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Nataša Vučković
Наташа Вучковић
Nataša Vučković in 2009.
President of the European Association for Local Democracy
Incumbent
Assumed office
13 May 2024
Preceded byOriano Otočan
Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia
In office
14 February 2007 – 3 August 2020
Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
In office
4 April 2011 – 9 October 2016
Substitute Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
In office
25 June 2007 – 4 April 2011
Member of the City Assembly of Belgrade
In office
26 November 2004 – 14 July 2008
Personal details
Born (1967-01-11) 11 January 1967 (age 57)
Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Political partyDS (1990–96, 2004–20)
DC (1996–2004)
Alma materUniversity of Belgrade
ProfessionLawyer

Nataša Vučković (Serbian Cyrillic: Наташа Вучковић; born 11 January 1967) is a Serbian politician. She has led Serbia's Center for Democracy Foundation since 1994 and was a Democratic Party (DS) member of the Serbian parliament from 2007 to 2020. She left the DS in September 2020 and is no longer active with any political party.

She has been the president of the European Association for Local Democracy (ALDA) since May 2024.

Early life, family, and private career

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Vučković was born in Zagreb, in what was then the Socialist Republic of Croatia in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. She graduated from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law in 1990 and began practicing law in 1994. She is also a graduate of the European University Centre (2006) with a focus on European Union law.

Vučković was a founder of Serbia's Center for Democracy Foundation in 1994 and has been its secretary-general since that time.[1] In April 2012, she represented the organization in supporting the Dignity at Work for Everyone project, pledging to fight for new jobs in Serbia while adhering to the European Union's standards on the rights of workers.[2] She lives in Belgrade.[3]

Her father, Slobodan Vučković, was a prominent member of Serbia's opposition in the 1990s and also served in the national assembly.[4]

Politician

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Early years (1990–2007)

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Vučković joined the DS on its formation in 1990. From 1991 to 1994, she was the DS's secretary of the party presidency and secretary for international cooperation. After a party split in 1996, she joined the breakaway Democratic Centre (DC) under the leadership of Dragoljub Mićunović.

In 2000, the DC joined the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS), a broad and ideologically diverse coalition of parties opposed to the authoritarian rule of Slobodan Milošević. The DOS won the 2000 Yugoslavian general election (which resulted in Milošević's fall from power) and the subsequent 2000 Serbian parliamentary election, and the DC participated afterward in government at both the federal and republic levels. In 2001, Vučković became an advisor on international cooperation to the speaker of the assembly of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. She continued in this role after Yugoslavia was reconstituted as the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in early 2003, although her term ended later in the same year.

The Democratic Centre had effected a partial reconciliation with the DS by 2003 and contested that year's parliamentary election on the DS's electoral list. Vučković was given the 189th list position; the DS and its allies won thirty-seven mandates, and she was not included in her party's assembly delegation.[5][6] (From 2000 to 2011, mandates in Serbian parliamentary elections were awarded to sponsoring parties or coalitions rather than individual candidates, and it was common practice for the mandates to be distributed out of numerical order. Vučković could have been assigned a seat despite her low position on the list, though ultimately she was not.)[7]

The Democratic Centre merged back into the DS in 2004, and Vučković became a member of the DS's executive board in the same year.[8]

Parliamentarian (2007–20)

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Government supporter (2007–12)

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Vučković received the fifty-first position on the DS's electoral list in the 2007 Serbian parliamentary election. The list won sixty-four seats, and on this occasion she was awarded a mandate.[9][10] The DS formed an unstable coalition government after the election with the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and G17 Plus, and Vučković served as a supporter of the administration. During her first parliamentary term, she was a member of the committee on foreign affairs, the committee on development and international economic relations, and the committee on European integration.[11]

