Tomislav Nikolić
Tomislav Nikolić | |
|---|---|
| File:TomaNikolic.jpg | |
| Speaker of Parliament of Serbia | |
| In office May 8, 2007 – May 13, 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Predrag Markovic |
| Succeeded by | Oliver Dulić |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 15, 1952 Kragujevac, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia |
| Nationality | Serb |
| Political party | Serbian Radical Party |
| Spouse | Dragica Nikolić |
| Children | Radomir, Branislav |
| Residence(s) | Belgrade, Serbia |
| Profession | Construction Technician |
Tomislav Nikolić (Serbian: Томислав Николић, ) (born February 15 1952) is the deputy leader of the Serbian Radical Party. He is temporarily serving as the leader of the SRS because Vojislav Šešelj, the current leader, is on trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. He served as Speaker of the National Assembly of Serbia between May 8, and May 13, 2007 and was Minister in the coalition government of Slobodan Milošević from 1998 to 2000.
Nikolić has published thirteen books as of 2005, mostly about politics. He and his wife Dragica (née Ninković) have two sons, Radomir and Branislav. [1]
Biography
Nikolić was born in Kragujevac. He trained as a construction technician, finishing in his home town as an average student in the elementary school and the Technical High School. After dropping out of the Faculty of Law of the city's University he got a job and worked at the construction company "Žegrap". He led the construction of the Belgrade - Bar railway, as well as conducting other works in Majdanpek, Priboj, Prijepolje, Trebinje, Belgrade and elsewhere in the former Yugoslavia. He headed the investments department of the company "22. decembar" for twelve years. For two years he was the technical director of the communal works in Kragujevac.
Politics
In the 1990s, he became a member of the People's Radical Party, which merged with the Serbian Chetnik Movement to form the Serbian Radical Party. Nikolić became a member of the new party on January 23 1991. He was soon elected the party's vice-president, and at the last three Congresses of Serbian Radicals he was elected deputy president.
Nikolić has been a deputy in the National Assembly of Serbia since 1991, the only one to be elected continuously since that year. During the rule of Slobodan Milošević and the Socialist Party of Serbia, he and Šešelj were sentenced to three months in prison which he served in Gnjilane.
However, in March 1998 Nikolić's Serbian Radical Party formed a coalition with the Socialist Party of Serbia and Nikolić became the vice-president of the Government of Serbia and, by the end of 1999, the vice-president of the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Parliamentarians elected Nikolić the Speaker of Parliament on May 8, 2007. Nikolić defeated Milena Milošević of the Democratic Party by 142 to 99 votes out of 244 members of Parliament. The Democratic Party of Serbia endorsed him.[2] Hajredin Kuci of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Ylli Hoxha of the Reformist Party ORA, and Prime Minister of Kosovo Agim Çeku condemned the election of Nikolić as "counterproductive and dangerous for Kosovo".[3] On May 9 Nikolić met with Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Alekseyev and gave a speech to Parliament in which he advocated making Serbia part of a Belarus-Russia superstate, saying that together they would "stand up against the hegemony of America and the European Union."[4]
He resigned from his position as speaker on May 13 after the Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Serbia formed a preliminary alliance in preparation for a coalition government. He was the Speaker with the shortest mandate in the history of parliamentary democracy in the Balkans.[2][5] Nikolić told the Democratic parties that if they "peacefully accept" the independence of Kosovo the Radical Party "will not sit calmly and wait."[5]
Political statements
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Nikolić has a significant following in Serbia, but has many critics, who regard him as a member of the far right, incapable of any compromise either with the West or with centrist parties. He is well known for his robustness, sometimes extending to open insult and swearing at political opponents, including from the dispatch box in parliament. On one occasion, when Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić was having to use a walking stick due to an injury he sustained to his leg while playing football, Nikolić warned during a speech to his supporters that Tito, the communist leader of Yugoslavia, also had a problem with his leg shortly before his death. This statement achieved retrospective significance due to the assassination of Đinđić a few days later. To many that speech was more than just a coincidence. Nikolić said that he was profoundly sorry and that he would not have spoken as he did if he had known what was about to happen. However, he refused to withdraw his statement that he was not sorry about the death of Slavko Ćuruvija, an opposition journalist shot by an unknown gunman during the Milošević regime.
Presidential campaign, 2000
Nikolić ran in the FR Yugoslavia presidential election of 2000, finishing in third place behind Vojislav Koštunica and Slobodan Milošević.
Presidential campaign, 2003
Nikolić also ran in the 2004 Serbian presidential election where he achieved most votes in the first round with 46,23%, ahead of Dragoljub Mićunović, but the results of the election were invalid due to a turnout of only 38,80%.
Presidential campaign, 2004
Nikolić made yet another bid for presidency in the Serbian presidential elections, 2004. In the first round, he received 30.1% of the vote and Boris Tadić received 27.3%. In the second round held on June 27, Nikolić lost to Tadić having only secured 45.4% of the vote, while Tadić obtained 53.7%.
Presidential campaign, 2008
Tomislav Nikolić ran again for presidency in the 2008 presidential election. His slogan was With All Heart (Serbian: Свим срцем, Svim srcem). On January 20, 2008, Nikolić again won the first round with 39.99% of the vote. Nikolić and incumbent Boris Tadić, who got 35.39% of the vote, then faced each other in a runoff election on February 3. Nikolić lost to Tadić receiving 2,197,155 or 47.97% of votes.[6]
War crimes suspicions
In 2005, the Humanitarian Law Center asked the War Crimes Prosecution Office to investigate a massacre committed in the village of Antin in Eastern Slavonia, Croatia in August 1991. Survivors claimed that it was committed by the members of volunteer units “Šešelj’s followers”, among whom Tomislav Nikolić was mentioned. The inspiration for initiating such a claim were previous statements of Nikolić regarding his involvement in the Yugoslav wars. He was awarded a title of chetnik voivode by Vojislav Šešelj for “showing by a personal example how one should fight for the Serb ideal in the battles in Slavonia”.[7]
The suspicion that Nikolić had taken part in the killing of civilians in Antin was first raised by Žarko Korać, a member of the National Assembly of Serbia, who first revealed information about the Antin massacre in an interview to RFE in June 2005. In the same month, Vladimir Popović, former chief of the Government Communications Bureau, revealed more details in the interview to B92 Insajder saying that he had learned about these allegations from Jovica Stanišić, former head of State Security. [8] Nataša Kandić, human rights activist, wrote in a public letter that she was in possession of evidence that indicates Nikolić had personally participated in the killing of elderly residents of Antin.[9]
Nikolić did not deny claims that he was stationed in Antin at the time, but has stated that there were no civilian deaths in Antin and that he himself never fired a bullet. [10]
References
- ^ Ko je ovaj čovek? Tomislav Nikolić Glas Javnosti
- ^ a b Nikolic elected as Serbian parliament speaker People's Daily Online
- ^ Kosovo Condemns Nikolic Appointment Balkan Investigative Reporting Network
- ^ Serbian Parliament Speaker Calls For Closer Russia Ties Radio Free Europe
- ^ a b Serb radical quits as speaker Al Jazeera
- ^ BBC: Serbia election victory for Tadic, Sunday, 3 February 2008.
- ^ The Humanitarian Law Center demands investigation of the war crimes in Antin Greek Helsinki Monitor
- ^ Jovica Stanisic: Tomislav Nikolic je pobio desetak baba B92
- ^ Proofs of the Crimes in Antin in 1991 and of the responsibility of Tomislav Nikolić and the Yugoslav National Army Greek Helsinki Monitor
- ^ Intervju: Tomislav Nikolić 15.6.2005. Kurir
