a new mandate when the list won a plurality victory with twenty-two seats.Službeni list (Opštine Sremska Mitrovica), Volume 4 Number 4 (29 April 2008), p. 5.Službeni List (Opštine Sremska Mitrovica), Volume 4 Number 6 (14 May 2008), p. 5.For the 2008 local elections, all mandates were assigned to candidates on successful lists at the discretion of the sponsoring parties or coalitions. See Law on Local Elections (2007) , Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 129/2007); made available via LegislationOnline, accessed 29 May 2021. The DSS at first formed a new coalition government in the city with the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS), but this arrangement soon fell apart, and in July 2008 the DSS and DS formed a new local government with Prodanović again in the role of assembly president."Aleksandar Prodanović ponovo predsednik", Danas, 26 July 2008, accessed 16 August 2023. He served in this office for the remainder of the assembly's term.See "Прeдсeдник Скупштинe грaдa", , City of Sremska Mitrovica, accessed 16 August 2023.
In early 2012, Prodanović oversaw Serbia's response to the freezing of the Danube River and the subsequent threat of floods from fast-melting snow.Katarina Subašić, "Ice shuts Danube in half-a-dozen countries," Agence France Presse, 9 February 2012.Steve Milošević, "Melting snow poses new threat for Western Balkans," Xinhua News Agency, 21 February 2012.
Since 2012 Serbia's electoral laws were reformed in 2011, such that all mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order. Prodanović appeared in the lead position on the DS's list in Sremska Mitrovica for the 2012 local elections and was re-elected when the list won a plurality victory with eighteen seats.Službeni List (Grada Sremska Mitrovica), Volume 4 Number 5 (23 April 2012), p. 1.Službeni List (Grada Sremska Mitrovica), Volume 4 Number 9 (20 May 2012), pp. 3-4. A new local government was formed without the DS, and Prodanović led his party's group in opposition."Nedimović se učlanio u SNS", Radio Television of Vojvodina, 16 January 2015, accessed 16 August 2023.L. Valtner, "Odluka centrale za nas ne važi", Danas, 13 January 2013, accessed 16 August 2023. The DS was also defeated by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in the concurrent 2012 parliamentary election, and Prodanović's term as head of the water directorate came to an end shortly thereafter.Miodrag Pješčić was appointed as acting director later in the year. See "Radovi na rekonstrukciji nasipa na Tisi", City of Zrenjanin, 27 November 2012, accessed 16 August 2023.