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Radoman BozovicSerbian politician
Date of Birth: 13.01.1953
Country:  Serbia |
Content:
- Božović: From Rural Serbia to Yugoslav Prime Minister
- Entry into Politics
- Prime Minister of Serbia
- Post-Prime Ministership
Božović: From Rural Serbia to Yugoslav Prime Minister
Early Life and EducationBožović was born in a village by the Piva River in Montenegro. After completing his primary education in Niksic, he moved to Serbia and attended high school in Vrbas. In 1975, he graduated from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Subotica, where he later worked as an assistant. He obtained his Master's degree in 1978 and his PhD. from the University of Belgrade in 1981. His dissertation, entitled "Social Property and Economic Relations in Socialist Self-Management," argued for a "non-propriety ownership of social property," avoiding the theoretical pitfalls of a revenue-based economy.
Entry into Politics
Božović briefly returned to Montenegro as a professor at the University of Veljko Vlahović in Titograd. In Subotica, he entered politics, becoming Secretary of the City Committee of the League of Communists of Subotica. Joining the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), he was marked for greatness by Slobodan Milošević. In the following years, he held various government positions.
Prime Minister of Serbia
In 1991, Božović was elected to the Parliament of Vojvodina and subsequently became President of the Executive Council of Vojvodina. He then served as Vojvodina's delegate to the Parliament of Yugoslavia, becoming its President. As an SPS deputy in the Parliament of Serbia, he led the party's parliamentary group and served on the Committee on Relations with Serbs Outside Serbia. Drawing on his experience in Vojvodina, he was elected to the SPS Vojvodina Executive Committee, where he controlled the province's media.
On December 23, 1991, Božović was elected Prime Minister of Serbia after the previous government resigned due to economic failure. As Prime Minister, he was a staunch bureaucrat who oversaw an economy in which over half was owned by the state. After just 100 days in office, inflation reached a staggering 10,000%. His term was marked by controversy, including the arrest of two ministers from his cabinet and his frequent clashes with opposition leader Vojislav Šešelj.
Post-Prime Ministership
In 1993, a new SPS minority government supported by the SRS was formed following the 1992 parliamentary elections. Božović opposed the SRS's support and thus declined to serve another term. He then became an SPS delegate in the Chamber of Citizens of the Federal Assembly of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and served as its President from February 3, 1993, to December 10, 1996, with the support of the SPS and DPS CG and against the opposition of over one-third of the minority (a coalition of SRS, NS CG, DS, DEPOS, consisting of SPO and DSS). He was accused of being provocative and excessively verbally aggressive towards opposition MPs during sessions (particularly towards SPO MP Mihailo Marković). He played a key role in the removal of Dobrica Ćosić as President of Yugoslavia on June 1, 1993, and in the election of Zoran Lilić, a candidate supported by Milošević.
After 1996, Božović left the SPS and retired to Montenegro, where he has dedicated himself to skiing.
