Miodrag Đidić

Miodrag Đidić (Serbian Cyrillic: Миодраг Ђидић; born 25 November 1954) is a lawyer and politician in Serbia. He has served several terms as an elected official at the federal, republican, and local levels and was a secretary of state in the Serbian government from 2007 to 2012. For many years a member of the Democratic Party (Demokratska stranka, DS), Đidić joined the breakaway Together for Serbia (Zajedno za Srbiju, ZZS) party in 2013.

Early life and private career

Đidić was born in the village of Milentija in the municipality of Brus, in what was then the People's Republic of Serbia in the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. He finished elementary and high school in nearby Kruševac, earned a degree from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law, and began practicing law in 1994. Active in athletics in his youth, he was at one time the president of the Body Building Association of Serbia.[1]

Politician

Early Years (1990–2000)

Đidić joined the DS in 1990 and became a leading figure on its municipal committee in Kruševac. He was elected to the Kruševac municipal assembly in the 1996 Serbian local elections, which the DS contested as part of the Zajedno coalition.[2] The Socialist Party of Serbia (Socijalistička partija Srbije, SPS) won a majority victory in the municipality, and Đidić served in opposition for the term that followed.[3]

Federal Parliamentarian (2000–04)

The DS contested the 2000 Yugoslavian general election as part of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (Demokratska opozicija Srbije, DOS), a broad and ideologically diverse coalition of parties opposed to Slobodan Milošević's administration. Đidić led the alliance's electoral list in Kruševac for the Yugoslavian parliament's Chamber of Citizens and was elected when the list won two of the three available mandates.[4][5][6] DOS candidate Vojislav Koštunica defeated Milošević in the presidential election, a watershed moment in Serbian and Yugoslavian politics. The DOS won the parliamentary election overall, and Đidić served afterward as a supporter of the government.[7]

In 2001, Đidić was appointed to a federal committee that investigated the 2000 death of Yugoslavian defence minister Pavle Bulatović. He was the only committee member who did not endorse the final report, saying that he could not justify all of its findings.[8]

The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was re-constituted in February 2003 as the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. The new country had a unicameral legislature, and its first members were appointed by the republican parliaments of Serbia and Montenegro; only sitting federal or republican parliamentarians were eligible. Đidić was chosen as part of the DS's delegation.[9]

Member of the National Assembly (2004–07)

Đidić received the 176th position on the DS's electoral list in the 2003 Serbian parliamentary election. The list won thirty-seven mandates, and he was included in his party's delegation when the new assembly met in January 2004.[10][11] (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. Đidić's list position had no formal bearing on his chances of election.)[12] The rival Democratic Party of Serbia (Demokratska stranka Srbije, DSS) emerged as the leader of Serbia's government after the election, and the DS served in opposition. Đidić's term in the federal assembly ended in February 2004. During his first term in the Serbian parliament, he served on the committee for constitutional affairs and the administrative committee.[13]

He led the DS's list for the Kruševac municipal assembly in the 2004 Serbian local elections and was re-elected when the list won nineteen mandates.[14][15][16][17]

Đidić appeared in the sixtieth position on the DS's list in the 2007 parliamentary election and was again chosen for a mandate when the list won sixty-four seats.[18] The DS and the DSS formed an unstable coalition government after the election; Đidić was appointed as a state secretary in Serbia's ministry of finance in May 2007 and resigned his republican and local assembly seats shortly thereafter.[19][20] In the finance ministry, he was given responsibility for fiscal administration and customs administration.[21]

Secretary of State (2007–12)

The DS–DSS alliance broke down in early 2008, and a new parliamentary election was called for May of the same year. Đidić received the fifty-third position on the DS-led For a European Serbia list; he also led the same coalition list in Kruševac in the concurrent local elections.[22][23] The overall results of the republican election were inconclusive, but the For a European Serbia alliance ultimately formed a new coalition government with the SPS. Đidić continued to serve as a state secretary and so did not take a seat in either the republican or local legislatures.[24][25]

In September 2009, he announced that Serbia had signed a memorandum of understanding with China for the purchase of customs scanners.[26] The following year, he signed a framework agreement with China on a concessionary loan.[27]

Return to the National Assembly (2012–14)

Serbia's electoral system was reformed in 2011, such that all mandates in elections held under proportional representation were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order. Đidić received the twenty-sixth position on the DS's list in the 2012 parliamentary election and was elected when the list won sixty-seven seats.[28] The Serbian Progressive Party (Srpska napredna stranka, SNS) formed a new coalition government with the SPS after the election, and the DS moved into opposition. Đidić also led the DS list for Kruševac in the 2012 local elections and was re-elected when the list won twelve mandates.[29]

In this assembly term, Đidić was a member of the committee on administrative, budgetary, mandate and immunity issues and the committee for Kosovo and Metohija, and the parliamentary friendship groups with Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, and Russia.[30]

The DS became internally divided after its defeat in the 2012 election, and in March 2013 Đidić joined the breakaway Together for Serbia party under Dušan Petrović's leadership.[31] The ZZS contested the 2014 parliamentary election on a coalition list led by former DS leader Boris Tadić; Đidić appeared in the twenty-fifth position on the list and missed election when the list won only nineteen seats.[32] Đidić was later the list bearer for the ZZS in Kruševac in the 2016 local elections; the list did not cross the electoral threshold to win representation in the assembly.[33][34]

