Science  People  Locations  Timeline
Index: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Home > Zoran Djindjic


 Contents
Zoran Djindjic, Zoran Ðinđić or in Cyrillic Зоран Ђинђић, ( August 1, 1952 - March 12, 2003) was Serbian prime minister, opposition politician and philosopher by profession.

Djindjic was born in Bosanski Šamac, a town on Sava river in northern Bosnia. His father Dragomir was officer of Yugoslavian army. His mother Mila was hostess. Djindjic had one older sister Gordana. Djindjic served armed forces. Djindjic took an interest in politics while a student at the University of Belgrade.

A pro-reformist socialist, Djindjic was imprisoned for several months after he tried, along with other students from Croatia and Slovenia, to establish a non- communist student organisation. Released from jail, he continued his studies in GermanyThe Federal Republic of Germany ( German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland is one of the world's leading industrialized countries, located in the middle of the European Union. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark and the Baltic Sea, to the east under professor Jürgen HabermasJurgen Habermas (born June 18, 1929 in Dusseldorf, Germany) is a philosopher and social theorist in the tradition of critical theory. His work focuses on the foundations of social theory and epistemology, the analysis of advanced capitalist industrial soc in FrankfurtFrankfurt am Main [ˈfraŋkfʊrt] is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth largest city of Germany. Situated on the Main river, it has a population of approximately 650,000 (but about 2 million in its metropolitan a. In 1979Events January-February January 1 Sino-American relations: United States and the People's Republic of China establish diplomatic relations January 4 State of Ohio agrees to pay $675,000 to families of dead and injured in Kent State University shootings. he obtained a PhD in philosophyPhilosophy literally means 'love of wisdom' from the Greek 'philo' and 'sofia'. It is now widely used to designate the pursuit of knowledge or wisdom about fundamental matters concerning life, death, meaning, reality, being and truth. The term may also re from the university of KonstanzKonstanz (English traditionally Constance is a smallish university town of around 80,000 people on the shore of Bodensee ( Lake Constance) in the south west corner of Germany that borders Switzerland. Konstanz is situated on the River Rhein ( Rhine) which. He spoke German with perfection. His English was of a moderate level.

In 1989 Djindjic returned to Yugoslavia to take up a teaching post at Novi Sad University, and together with other Serb dissidents he founded the Democratic Party. He became Chairman of the Executive Board of the party in 1990, and was elected to the Parliament of Serbia in the same year. Following the collapse of the short-lived coalition "Zajedno" (Together) with Vuk Draškovic's SPO and Vesna Pešic 's GSS, Djindjic registered as a separate candidate. After a massive series of public protest s over rigged elections, Djindjic became Mayor of Belgrade in 1996, the first non-communist mayor to hold that post since the Second World War.

During NATO bombing campaign of Serbia, Djindjic sought safety and fled to temporary exile in Montenegro because of information provided to him by Arkan that he was at the top of the assassination list of Milosevic's secret service. Before long, he left for Western countries, visiting Gerhard Schröder and Bill Clinton. Photo of his handshake with Clinton at time of bombing was used by Milosevic's propaganda which portrayed him as traitor. Upon his return to the country in July 1999, Djindjic was brought to rigged trial closed for public for violating state security protocol. In September 1999, Djindjic, was named by magazine TIME as one of most relevant politicians for 21st century.

Djindjic played a prominent role in the Presidential elections of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in September 2000 and on the October 5, uprising that overthrew the Milosevic's regime, and then led the broad-based 18-party Democratic Opposition of Serbia coalition to an overwhelming victory at the Serbian elections of December 2000. He became Premier of Serbia on January 25, 2001. He played a key role in sending dictator Slobodan Milosevic to the UN War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. However, Djindjic became disillusioned with the protracted trial of Milosevic, and later condemned it as an expensive "circus". Djindjic said the court in The Hague was "allowing Milosevic to behave like a demagogue and to control the trial".

Djindjic was received favourably by Western nations. His meetings with western leaders George Bush, Tony Blair, Jacques Chirac and others strongly indicated that the West supported his politics. Djindjic had misunderstandings with federal president Vojislav Kostunica. On the other hand, he had a close relationship with Montenegrin president Milo Djukanovic.

On August 7, 2001, Djindjic headed a delegation that met with Bill Gates, in Redmond, becoming the first head of state to pay an official visit to Microsoft. Djindjic and Gates discussed the modernization of Serbian public services, and agreed that Serbia would become Microsoft's strategic partner and that Belgrade would become Microsoft's main residence and software representative center for underdeveloped region of Balkans.

Djindjic was assassinated in Belgrade on the stairway of the main Serbian government building on March 12, 2003, 12: 23 PM. Shot once in the chest, a high-power bullet penetrated his heart and killed him instantly. His bodyguard Milan Veruovic was also seriously wounded in stomach by another shot. Djindjic's Assassin, police specialist Zvezdan Jovanovic , called Zveki , had fired the bullets by sniper scope from a nearby building window. Jovanovic, codenamed Snake, was born in 1965 in Pec, Kosovo. He had been a member of the feared paramilitary unit, the Red Berets, and held the police rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Jovanovic was active in the series of Serbian wars in the 1990s.

According to the official government statement, Djindjic was not conscious and did not have a pulse upon arriving at the emergency ward. He had made many enemies for his pro-Western stance, reformist policies which had seen unemployment rise to over 30%, for arresting Milosevic, for relinquishing him to The Hague, and for clamping down on organized crime. The murder was organised by Milorad Ulemek , an ex-Commander of the special police, also known as Legija , who ordered Jovanovic to carry out the assassination. Legija was connected with the powerful Zemun clan of Serbian mafia, blamed for planning of assassination. Vojislav Šešelj, ultra-nationalist and foe of Djindjic, was suspected to have played a role in inspiring the assassination plot. Natasa Micic, acting president of Serbia, declared a state of emergency immediately following the shooting. Zoran Zivkovic was elected by the Serbian Democratic Party as Djindjic's successor. However after new parliament elections Boris Tadic was appointed president of the party.

Djindjic was married to Ružica and had two children with his wife. Daughter Jovana born in 1990 and son Luka born in 1992.

His solemn state procession and funeral on March 15, 2003 was attended by hundreds of thousands of ordinary people as well as by foreign delegations. Djindjic's death represents political and moral tragedy to millions of Serbs who saw in him statesman of hope who guaranteed peaceful coexistence with neighboring nations, prosperity and integration to Europe and rest of world, economic recovery and brighter future.



Read more »

Non User