Lazar Krstić

Lazar Krstić in June 2014

Lazar Krstić (* 1984 in Niš ) is a Serbian mathematician and economic and financial advisor. He was the country's finance minister from September 2, 2013 to July 12, 2014.

Life

Krstić grew up as an only child in simple circumstances and attended the "Bora Stanković" high school in his hometown . At a young age he was considered extraordinarily talented in mathematics and won numerous regional and national competitions. In 2000 he was accepted into Mensa , the association for gifted students. In 2001 he took part in the US Federal Government- funded Serbian Youth Leadership Program and moved to the United States to become familiar with the local education system. He lived in Ohio and Washington, DC for two years before studying mathematics, economics, politics and ethics at Yale University in 2003 as part of a gifted program . During this time he joined the Phi Beta Kappa academic community and again won prizes in mathematics and research on economic change in Central and Eastern Europe. In 2007 he graduated magna cum laude as the best of his year .

He then began his professional career at the management and strategy consultancy McKinsey & Company . One of his first assignments - still as an intern with a small team - was advising the Serbian government in the wake of the financial crisis that was just beginning at the time . However, his proposals were not followed up. Later, Krstić continued to work for his employer mainly in Europe, where he advised oil companies and banks, among other things. During this time he lived in a shared apartment in New York City . According to his own statement, he had originally planned to do his PhD after a few years at McKinsey in the USA and possibly pursue an academic career in the fields of theoretical mathematics or politics.

However, in the summer of 2013 he received a call from Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić , who asked him about ideas for solving the Serbian financial crisis. At the end of the conversation, he asked Krstić if he dared to take over the post of finance minister. After a short period of reflection and consultation with friends and family, he agreed on August 26th. On September 2, 2013, he was sworn in as the successor to Mlađan Dinkic - whose party had been excluded from the government coalition after disputes - in the cabinet of Prime Minister Ivica Dačić . After the extensive budget savings he had worked out to stimulate the economy were not passed by parliament, he announced his resignation on July 12, 2014 at a press conference.

In addition to Serbian, Krstić also speaks English, French and German.

Web links

• Serbian government website about Krstic

Individual evidence

1. ↑ by Daniels, Justus: Vom Mecki zum Minister . On October 13, 2013 from zeit.de ( Die Zeit ), accessed on December 7, 2013.