The DS–DSS coalition fell apart in early 2008, and another parliamentary election was called for May of that year. Vučković was given the thirty-second position on the DS's For a European Serbia (ZES) coalition list and was awarded a mandate for a second term when the list won 102 out of 250 seats.[12][13] The overall results of the election were inconclusive, but For a European Serbia eventually formed a new coalition government with the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), and Vučković continued to serve with the government's parliamentary majority. In her second term, she was a member of the foreign affairs committee, the European integration committee, and the administrative committee, and a deputy member of the education committee, the committee on constitutional affairs, and the committee on defence and security.[14]

Vučković chaired Serbia's parliamentary friendship group with France in this sitting of the assembly and oversaw a meeting of French and Serbian parliamentarians in Belgrade in April 2010. She remarked that the visit was an opportunity for Serbian parliamentarians to review their country's priorities, one of the most important of which was joining the European Union.[15] She was also a member of Serbia's delegation to the parliamentary assembly of the Francophonie in this period and was a member of the friendship groups with the Netherlands and Spain.[16]

Opposition member (2012–20)

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Serbia's electoral system was reformed in 2011, such that all parliamentary mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order.[17] Vučković received the twenty-seventh position on the DS's Choice for a Better Life list in the 2012 parliamentary election and was re-elected when the list won sixty-seven seats.[18] The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and the Socialist Party formed a new coalition government after the election, and the DS moved into opposition. Vučković chaired the European integration committee in the sitting of the assembly that followed.[19] She continued to serve on the foreign affairs committee and was a member of the friendship groups with France, Germany, and the United States of America.[20]

After the 2012 election, the DS became divided between supporters of former Serbian president Boris Tadić and Dragan Đilas, who succeeded Tadić as party leader in November 2012. Vučković supported Tadić, and in a bid to ensure party unity she was elected as a vice-president at the conference that chose Đilas as leader.[21][22] Vučković later supported Dragan Šutanovac's bid for the DS leadership in Belgrade; the rival candidate Balša Božović was chosen instead for the position amid deepening acrimony between the two camps.[23] In early 2014, Tadić left the DS to create a breakaway group called the New Democratic Party (NDS), which was later renamed as the Social Democratic Party (SDS). Vučković chose to remain in the DS.

Vučković was promoted to the third position on the DS's list in the 2014 parliamentary election and was re-elected as the list fell to nineteen seats.[24] Bojan Pajtić replaced Đilas as party leader later in the year, and Vučković was again chosen as a party vice-president.[25] During her fourth assembly term, she was a member of the administrative committee[a] and the committee on European integration, a deputy member of the committee on constitutional affairs and legislation, the leader of Serbia's delegation to the assembly of the Francophonie, the leader of Serbia's friendship group with France, and a member of the friendship groups with Italy, Norway, and the United States.[26]

She again received the third position on the DS's list in the 2016 parliamentary election and was elected to a fifth term when the list won sixteen mandates.[27] She considered running for the DS leadership when Pajtić resigned after the election, but ultimately she did not do so.[28] In September 2016, she was narrowly defeated in her bid for re-election as a party vice-president.[29] Vučković was an early supporter of Saša Janković in the 2017 Serbian presidential election; Janković was ultimately endorsed by the DS and finished a distant second against SNS candidate Aleksandar Vučić.[30]

In the 2016–20 parliament, Vučković was a member of the foreign affairs committee and the European integration committee; a deputy member of the judiciary committee,[b] the labour committee,[c] and the committee on constitutional and legislature issues; a member of Serbia's delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean; once again the leader of Serbia's friendship group with France; and a member of the friendship groups with Croatia, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[31]

Opposition to election boycott and departure from the DS (2019–20)

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Several opposition parties, including the Democratic Party, began boycotting of the national assembly in early 2019, against the backdrop of significant protests against Serbia's SNS-led government. The DS later joined an opposition boycott of the 2020 Serbian parliamentary election.

