Milan Krkobabić

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Milan Krkobabić
Милан Кркобабић
Milan Krkobabic-mc.rs (cropped).jpg
Leader of the Party of United Pensioners of Serbia
Assumed office
June 2014
Preceded byJovan Krkobabić
Minister of Rural Welfare
Assumed office
28 October 2020
Prime MinisterAna Brnabić
Preceded byOffice established
Minister without portfolio
in charge of Regional development
In office
11 August 2016 – 28 October 2020
Prime MinisterAleksandar Vučić
Ivica Dačić (Acting)
Ana Brnabić
Member of the National Assembly of Serbia
In office
3 August 2020 – 26 October 2020
In office
31 May 2012 – 11 August 2016
Director of Pošta Srbije
In office
2012–2016
Preceded byGoran Ćirić
Succeeded byMira Petrović (Acting)
Deputy Mayor of Belgrade
In office
2008–2012
Preceded byposition vacant
Succeeded byTatjana Pešić
Personal details
Born (1952-10-12) 12 October 1952 (age 68)
Kačarevo, PR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia
NationalitySerbian
Political partyPUPS
ChildrenStefan Krkobabić
ParentsJovan Krkobabić
Alma materUniversity of Belgrade

Milan Krkobabić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милан Кркобабић; born 12 October 1952) is a Serbian politician. He has been the president of the Party of United Pensioners of Serbia (PUPS) since 2014 and has served as a minister in the government of Serbia since 2016.

Early life and career[]

Krkobabić was born in Kačarevo, Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, in what was then the People's Republic of Serbia in the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. His family later moved to Belgrade, where he completed high school and graduated from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Economics. He has thirty years of experience in the financial sector.[1]

He is the son of Jovan Krkobabić, the founder and first leader of the PUPS.

Political career[]

Krkobabić joined the PUPS on its formation in 2005. The party contested the 2007 Serbian parliamentary election on a combined electoral list with the Social Democratic Party, and Krkobabić was included in the 105th position.[2] The list did not cross the electoral threshold to win representation in the assembly.

City of Belgrade[]

The PUPS subsequently formed an alliance with the Socialist Party of Serbia and contested the 2008 parliamentary election on the Socialist electoral list. Krkobabić was not a candidate but instead received the second position on the Socialist-led list in the concurrent 2008 Belgrade City Assembly election. The latter list won six mandates.[3] Neither the republic nor the Belgrade city elections initially produced a clear winner, and representatives of the Socialist Party, the far-right Serbian Radical Party, and the Democratic Party of Serbia (Demokratska stranka Srbije, DSS) discussed forming coalition governments at both levels. Krkobabić said that this arrangement would be acceptable to the PUPS, as it would ensure the passage of parts of their program.[4]

This proposed arrangement subsequently fell apart, and the Socialists instead formed coalition governments at both levels with the For a European Serbia alliance led by the Democratic Party (Demokratska stranka, DS). The PUPS agreed to participate in this alliance; in so doing, Krkobabić indicated that his party would fight for a pension increase and resist any efforts to impose neoliberal reforms in the sector.[5] Krkobabić himself became the city's deputy mayor, serving in the role under Dragan Đilas.[6]

In October 2009, Krkobabić and Russian ambassador Aleksandr Konuzin inaugurated a statue of Alexander Pushkin in the centre of Belgrade, not far from the statues of Cyril and Methodius and Vuk Karadžić.[7] Krkobabić subsequently defended the city's decision to erect a statue of former Azerbaijani president Heydar Aliyev in Tašmajdan Park, a space that the government of Azerbaijan had donated two million Euros to renovate following extensive damage in the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. The statue of Aliyev attracted controversy due to the Azerbaijani president's human rights record while in office. Krkobabić stated in response, "Our principle was not to be policemen and to investigate what was done in the past because we would not have time for that. Our principle was to draw a line and to move forward. In these hard times, we are trying to accept every act of goodwill by various countries and to use them for the benefit of the citizens of Belgrade."[8]

National Assembly and Pošta Srbije[]

The PUPS maintained its alliance with the Socialist Party for the 2012 Serbian parliamentary election. Krkobabić was a spokesperson for the party in the campaign, highlighting its promise to protect and improve pensions.[9] He received the thirteenth position on the Socialist-led list and was elected to the assembly when it won forty-four mandates.[10] He also received the second position on the Socialist-led list in the concurrent 2012 Belgrade election and was re-elected when the list won thirteen seats.[11] He served in both assemblies under a dual mandate.

