Predrag Čokić (; born 1 December 1940) is a Serbian politician. He was the mayor of the Belgrade municipality of Mladenovac from 1997 to 2000 and served in the Serbian parliament from 1997 to 2001. At different times in his career, Čokić has been a member of the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) and the Democratic Party (DS), as well as the leader the local Alliance for the Revival of Mladenovac.
His son, Dejan Čokić, has also served as mayor of Mladenovac.
Early life and private career Čokić was born in Belgrade, in what was then the Danube Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He was raised in nearby Mladenovac, which was annexed into Belgrade in 1971. He graduated from the Higher School of Economics in Belgrade, majoring in commerce, and worked as a private entrepreneur. Čokić is a founder of the Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade and has received the Order of St. Sava, first degree, from the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church.ПРИВРЕМЕНИ ОРГАН ГРАДСКЕ ОПШТИНЕ МЛАДЕНОВАЦ, City of Mladenovac, 12 October 2015, accessed 31 December 2025.
Politician Serbian Renewal Movement During the 1990s, the political landscape of Serbia was dominated by the authoritarian rule of Slobodan Milošević and the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS). Čokić was a prominent financial supporter of the opposition Serbian Renewal Movement in the early years after its founding in 1990.Borba, 21 August 1993, p. 12.
In 1992, the SPO joined a coalition of opposition parties called the Democratic Movement of Serbia (DEPOS). Čokić appeared in the twentieth position on DEPOS's electoral list for the Belgrade constituency in the 1992 Serbian parliamentary election. The list won fifteen seats, and he did not receive a mandate.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 20. и 27. децембра 1992. године и 3. јануара 1993. године – ЗБИРНЕ ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 Београд), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 February 2024.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 20. и 27. децембра 1992. године и 3. јануара 1993. године – РЕЗУЛТАТИ ИЗБОРА (Извештај о укупним резултатима избора за народне посланике у Народну скупштину Републике Србије, одржаних 20. и 27. децембра 1992. године и 3. јануара 1993. године), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 February 2024.Službeni Glasnik (Republike Srbije), Volume 49 Number 7 (25 January 1993), pp. 193-194. (From 1992 to 2000, Serbia's electoral law stipulated that one-third of parliamentary mandates would be assigned to candidates from successful lists in numerical order, while the remaining two-thirds would be distributed amongst other candidates at the discretion of the sponsoring parties.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. Čokić could have been given a mandate despite his list position, but he was not.)
In July 1993, Čokić was attacked and seriously wounded in Belgrade.
He appeared in the twenty-ninth position on the DEPOS list for Belgrade in the 1993 Serbian parliamentary election and was again not given a mandate when the list won eleven seats.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 19. и 26. децембра 1993. године и 5. јануара 1994. године – ЗБИРНЕ ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 Београд), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 February 2024.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 19. и 26. децембра 1993. године и 5. јануара 1994. године – РЕЗУЛТАТИ ИЗБОРА (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), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 February 2024.Službeni Glasnik (Republike Srbije), Volume 50 Number 11 (25 January 1994), pp. 193-194.
Mayor and parliamentarian In 1996, the SPO joined a new opposition coalition called Zajedno, which won significant victories in Belgrade and other major Serbian cities in the 1996 Serbian local elections. The governing SPS initially refused to recognize most victories claimed by Zajedno, but, after an extended period of protests, Slobodan Milošević signed a lex specialis that recognized the opposition's victory in several jurisdictions.
Although the lex specialis did not cover Mladenovac (apparently by an accidental omission), the Zajedno coalition nonetheless managed to form government in the municipality. Zajedno won twenty-seven seats in the municipal assembly, as did the Socialists and their allies in the Yugoslav Left (JUL), while one seat went to an independent.Izbori Za Odbornike Skupština Opština i Gradova u Republici Srbiji, 1996, Bureau of Statistics – Republic of Serbia, pp. 13, 46. When the assembly convened in early 1997, the independent delegate sided with Zajedno, and Čokić was elected as assembly president, a position that was then equivalent to mayor."Belgrade students call suspension of opposition rallies 'mistake'," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Service: Central Europe & Balkans, 19 February 1997 (Source: Serbian Radio, Belgrade, in Serbo-Croat 1400 gmt 17 Feb 97)."MILADIN MUTA MILIĆ (1957)", Mladenovčani, 2 July 2021, accessed 21 August 2021.
