Goran Ješić (Serbian Cyrillic: Горан Јешић; born 3 August 1974) is a Serbian politician. A former vice president of the Democratic Party (DS), he served as the vice president of the Government of Vojvodina from 2012 to 2014 and as the mayor of Inđija from 2000 to 2012. He also served as a member of the National Assembly from 2016 to 2020.
In the 2000 local election, Ješić was elected to the Municipal Assembly of Inđija and shortly after was elected mayor by the Municipal Assembly. He became the youngest mayor in Serbia, at the age of 26.[2] In 2001, Ješić was included in the GSS presidency.[3] He was re-elected mayor in 2004.[1] In the summer of 2006, Ješić left GSS, accusing its president Nataša Mićić of "merging" GSS into the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).[3] Ješić was credited with the rapid development of Inđija.[4]
Democratic Party
On 31 October 2006, Ješić announced that he is joining the Democratic Party (DS), stating that DS is the "only serious democratic party that can continue reforms in Serbia". Ješić was praised by DS's vice president Bojan Pajtić. Ješić revealed that he voted against the new constitution in the 2006 constitutional referendum.[5] He was re-elected mayor in 2008.[1]
In July 2012, Ješić was appointed vice president of the Government of Vojvodina and provincial secretary for agriculture, water management and forestry by Bojan Pajtić.[6] He resigned from both positions in June 2014.[7]
Ješić was in charge of DS's branch for agriculture, water management and forestry, as well as its Srem branch. From 2014 to 2016, he served as the vice president of DS.[2] In the 2016 parliamentary election, Ješić was elected to the National Assembly and served until 2020. Ješić was one DS members which were against the party's decision to boycott the 2020 parliamentary election.[8] Ješić left DS in 2023.[9]
Independent politician
On 5 November 2024, during the protests following the Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse, Ješić was detained by the police after attempting to prevent an arrest of a protester.[10] He was released on 7 November.[11] He turned himself over to the police the next day after an announcement that he will be detained once again.[12] Lawyer Sead Spahović called Ješić a political prisoner.[13] Ješić was released again on 22 November.[14] Following his release, Ješić announced that he is returning to active politics and added that this is the "beginning of the end of the Vučić regime".[15][16]
On 27 November, in an interview to Vreme, Ješić announced that he will be forming a new political party.[17]
Ješić believes that the current status of Kosovo is the result of the "absolutely wrong policy of the Republic of Serbia in the past few decades, which culminated in ethnic cleansing and civil war, and in the end, the loss of the war by the Serbian Army and capitulation by the Kumanovo Agreement." He called the proposed Community of Serb Municipalities a "quasi-institution" and added that the human rights of Kosovo Serbs are best protected through OSCE and the Council of Europe.[23]
Personal life
Ješić resides in Novi Sad.[24] His brother Vladimir is a journalist.[25]