The Socialist Party formed a new coalition government with the Serbian Progressive Party at the republic level following the 2012 election. The PUPS was included in the coalition, and Krkobabić served as part of the government's parliamentary majority. He led the PUPS group in the assembly and became a party vice-president. He was also appointed as director of the state-owned corporation Pošta Srbije.

He announced plans to privatize a number of entities owned by the corporation in November 2012, including Telekom Srbija and the Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, although it was subsequently reported that there was only consensus within the government for the privatization of Telekom.[12][13] He said early in 2013 that the corporation itself would not be privatized but would rather seek to acquire assets in neighbouring countries.[14] Krkobabić was quoted as saying, "We will not repeat the experiences from the neighbouring countries. This system will strengthen, it will be profitable, fill the budget and create new jobs. We put an end to all attempts to sell, sell off, and disintegrate the system."[15] In the same period, he announced that the corporation would focus on the completion of a number of capital investment projects, including a central postal hub in Belgrade, over the upcoming years.[16] He announced in July 2013 that the corporation had tripled its net income in the first six months of the year.[17]

Despite its alliance with the Progressives at the republic level, the PUPS continued to work in a coalition government with the Democratic Party in Belgrade. Krkobabić's term as deputy mayor ended in June 2012, but he initially remained an active supporter of Đilas's administration and sided with the mayor against the Progressive Party's efforts to change the city administration.[18][19] In November 2012, he was a guest at the Democratic Party convention that elected Đilas as the party's new leader.[20] This alliance ultimately did not last, however, and in September 2013 Krkobabić and the PUPS withdrew their support for Đilas in a crucial vote of non-confidence.[21] Đilas lost his assembly majority and resigned as mayor. These events led to new elections in both Belgrade and Serbia as a whole in early 2014.

Krkobabić was promoted to the second position on the Socialist-led list in the republic election.[22] During the campaign, he said that Serbian politics had become marked by "a split between the left and the right, where the left is working for the people, and the right-wing is lining its pockets." Progressive Party leader Aleksandar Vučić responded to this remark by quipping, "if that's the way to look at it, Krkobabić belongs to the extreme right-wing."[23] The Socialist list again won forty-four mandates, and Krkobabić was elected to a second term. The Progressive Party and its allies won a majority victory overall. Following the election, the Progressives formed a new coalition government that once again included the Socialists. The PUPS did not participate directly in government but provided outside support; notwithstanding his exchange with Vučić during the campaign, Krkobabić supported the latter's administration in the assembly. He also continued to serve as Pošta Srbije director.

Krkobabić also received the second position on the Socialist-led list in the 2014 Belgrade campaign.[24] He was re-elected when the list won sixteen seats, though on this occasion he chose not to serve, resigning his mandate in the city assembly on 28 May 2014.[25][26]

Party leader[]

Jovan Krkobabić died in April 2014, and Milan was formally designated as his successor as PUPS leader in June of the same year.