Some DS politicians who opposed the boycott (most notably Gordana Čomić) left the party to contest the election on the list of the United Democratic Serbia (UDS) alliance. Vučković remained with the DS but publicly disagreed with the boycott and expressed support for Serbia 21, one of the main UDS parties.[32] After the election, she reiterated her view that the boycott had been a mistake and expressed concerns about the DS's overall ideological direction, particularly in its willingness to co-operate with radical right-wing opposition parties such as Dveri.[33]

The DS expelled several high-profile members, including Vučković, in September 2020.[34] In April 2021, Vučković said that the party's decline was a co-ordinated process that had been taking place over a period of decades.[35]

Council of Europe (2007–16)

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Vučković was a part of Serbia's delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) from 2007 to 2016. She was first appointed as a substitute delegate in 25 June 2007 and was promoted to full delegate status on 11 April 2011. In the PACE, she served in caucus with the Socialist Group.

Vučković held several prominent roles in the PACE, including vice-president of the assembly (2012–13), chair of the committee on rules of procedure, immunities, and institutional affairs (2013–15), and vice-chair of the committee on the election of judges to the European Court of Human Rights (2015–16). For her entire term in the PACE, she was a full member of the committee on legal affairs and human rights. She also served terms as vice-chair (2007–11) and first vice-chair (2012–16) of the Socialist Group.[36]

In 2013, she submitted a report (adopted by the PACE) to deprive Ukrainian politician Serhiy Vlasenko of his mandate and recognize Andriy Shevchenko in his place.[37] In April of the following year, she announced the PACE's plans to monitor the upcoming presidential election in Ukraine, noting that it was important for delegates to visit as many regions of the country as possible.[38]

In June 2015, Vučković was chosen as a special PACE rapporteur to Turkey, in which capacity she co-authored a report that was strongly critical of the functioning of democratic institutions in that country.[39][40]

Local politics (2004–20)

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Vučković has been an elected representative at the city and municipal levels in Belgrade. She received the seventeenth position on the DS list for the Belgrade city assembly in the 2004 Serbian local elections and was awarded a mandate when the list won a plurality victory with thirty-four out of ninety seats.[41][42][43][44] Toward the end of her term in the city assembly, she took part in Serbia's delegation to the Chamber of Regions in the Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.[45]

Vučković did not seek re-election at the city level in the 2008 local elections but instead appeared in the seventh position on the DS's list for the municipal assembly of Savski Venac, one of Belgrade's seventeen constituent municipalities. The list won a plurality victory, and she was awarded a mandate.[46][47][48][49] She was re-elected in 2012 and 2016.[50][51][52][53]

She ran for re-election to the city assembly in the 2018 Belgrade city election, appearing in the twelfth position on a combined list of the Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party.[54] The list did not cross the electoral threshold to win assembly representation. Vučković did not seek re-election in Savski Venac in 2020.

Since 2020

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Vučković joined the governing board of the European Association for Local Democracy in 2020. She was elected as its vice-president in June 2023 and was chosen for a four-year term as president at a conference and festival held in Barcelona in May 2024.[55][56]

Notes

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  1. ^ Formally known as the Committee on Administrative, Budgetary, Mandate, and Immunity Issues.
  2. ^ Formally known as the Committee on the Judiciary, Public Administration, and Local Self-Government.
  3. ^ Formally known as the Committee on Labour, Social Issues, Social Inclusion, and Poverty Reduction.

