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Andrija Mandić

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Andrija Mandić
Андрија Мандић
Mandić in 2023
President of the Parliament of Montenegro
Incumbent
Assumed office
30 October 2023
Preceded byDanijela Đurović
Member of the Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office
24 April 2022
In office
22 April 2001 – 30 August 2020
Deputy Minister of Economy of FR Yugoslavia
In office
1999–2000
MinisterMilan Beko
Personal details
Born (1965-01-19) 19 January 1965 (age 59)
Šavnik, SR Montenegro, SFR Yugoslavia
NationalityMontenegrin
Serbian[1]
Political partyNSD (from 2009)
Other political
affiliations		SNS (1997–2009)
NS (1990–1997)
Alma materUniversity of Montenegro
ProfessionPolitician
Military service
Allegiance FR Yugoslavia
Branch/service Yugoslav Army
Years of service1998 – 1999
Unit5th Motorized Brigade
Battles/warsKosovo War

Andrija Mandić (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Андрија Мандић; born 19 January 1965) is a Montenegrin politician serving as the president of the Parliament of Montenegro since 30 October 2023 and eight-term member of the Parliament. He is the president of the right-wing New Serb Democracy (NSD / NOVA). He was the head of the Democratic Front parliamentary club in the parliament until 2020.[2]

Early life

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Andrija Mandic was born in 1965 in Šavnik, Socialist Republic of Montenegro, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He graduated at the Metallurgic-Technical Faculty at the Veljko Vlahović University in Podgorica.

Political career

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Andrija Mandić started his political career by joining the People's Party (NS), which claimed restoration of the old People's Party, the very first party in the old Montenegrin monarchy. In 1997, he became one of the founders of the Serb People's Party of Montenegro (SNS), when numerous members of the People's Party of Montenegro defected from the political party, disagreeing with the party's Novak Kilibarda leadership's decision to form a coalition with the ruling Milo Đukanović's Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro. SNS considered that NS abandoned the national original aims of the party.[citation needed]

Mandić fought in the Yugoslav Army's 5th Motorized Brigade during the Kosovo War.[3]

From 1999 to 2000, Mandić was the deputy minister of economy of FR Yugoslavia.[4]

During the 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, Mandić called for minorities to be banned from voting. After the referendum ended in favor of independence, at first he refused to accept the referendum and declared that Albanians should never have been allowed to vote.[5]

In 2008, Mandić became the first president of the Serb List transformed into party - New Serb Democracy (NOVA).[6] Mandić sought to transform the Serb List coalition into a more civic-oriented party, in order to boost the party's coalition potential, and even the dropping of the "Serb" prefix from the newly formed party's name was considered. This idea was met with strong resistance during the merger talks.[citation needed] In 2009 parliamentary election NOVA ran independently and won 9,2% of the votes, and 8 seats.[7] In the next parliamentary election held in 2012, the party ran within the Democratic Front coalition[8] which was second ranked electoral list with 22,8% of the votes and 20 seats, out of which NOVA won 8.[citation needed] Mandić led the Democratic Front coalition during the parliamentary election held in 2016, which was again second ranked electoral list with 20,32% of the votes and 18 seats, out of which NOVA again won 8.[citation needed]

Democratic Front MPs physically halted the process of adopting of the controversial "Law on Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Legal Status of Religious Communities" in the Montenegrin Parliament. Mandić and all other MPs were subsequently arrested,[9] without their MP immunity being revoked. Mandić decided to be the last person on the electoral list For the Future of Montenegro in order to more easily bridge the gap between the various ethnic Serb and pro-Serb political parties in Montenegro. In the 2020 parliamentary election the list went on to win 32.55% of the votes and 27 seats, out of which 21 went to the Democratic Front alliance and 9 of those went to NOVA.