In July 2014, he indicated that the PUPS would support two contentious bills dealing with labour law and pension and disability insurance; he justified this decision on the basis that the reforms, "[did] not affect the existing pensioners."[27] He also argued in favour of direct payouts to all Pošta Srbije workers in October of the same year, saying that the workers should receive a percentage of the corporation's profits.[28]

Vučić and Krkobabić opened Pošta Srbije's central Belgrade hub on 9 October 2014.[29] The corporation continued to earn net profits through 2015, and Krkobabić again argued in this period against any possibility of its privatization.[30][31][32][33] In October 2015, he noted that Toshiba had expressed interest in pairing with Pošta Srbije for investments in Russia.[34] In early 2016, he and Rasim Ljajić, Serbia's minister of trade, tourism, and telecommunications, signed a collective agreement with Pošta Srbije workers that, among other things, confirmed their right to share of the profits.[35]

In May 2016, he announced that Pošta Srbije would set up a commercial bank.[36]

Government minister[]

The PUPS ended its electoral alliance with the Socialist Party and formed a new partnership with the Progressive Party for the 2016 Serbian parliamentary election. Krkobabić received the fourth position on the Progressive-led list and was re-elected when it won a second consecutive majority with 131 out of 250 mandates.[37] On 11 August 2016, he was appointed as a minister without portfolio in Vučić's administration, in charge of regional development.[38] Following this appointment, he stood down as director of Pošta Srbije.[39] He was subsequently given additional responsibilities as the chair of Serbia's council for coordination of activities and measures for gross domestic product (GDP) growth."[40]

Krkobabić continued to serve as a minister without portfolio with responsibility for regional development after Ana Brnabić replaced Vučić as prime minister of Serbia in June 2017.[41] Shortly after this, he announced a significant investment in agricultural co-operatives as a means of ensuring that younger people could choose to remain in rural settings.[42][43] In January 2018, he announced that the government would allocate 825 million dinars for the co-operatives; in July of the same year, he announced that 250 co-operatives had been created in the project's first year.[44][45] In July 2020, he said that the number had increased to 722.[46]

The PUPS continued its alliance with the Progressive Party in the 2020 Serbian parliamentary election. Krkobabić received the twenty-fourth position on the Progressive-led electoral list and was again elected to the assembly when it won a landslide victory with 188 seats.[47] (Milan's son Stefan Krkobabić was also elected to the assembly as a PUPS member.) Following a cabinet shuffle, he was promoted to a full cabinet portfolio in October 2020 as Serbia's first minister for rural welfare.[48] He indicated that one of his priorities would be organizing the transfer of uncultivated state land to young farmers and young experts.[49] In April 2021, he spoke in favour of creating a "green ring" around Belgrade to supply fresh and healthy food products to Belgrade and other Serbian cities. At the same time, he announced a program for allocating empty houses, of which he indicated there were around 150,000 in Serbia.[50] Later in the year, he announced that a competition for empty rural houses would begin symbolically after June 28, recognized in Serbia as Vidovdan.[51]

References[]