References

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  1. ^ NATAŠA VUČKOVIĆ, Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 17 July 2018.
  2. ^ "Sinteza - Daily Overview, Top Business Stories, Apr 4, 2012," Emerging Markets Broker Reports Central Eastern Europe, 5 April 2012.
  3. ^ NATASA VUCKOVIC, National Assembly of Serbia, accessed 17 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Deca nasledila očeve u poslaničkim klupama", Politika, 6 January 2012, accessed 18 June 2022.
  5. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 28. децембра 2003. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (5. ДЕМОКРАТСКА СТРАНКА - БОРИС ТАДИЋ), Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.
  6. ^ "Podrška neoročenoj vladi", Archived 2022-06-25 at the Wayback Machine, Glas javnosti, 15 January 2004, accessed 13 March 2024.
  7. ^ Serbia's Law on the Election of Representatives (2000) stipulated that parliamentary mandates would be awarded to electoral lists (Article 80) that crossed the electoral threshold (Article 81), that mandates would be given to candidates appearing on the relevant lists (Article 83), and that the submitters of the lists were responsible for selecting their parliamentary delegations within ten days of the final results being published (Article 84). See Law on the Election of Representatives, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 35/2000, made available via LegislationOnline, Archived 2021-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 7 April 2024.
  8. ^ NATAŠA VUČKOVIĆ, Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 17 July 2018.
  9. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. јануара и 8. фебрауара 2007. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 Демократска странка - Борис Тадић), Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.
  10. ^ 14 February 2007 legislature, National Assembly of Serbia, accessed 17 July 2018.
  11. ^ ДЕТАЉИ О НАРОДНОМ ПОСЛАНИКУ: ВУЧКОВИЋ, НАТАША], Archived 2008-02-05 at the Wayback Machine, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 20 May 2022.
  12. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 11. маја 2008. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 ЗА ЕВРОПСКУ СРБИЈУ - БОРИС ТАДИЋ), Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.
  13. ^ R. Ognjanović, "U klupama novi poslanici", Novosti, 10 June 2008, accessed 29 June 2022.
  14. ^ НАТАША ВУЧКОВИЋ, Archived 31 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 20 May 2022.
  15. ^ "Serbian, French MPs discuss EU accession, Kosovo, ICTY, bilateral ties," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 12 April 2010 (Source: FoNet news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 1717gmt 12 Apr 10).
  16. ^ НАТАША ВУЧКОВИЋ, Archived 31 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 20 May 2022.
  17. ^ Law on the Election of Members of the Parliament (2000, as amended 2011) (Articles 88 & 92) made available via LegislationOnline, Archived 2021-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 6 June 2021.
  18. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине, 6. мај 2012. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 ИЗБОР ЗА БОЉИ ЖИВОТ- БОРИС ТАДИЋ), Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.
  19. ^ "Poll shows support for Serbia's membership of EU," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 1 September 2013 (Source: Politika website, Belgrade, in Serbian 26 Aug 13).
  20. ^ НАТАША ВУЧКОВИЋ, Archived 27 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 20 May 2022.
  21. ^ "Serbian ex-president said to step down as Democratic Party leader," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 28 October 2012 (Source: Vecernje novosti website, Belgrade, in Serbian 25 Oct 12).
  22. ^ "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).
  23. ^ "Serbian paper views 'deep rift' in Democratic Party over Belgrade branch," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 2 June 2013 (Source: Vecernje novosti website, Belgrade, in Serbian 29 May 13).
  24. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 16. и 23. марта 2014. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (8 СА ДЕМОКРАТСКОМ СТРАНКОМ ЗА ДЕМОКРАТСКУ СРБИЈУ), Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.
  25. ^ "Serbian opposition party gets new leader," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 2 June 2014 (Source: Radio B92 text website, Belgrade, in English 0000 gmt 2 Jun 14).
  26. ^ НАТАША ВУЧКОВИЋ, Archived 2 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 20 May 2022.