The first period of Čokić's mayoralty was marked by dysfunctionality, due to both divisions in Zajedno and the persistent opposition of the Socialists.Borba, 31 July 1997, p. 9.Borba, 1 August 1997, p. 2. In August 1997, the local leader of the Socialists said that he expected the Zajedno administration to become completely unviable and for Čokić to resign.Borba, 21 August 1997, p. 9. This notwithstanding, Čokić worked through the crisis and remained in office for the full term.Gradonačelnici i predsednici opštine Mladenovac, Municipality of Mladenovac, accessed 21 December 1989.
In the 1997 Serbian parliamentary election, Čokić appeared in the seventh position on the SPO's list in the smaller, redistributed division of Voždovac. The list won three seats, and Čokić was given one of the party's "optional" mandates for the division.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. и 28. септембра и 5. октобра 1997. године – ЗБИРНЕ ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (2 Вождовац), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 February 2024.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. и 28. септембра и 5. октобра 1997. године – 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 (Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. и 28. септембра и 5. октобра 1997.) године, , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 February 2024.PRVA SEDNICA, 03.12.1997., Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 24 January 2026. The Socialist Party's alliance won the election, and the SPO served afterward in opposition at the republic level.
In May 2000, Čokić organized rallies in Mladenovac against Slobodan Milošević's rule."Narod više nema šta da izgubi", Blic (made available via vesti.rs), 22 May 2000, accessed 31 December 2025.
A new opposition coalition called the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) was established in 2000; the coalition did not include the SPO. Slobodan Milošević was defeated by DOS candidate Vojislav Koštunica in that year's Yugoslavian presidential election and subsequently fell from power on 5 October 2000, a watershed moment in Serbian politics. The DOS also won majority victories in Belgrade and most of its municipalities in the concurrent 2000 Serbian local elections; in Mladenovac, the DOS won thirty-six seats, the SPS–JUL coalition eighteen, and the SPO only one.Izbori, 2000. Za Odbornike Skupština Opština i Gradova, Bureau of Statistics – Republic of Serbia, pp. 9, 32. Čokić's term as mayor came to an end shortly thereafter. He was also defeated in Mladenovac's first division in the 2000 Belgrade city assembly election.
Čokić was not a candidate in the 2000 Serbian parliamentary election, and his term in office ended when the new assembly convened in January 2001. He ultimately left the SPO.
Alliance for the Revival of Mladenovac Čokić subsequently founded a local political movement called the Alliance for the Revival of Mladenovac, led its electoral list in the 2004 Serbian local elections, and was re-elected to the municipal assembly when the list won three seats.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 48 Number 24 (8 September 2004), p. 111.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 48 Number 28 (21 September 2004), p. 6.Direktorijum lokalnih samouprava u Srbiji, Center for Free Elections and Democracy (CESID), September 2005, p. 61.In the 2004 local elections, the first one-third of mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order. See Law on Local Elections , Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 33/2002; made available via LegislationOnline, accessed 29 May 2021. The party took part afterwards in a local coalition government with the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), G17 Plus, and the Strength of Serbia Movement (PSS).Direktorijum lokalnih samouprava u Srbiji, Center for Free Elections and Democracy (CESID), September 2005, p. 60.
Čokić again led the Alliance for the Revival of Mladenovac list in the 2008 local elections and served in the municipal assembly after the list won five seats.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 52 Number 13 (30 April 2008), p. 36.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 52 Number 18 (22 May 2008), p. 3.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 52 Number 25 (23 July 2008), p. 37.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. Čokić did not automatically receive a mandate by virtue of leading the list. The Alliance again participated in a local coalition government after the election, this time with the Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Serbia."DS i DSS-NS zajedno u Opštini - zbog građana"], , Blic, 17 July 2008, accessed 31 December 2025.
On 14 June 2010, the Alliance for the Revival of Mladenovac merged into the Democratic Party. Čokić's son Dejan signed the merger agreement on behalf of the Alliance."Чокић у Демократској странци", Municipality of Mladenovac, 14 June 2010, accessed 31 December 2025.
Democratic Party In the 2012 Serbian local elections, Dejan Čokić led the Democratic Party's coalition list for Mladenovac and Predrag Čokić appeared in the fourteenth position.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 56 Number 21 (25 April 2012), pp. 109-110. The list won nineteen seats, and both were elected.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 56 Number 25 (7 May 2012), p. 2. The DS became the dominant party in Mladenovac's coalition government after the election, and Dejan was chosen as the municipality's mayor."Dejan Čokić, predsednik opštine Mladenovac - biografija", eKapija, 13 July 2012, accessed 24 June 2021.
Dejan Čokić was dismissed as mayor in July 2015, and the Serbian government appointed a multi-party provisional governing council pending new elections the following year. Perhaps somewhat unusually, Predrag Čokić was chosen to serve as a member of the council."Uvedena prinudna uprava", Danas, 7 July 2015, accessed 31 December 2025.