  1. ^ MILAN KRKOBABIĆ, Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 26 July 2018.
  2. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. јануара и 8. фебрауара 2007. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (Партија уједињених пензионера Србије (ПУПС) - Др Јован Кркобабић и Социјалдемократска партија (СДП) - Др Небојша Човић), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 17 February 2017.
  3. ^ Službeni list, City of Belgrade, 30 April 2008, p. 7; and Službeni list, City of Belgrade, 15 July 2008.
  4. ^ "Serbian Radicals, Socialists and PM's party sign deal on Belgrade," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 28 May 2008 (Source: Studio B TV, Belgrade, in Serbian 1100gmt 28 May 08).
  5. ^ Ivana Sekularac, "Next Serbia government to juggle reform, welfare," Reuters News, 24 June 2008.
  6. ^ "Belgrade gets new mayor from pro-Western party," Agence France Presse, 19 August 2008.
  7. ^ "SERBIA-RUSSIA: BELGRADO, STATUA PUSHKIN PER VISITA MEDVEDEV," ANSA - Foreign Affairs News Service, 19 October 2009.
  8. ^ "Serbian Capital To Erect Statue Of Former Azerbaijani President," Radio Free Europe Documents and Publications, 26 March 2011.
  9. ^ "Serbian TV views election campaigns of parties, coalitions," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 19 April 2012 (Source: RTS 1 TV, Belgrade, in Serbian 1730 gmt 17 Apr 12).
  10. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине, 6. мај 2012. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (ИВИЦА ДАЧИЋ - "СОЦИЈАЛИСТИЧКА ПАРТИЈА СРБИЈЕ (СПС), ПАРТИЈА УЈЕДИЊЕНИХ ПЕНЗИОНЕРА СРБИЈЕ (ПУПС), ЈЕДИНСТВЕНА СРБИЈА (ЈС)"), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 17 February 2017.
  11. ^ Službeni list, City of Belgrade, 25 April 2012, p. 13; Službeni list, City of Belgrade, 25 May 2012, p. 3.
  12. ^ "Buyers sought for Telekom and Belgrade airport Nikola Tesla," Emerging Markets Broker Reports Central Eastern Europe, 6 November 2012.
  13. ^ "AERO: Privatization of Belgrade Airport possible next year?", Emerging Markets Broker Reports Central Eastern Europe, 6 November 2012.
  14. ^ "Serbian postal carrier eyes regional peers for acquisition – media," SeeNews - The Corporate Wire, 8 February 2013. See also "Serbia: Poste Srbije's Director reveals expansion plans," Esmerk Eastern European News, 16 October 2014, and "Serbia: Posta Srbije on potential cooperation with several foreign firms," Esmerk Eastern European News, 19 March 2015.
  15. ^ "Sinteza - Daily Overview, Top Business Stories, Feb 11, 2013," Emerging Markets Broker Reports Central Eastern Europe, 11 February 2013.
  16. ^ "Posta Srbije plans to invest over 4.0 bln dinars (36 mln euro) in 2013 - media," SeeNews - The Corporate Wire, 31 December 2012.
  17. ^ "Sinteza - Daily Overview, Top Business Stories, Jul 18, 2013," Emerging Markets Broker Reports Central Eastern Europe, 18 July 2013. He made a similar announcement in a report on the first nine months of the year in October 2013. See "Posta Srbije earns 21.6 mln euro in 9-mo net profit," Emerging Markets Broker Reports Central Eastern Europe, 10 October 2013.
  18. ^ "Serbian Progressives seen 'tightening grip' on Belgrade mayor," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 12 November 2012 (Source: Vecernje novosti website, Belgrade, in Serbian 8 Nov 12).
  19. ^ "Serbian parties plan strategies to win capital mayoral vote - paper," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 24 September 2013 (Source: Blic website, Belgrade, in Serbian 0000 gmt 22 Sep 13).
  20. ^ "New leader vows to reform opposition party, draft plan for Serbia's recovery," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 26 November 2012 (Source: Radio B92 text website, Belgrade, in English 26 Nov 12).
  21. ^ "Mayor blames 'political deal' for his sacking" Archived 2018-07-28 at the Wayback Machine, B92, 24 September 2013, accessed 27 July 2018.
  22. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 16. и 23. марта 2014. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (ИВИЦА ДАЧИЋ - "Социјалистичка партија Србије (СПС), Партија уједињених пензионера Србије (ПУПС), Јединствена Србија (ЈС)"), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 21 August 2021.