  27. ^ Избори за народне посланике 2016. године – Изборне листе (2 ЗА ПРАВЕДНУ СРБИЈУ – ДЕМОКРАТСКА СТРАНКА (НОВА, ДСХВ, ЗЗС)), Archived 2021-04-26 at the Wayback Machine, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.
  28. ^ "Vučković: Razmišljam o kandidaturi za predsednika DS", Blic (Source: Tanjug), 31 May 2016, accessed 17 July 2018.
  29. ^ "Nataša Vučković: I dalje ću biti posvećena Demokratskoj stranci", Blic (Source: Beta), 26 September 2016, accessed 17 July 2018.
  30. ^ "Serbian ex-minister seen preparing for presidential race," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 2 January 2017 (Source: Vecernje novosti website in Serbian 28 Dec 16).
  31. ^ НАТАША ВУЧКОВИЋ, Archived 8 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 20 May 2022.
  32. ^ "Predstavljena koalicija UJEDINJENA DEMOKRATSKA SRBIJA Na listi i Gordana Čomić, podršku pružila i Nataša Vučković", Blic, 9 March 2020, accessed 18 May 2021.
  33. ^ Ivana Mastilović Jasnić, "'I DALJE NE ZNAM ŠTA JE BILA SVRHA BOJKOTA' Nataša Vučković (DS) o izborima, novoj vladi i ČISTKAMA U STRANCI", Blic, 14 September 2020, accessed 18 May 2021.
  34. ^ "Izbačena jos 53 člana iz Demokratske stranke", Danas, 30 September 2020, accessed 18 May 2021.
  35. ^ Mirjana R. Milenković, "Opozicionu scenu i Tviter uzburkao povratak Saše Paunovića u DS", Danas, 20 April 2021, accessed 18 May 2021.
  36. ^ Nataša VUČKOVIĆ, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, accessed 18 May 2021.
  37. ^ "PACE confirms Shevchenko's credentials in Ukrainian delegation," Ukrainian National News Agency, 25 April 2013.
  38. ^ "Fifty PACE members go to Ukraine to observe elections," Interfax: Ukrainian General Newswire, 7 April 2014.
  39. ^ "Serbian MP elected PACE rapporteur for Turkey", B92, 26 June 2016, accessed 17 July 2018.
  40. ^ "PACE adopts resolution condemning situation with functioning of democratic institutions in Turkey," ARMINFO News, 23 June 2016.
  41. ^ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 48 Number 24 (8 September 2004), p. 3.
  42. ^ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 48 Number 27 (20 September 2004), p. 1.
  43. ^ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 48 Number 34 (29 November 2004), p. 1.
  44. ^ In the 2004 local elections, the first one-third of mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order while the remaining two-thirds were distributed amongst other candidates at the discretion of the sponsoring parties or coalitions. See Law on Local Elections (June 2002) Archived 2021-06-02 at the Wayback Machine, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 33/2002; made available via LegislationOnline, Archived 2021-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 7 April 2024.
  45. ^ Official Report of Debates, The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, 15th Session (27-28 May 2008), p. 20.
  46. ^ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 52 Number 11 (26 April 2008), p. 10.
  47. ^ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 52 Number 15 (12 May 2008), p. 7.
  48. ^ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 52 Number 22 (4 July 2008), p. 4.
  49. ^ For the 2008 local elections, all mandates were assigned to candidates on successful lists at the discretion of the sponsoring parties or coalitions. See Law on Local Elections (2007), Archived 2021-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 35/2000; made available via LegislationOnline, Archived 2021-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 7 April 2024.
  50. ^ She again received the seventh position in 2012 (following the 2011 electoral reform). See Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 56 Number 21 (25 April 2012), p. 68.
  51. ^ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 56 Number 17 (9 May 2012), p. 17.
  52. ^ She received the third position on a combined Democratic Party–Social Democratic Party list in 2016. See Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 60 Number 28 (13 April 2016), p. 51.
  53. ^ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 60 Number 34 (25 April 2016), p. 28.
  54. ^ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 62 Number 17 (21 February 2018), p. 7.
  55. ^ "On the eve of the General Assembly, the Governing Board of ALDA elects Nataša Vučković as new Vice President", European Association for Local Democracy, 7 June 2023, accessed 7 April 2024.
  56. ^ "Stepping into Leadership: ALDA newly elected President is Nataša Vučković", European Association for Local Democracy, 14 May 2024.
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