References

  1. ^ Miodrag Đidić, Archived 2000-12-06 at the Wayback Machine, Democratic Opposition of Serbia, accessed 3 August 2022.
  2. ^ Miodrag Đidić, Archived 2000-12-06 at the Wayback Machine, Democratic Opposition of Serbia, accessed 3 August 2022.
  3. ^ Izbori Za Odbornike Skupština Opština i Gradova u Republici Srbiji, 1996, Bureau of Statistics – Republic of Serbia, p. 81.
  4. ^ Izborna lista za Veće građana Savezne skupštine – Demokratske opozicije Srbije, Archived 2000-10-17 at the Wayback Machine, Democratic Opposition of Serbia, accessed 3 August 2022.
  5. ^ ИЗБОРИ 2000: ВЕЋЕ РЕПУБЛИКА И ВЕЋЕ ГРАЂАНА САВЕЗНЕ СКУПШТИНЕ, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Department of Statistics (2000), p. 78.
  6. ^ For the 2000 Yugoslavian parliamentary election, half of the mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order; the remaining half were assigned to other candidates at the discretion of the sponsoring parties or coalitions. See "Ko su poslanici", Archived 2021-11-03 at the Wayback Machine, Vreme, 28 September 2000, accessed 3 August 2022.
  7. ^ See also "Velika metla", Glas javnosti, 27 September 2000, accessed 3 December 2022.
  8. ^ "Šešelj istražuje, DOS potpisuje", Glas javnosti, 24 January 2022, accessed 3 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Poslanici nove države", Glas javnosti, 20 February 2003, accessed 3 August 2022.
  10. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 28. децембра 2003. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (5. ДЕМОКРАТСКА СТРАНКА – БОРИС ТАДИЋ), Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 2 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Podrška neoročenoj vladi", Glas javnosti, 15 January 2004.
  12. ^ 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, accessed 28 February 2017.
  13. ^ ДЕТАЉИ О НАРОДНОМ ПОСЛАНИКУ: ЂИДИЋ, МИОДРАГ, Archived 2006-12-15 at the Wayback Machine, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 3 August 2022.
  14. ^ Službeni List (Opštine Kruševac), Volume 34 Number 7 (8 September 2004), p. 172.
  15. ^ Službeni List (Opštine Kruševac), Volume 34 Number 8 (20 September 2004), p. 191.
  16. ^ Službeni List (Opštine Kruševac), Volume 34 Number 10 (10 November 2004), p. 204.
  17. ^ In the 2004 local elections, the first one-third of mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order. Đidić received an automatic mandate. See Law on Local Elections, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 33/2002; made available via LegislationOnline, accessed 29 May 2021.
  18. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. јануара и 8. фебрауара 2007. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 Демократска странка – Борис Тадић), Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 10 July 2021.
  19. ^ Државни секретари, Archived 2012-03-17 at the Wayback Machine, Ministry of Finance (Serbia), accessed 3 August 2022.
  20. ^ Službeni List (Opštine Kruševac), Volume 37 Number 4 (18 June 2007), p. 167.
  21. ^ "Serbia to relocate border crossing towards Montenegro in Sandzak - official," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 18 October 2007 (Source: RTV Novi Pazar, Novi Pazar, in Serbian 1700gmt 18 Oct 07).
  22. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 11. маја 2008. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 ЗА ЕВРОПСКУ СРБИЈУ – БОРИС ТАДИЋ), Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 10 July 2021.
  23. ^ Službeni List (Opštine Kruševac), Volume 38 Number 3 (30 April 2008), p. 62.
  24. ^ Službeni List (Opštine Kruševac), Volume 38 Number 6 (6 June 2008), pp. 77-78.
  25. ^ 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), Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 129/2007); made available via LegislationOnline, accessed 29 May 2021. Đidić did not automatically receive a mandate by virtue of leading the list.
  26. ^ "Serbia, China sign MoU for customs scanners," Xinhua's China Economic Information Service, 21 September 2009.
  27. ^ "Serbia, China sign six bilateral agreements," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 15 July 2010 (Source: FoNet news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 1625 gmt 14 Jul 10).
  28. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине, 6. мај 2012. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 ИЗБОР ЗА БОЉИ ЖИВОТ- БОРИС ТАДИЋ), Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 10 July 2021.
  29. ^ Službeni List (Grada Kruševca), Volume 42 Number 2 (25 April 2012), p. 17.
  30. ^ МИОДРАГ ЂИДИЋ, Archived 2013-09-26 at the Wayback Machine, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 3 August 2022.
  31. ^ "Bivši članovi DS-a u Petrovićevoj stranci", Radio Television of Serbia, 13 March 2013, accessed 3 August 2022.
  32. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 16. и 23. марта 2014. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (11 БОРИС ТАДИЋ - Нова демократска странка - Зелени, ЛСВ - Ненад Чанак, Заједно за Србију, VMDK, Заједно за Војводину, Демократска левица Рома), Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 10 July 2021.
  33. ^ "Izborna lista 'Za Kruševac – Miodrag Đidić': zadovoljni kampanjom i odzivom građana", Kruševac Grad, 20 April 2016, accessed 3 August 2022.
  34. ^ Đidić appeared in the second position on the list, which was called For Kruševac. See Službeni List (Grada Kruševca), Volume 45 Number 3 (13 April 2016), p. 4; Službeni List (Grada Kruševca), Volume 45 Number 4 (25 April 2016), p. 1.