60 years since birth of former Serbian PM

BELGRADE Former Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was born 60 years ago, on August 1, 1952. He was assassinated on March 12, 2003. 60 years since birth of former Serbian PM Djindjic was a Serbian politician, statesman, philosopher and had a PhD in philosophy. He was one of 13 intellectuals who renewed the pre-war Democratic Party (DS), he was a Belgrade mayor in 1997 and a prime minister from 2001 until 2003 when he was killed. Djindjic became a leader of the DS in 1994. He was an MP in the first three convocations of parliament since multi-party system was introduced in Serbia and an MP in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Assembly’s Council of Republics. After a series of mass protests over the annulled elections in 1996 and 1997, Djindjic became a Belgrade city assembly speaker on February 21, 1997. Together with Vuk Draskovic’s Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) and Civic Alliance of Serbia (GSS) he created a coalition dubbed “Together” which broke up only four months after it won the elections. He was dismissed from his position in the Belgrade city assembly thanks to votes of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), Serb Radical Party (SRS) and SPO. Djindjic was murdered in front of the Serbian government headquarters in downtown Belgrade on March 12, 2003. He was shot once in the chest and died almost instantaneously. He was immediately taken to hospital but was pronounced dead an hour later. According to an official government release, he never regained consciousness after he had been admitted to hospital. His bodyguard Milan Veruovic was shot in the stomach. Both shots were fired by member of a special police unit Zvezdan Jovanovic from a window of a building across the street from the government headquarters. During the closing argument, Jovanovic said that he had never shot anyone from a sniper and that he was not a trained sniper. All 12 men charged with Djindjic’s murder were sentenced to long prison sentences. Milorad Ulemek and Jovanovic were sentenced to 40 years in jail. The murder followed after several unsuccessful assassination attempts. One of them happened on February 21, 2003 when Dejan Milenkovic aka Bagzi, a member of the Zemun gang, tried to stop a car carrying the prime minister with his truck while four assassins were waiting on the side of the road. However, Djindjic’s security thwarted their attempt. Zoran Djindjic (file) B92

60 years since birth of former Serbian PM

Đinđić was a Serbian politician, statesman, philosopher and had a PhD in philosophy. He was one of 13 intellectuals who renewed the pre-war Democratic Party (DS), he was a Belgrade mayor in 1997 and a prime minister from 2001 until 2003 when he was killed.

Đinđić became a leader of the DS in 1994. He was an MP in the first three convocations of parliament since multi-party system was introduced in Serbia and an MP in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Assembly’s Council of Republics.

After a series of mass protests over the annulled elections in 1996 and 1997, Đinđić became a Belgrade city assembly speaker on February 21, 1997. Together with Vuk Drašković’s Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) and Civic Alliance of Serbia (GSS) he created a coalition dubbed “Together” which broke up only four months after it won the elections.

He was dismissed from his position in the Belgrade city assembly thanks to votes of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), Serb Radical Party (SRS) and SPO.

Đinđić was murdered in front of the Serbian government headquarters in downtown Belgrade on March 12, 2003. He was shot once in the chest and died almost instantaneously. He was immediately taken to hospital but was pronounced dead an hour later. According to an official government release, he never regained consciousness after he had been admitted to hospital. His bodyguard Milan Veruović was shot in the stomach.

Both shots were fired by member of a special police unit Zvezdan Jovanović from a window of a building across the street from the government headquarters. During the closing argument, Jovanović said that he had never shot anyone from a sniper and that he was not a trained sniper.

All 12 men charged with Đinđić’s murder were sentenced to long prison sentences. Milorad Ulemek and Jovanović were sentenced to 40 years in jail.

The murder followed after several unsuccessful assassination attempts. One of them happened on February 21, 2003 when Dejan Milenković aka Bagzi, a member of the Zemun gang, tried to stop a car carrying the prime minister with his truck while four assassins were waiting on the side of the road. However, Đinđić’s security thwarted their attempt.