Mandić has been declared as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Front coalition for the 2023 Montenegrin presidential election.[10][11] He ranked third with 19.32% of the vote.[12] After the 2023 parliamentary election, Mandić was elected the Speaker of the parliament.[13]

Involvement in alleged coup d'état

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Main article: 2016 Montenegrin coup allegations

On 15 February 2017, Mandić was stripped of his parliamentary immunity in connection with an ongoing criminal prosecution against him.[14] On 8 June 2017, the High Court in Podgorica confirmed the indictment of Mandić, along with thirteen other persons, including two Russian nationals and Milan Knežević, on charges that included "preparing a conspiracy against the constitutional order and the security of Montenegro" and an "attempted terrorist act."[15] In February 2021, the Montenegrin appellate court overturned the first-instance verdict against Mandić and the other defendants, and ordered a retrial.[16] In July 2024, the High Court in Podgorica acquitted Mandić along with all other persons charged with organizing and preparing the alleged 2016 coup d'état.[17]

Persona non grata declaration

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On 25 July 2024, Mandić, along with deputy prime minister Aleksa Bečić and MP Milan Knežević were declared persona non grata by Croatia following the passage of a resolution in the Parliament of Montenegro recognising a genocide in the Jasenovac concentration camp committed by the pro-Axis Independent State of Croatia during World War II.[18]

Honours

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Orders

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Award or decoration Country / Entity Date Place
Order of the Serbian Flag[19]  Serbia 29 June 2021 Belgrade
Order of the White Angel[20] Serbian Orthodox Church 10 May 2022 Pljevlja
Order of Honor[21]  Srpska 30 May 2023 Banja Luka

References

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  1. ^ "Andrija Mandić: Nikad se neću odreći srpskog državljanstva". Vijesti. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  2. ^ Andrija Mandić biography Skupština Crne Gore
  3. ^ "Pogledajte: Andrija Mandić i Danilo Leković u vojnim uniformama (FOTO)". NOVOSTI (in Serbian). Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  4. ^ "Mandić i od MUP-a krije od kad je državljanin Srbije". vijesti.me (in Montenegrin). Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  5. ^ Heffner, Krystian; Sobczyński, Marek (2007). Regions in the Process of European Integration: Multicultural regions and cities in the context of European integration. University of Łódź. p. 120. ISBN 8371262310.
  6. ^ U Crnoj Gori osnovana nova politička partija Southeast European Times
  7. ^ "Izbori 2009". Archived from the original on 2012-08-01. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  8. ^ U Podgorici formiran Demokratski front Al Jazeera
  9. ^ "Montenegro: Police arrest 18 MPs after parliament clash". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 2022-04-02.
  10. ^ "Vučurović: Mandić će biti kandidat na predsjedničkim izborima". vijesti.me (in Montenegrin). Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  11. ^ "ДФ предао председничку кандидатуру Андрије Мандића". Politika Online. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  12. ^ Final results of the election
  13. ^ "Andrija Mandić izabran za predsednika Skupštine Crne Gore: Moramo biti ujedinjeni". N1. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  14. ^ Skupština ukinula imunitet Mandiću i Kneževiću Vijesti.me, 15 February 2017.
  15. ^ Montenegrin Court Confirms Charges Against Alleged Coup Plotters Radio Liberty, 8 June 2017.
  16. ^ Ukinuta presuda za 'državni udar' u Crnoj Gori, DPS tvrdi rezultat pritiska na sud, Slobodna Evropa, 5 February 2021
  17. ^ Oslobađajuća presuda za sve optužene u slučaju "državni udar", RTCG, 12 July 2024
  18. ^ "Croatia declares 3 Montenegrin officials persona non grata over WWII camp genocide statement". Associated Press. 25 July 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  19. ^ "Vučić odlikovao i Sijarta, Mandića, umetnike preminule od korone..." N1 (in Serbian). 2021-06-29. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  20. ^ "ORDEN BELOG ANĐELA ANDRIJI MANDIĆU". Borba (in Serbian). 2022-05-11. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  21. ^ Kremenović, Mladen. "Dodik odlikovao Andriju Mandića". Politika Online. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
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