  23. ^ "Serbian ruling party leader says 16 March election 'dead-heat race'," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 13 March 2014 (Source: Radio B92 text website, Belgrade, in English 13 Mar 14).
  24. ^ Изборне листе (2. ИВИЦА ДАЧИЋ – Социјалистичка партија Србије (СПС), Партија уједињених пензионера Србије (ПУПС), Јединствена Србија (ЈС) – Милан Кркобабић) Archived 2018-07-28 at the Wayback Machine (2014), City of Belgrade, accessed 27 July 2018.
  25. ^ Bojan Cvejić, "Đilas i Krkobabić idu iz Skupštine grada" Archived 2018-07-28 at the Wayback Machine, Danas, 15 May 2014, accessed 27 July 2018.
  26. ^ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 58 Number 44 (28 May 2014), p. 1.
  27. ^ "Two main union associations announce members' all-out strike, as parliament starts debating bills on changes to labor, pension insurance law," Emerging Markets Broker Reports Central Eastern Europe, 16 July 2014.
  28. ^ "Serbia: Posta Srbije requests payouts of RSD 35,000 per worker," Esmerk Eastern European News, 1 October 2014.
  29. ^ "Serbia: New regional postal and logistics centre Belgrade opens," Esmerk Eastern European News, 9 October 2014.
  30. ^ "Serbia: Poste Srbije's Director says company to be excluded from privatisation," Esmerk Eastern European News, 11 November 2014.
  31. ^ "Serbia: Posta Srbije posts results for Q1 of 2015," Esmerk Eastern European News, 1 May 2015.
  32. ^ "Serbia: Posta Srbije posts higher profit in first five months of 2015," Esmerk Eastern European News, 30 June 2015.
  33. ^ "Posta Srbije sees 2015 net profit at over 30 mln euro," SeeNews - The Corporate Wire, 8 December 2015.
  34. ^ "Serbia: Toshiba shows interest for cooperation with National Post," Esmerk Russian News, 9 October 2015.
  35. ^ "Serbia: Collective Bargaining signed in Poste Srbije," Esmerk Eastern European News, 9 March 2016.
  36. ^ "Serbia's state-owned postal operator plans to set up bank," SeeNews - The Corporate Wire, 5 May 2016.
  37. ^ Избори за народне посланике 2016. године » Изборне листе (АЛЕКСАНДАР ВУЧИЋ - СРБИЈА ПОБЕЂУЈЕ), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 17 February 2017.
  38. ^ Nemanja Cabric, "Backgrounder: Makeup of Serbia's new cabinet," Xinhua News Agency, 11 August 2016.
  39. ^ "Serbia: Posta Srbije dismissed Director," Esmerk Eastern European News, 18 August 2016.
  40. ^ "Council for Coordination of Activities and Measures for GDP Growth founded," Emerging Markets Broker Reports Central Eastern Europe, 16 January 2017.
  41. ^ Nemanja Cabric, "Backgrounder: Makeup of Serbia's new cabinet," Xinhua News Agency, 29 June 2017.
  42. ^ "Serbia: Gov't secures EUR 25mn for new co-operatives," Esmerk Eastern European News, 5 July 2017. See also "Krkobabić: Zadruge - imperativ opstanka sela u regionu", Blic (Source: Tanjug), 23 November 2017, accessed 7 July 2020.
  43. ^ "il caso; Aiuti alle giovani coppie per trasferirsi nei campi," Il Piccolo, 2 August 2017.
  44. ^ "Vlada će ove godine izdvojiti 825 miliona dinara za zadruge", Blic (Source: Tanjug), 24 January 2018, accessed 7 July 2020.
  45. ^ "Krkobabić: Formirano 250 zadruga za godinu dana", Blic (Source: Tanjug), 4 July 2018, accessed 7 July 2020.
  46. ^ "Krkobabić: Dok je zadruga i zadrugara Srbija ne treba da brine", Danas, 3 July 2020, accessed 7 July 2020.
  47. ^ "Ko je sve na listi SNS za republičke poslanike?", Danas, 6 March 2020, accessed 30 June 2020.
  48. ^ Milan Krkobabic – Minister of Rural Welfare, The Government of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 8 December 2020.
  49. ^ "Milan Krkobabić u Intervjuu petkom: 'Zadatak nam je da mladi iz sela ne idu na čuku da hvataju signal za internet'", Danas, 30 October 2020, accessed 8 December 2020.
  50. ^ "Krkobabić: Zalažem se za jak zeleni prsten oko Beograda", Danas, 7 April 2021, accessed 29 April 2021.
  51. ^ "Krkobabić: Konkurs za dodelu praznih seoskih kuća simbolično na Vidovdan, 28. juna", Danas, 22 June 2021, accessed 27 June 2021.
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