Milo Đukanović

Milo Đukanović
1st Prime Minister of Montenegro
Incumbent
Assumed office February 15 1991 - February 5 1998 (PM 1st term) January 8, 2003 - Present (PM now)
Preceded by	Premiership (1st term)=none Presidency =Momir Bulatović Premiership =Filip Vujanović
Succeeded by	Premiership (1st term)=Filip Vujanović Presidency=Filip Vujanović Premiership (2nd term)=Incumbent
Personal details
Born	first term_start February 15, 1962 Nikšić, People's Republic of Montenegro, Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia
Died	first term_start
Resting place	first term_start
Nationality	montenegrin
Political party	Democratic Party of Socialists
Parent	first term_start

Milo Đukanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Мило Ђукановић) (born February 15, 1962 in Nikšić, Montenegro, Yugoslavia) is the current Prime Minister of the republic of Montenegro. He has served in this role since January 8, 2003, after resigning from the position of president several weeks earlier, on November 25, 2002. He had previously served as the Prime Minister of Montenegro between 1991 and 1998, and as president of Montenegro from 1998 to 2002.

Early days in politics

In his youth, he became involved with the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (in what was then the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), and had by 1989 quickly advanced to the League's Central Committee.

Ascent to power in Montenegro

Actively tagging along with somewhat more seasoned Communist League members like Momir Bulatović and Svetozar Marović, Đukanović was still only 26 years old when the trio gained power in Montenegro on January 10, 1989. They forced out the old Montenegrin communist guard by riding the wave of the so-called "anti-bureaucratic revolution", an administrative putsch within the Communists League orchestrated by Slobodan Milošević and the state security apparatus.

Within days in January 1989, they did away with Miljan Radović (chairman of the League of Communists of Montenegro) and Bozina Ivanovic (president of Presidency of SR Montenegro), replacing them with politically obedient confidants like Milica Pejanovic-Djurisic and Branko Kostic. President of Executive Council of Montenegro Vuko Vukadinović initially survived the putsch, but within months he was on his way out as well.

Đukanović, Bulatović, and Marović galvanized public opinion within the republic by organizing workers and bussing them to the capital Titograd (since then changed back to Podgorica) to protest in front of the Assembly. Although many have since made allegations about the shady role security apparatus played in this forced transfer of power (Slavko Perović among many others[1]), it is undeniable that the trio capitalized on the "young, good-looking, and smart" image (mladi, lijepi i pametni), which resonated with certain people.

Soon, the single-party system was abolished and the trio repackaged the Montenegrin branch of the League of Communists into the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro (DPS).

Prime Minister of Montenegro 1991-1998

On February 15, 1991, his 29th birthday, Đukanović rose to the post of Montenegrin Prime Minister for the first time with the blessings of then Serbian president Slobodan Milošević. At this time Đukanović was the youngest prime minister in Europe. It was also the first salaried position in his life.

File:DjukanovicBulatovic1991.jpg

Prime Minister Đukanović and President Bulatović (far right) visit reservists from Montenegro on Dubrovnik frontline in 1991

From 1991 until 1997 he was one of the chief supporters and executors of Slobodan Milošević's policies. Montenegro’s wide roundup of Muslim refugees from Bosnia and their subsequent handover to forces of Bosnian Serbs happened while Đukanović was Prime Minister.

Đukanović frequently visited scores of reservists and volunteers from Montenegro that fought in Konavle and Dubrovnik frontlines in 1991. Some of his notable statements from this period include a proclamation about "starting to hate chess because of the šahovnica (the chequerboard Croatian coat-of-arms)" and an aggressive declaration delivered in a public speech during assault on Dubrovnik that "it's time to once and for all establish the firmest border possible with Croatia, but it will be a border a lot more just and realistic than the existing one that was drawn-up by Bolshevik map makers"[2].

Though a Marxist in his youth, Đukanović was reported to be "the kind of politician who has a picture of Margaret Thatcher above his desk". He was looked on favorably by foreign investors. In the 1990s he swiftly forced all socially owned (worker owned) companies into state ownership where they were sold to private foreign interests. (Blishen. Central European. May 1996.Vol.6,Iss.5)

In 1996, he began to fall out with Milošević, publicly blasting him in an interview for the Belgrade weekly Vreme. At that time Milošević was facing harsh criticism in Serbia with student protests in the Winter of 1996/1997. This was in stark contrast to the stance of Momir Bulatović who in addition to being the President of Montenenegro also then headed the pro-Milošević Democratic Party of Socialists.

President of Montenegro 1998-2002

Soon, Bulatović's protégé would wrest control of both the party and the republic from his mentor.

First, Đukanović won a narrow majority support within the DPS party, a political leverage he then quickly used to cleanse it of all pro-Bulatović elements while simultaneously taking over state-controlled media and security apparatus with the help of his DPS ally Vukašin Maraš.

Then, in July of 1997, Đukanović contested Bulatović for the position of president of Montenegro. In the first round of elections, Đukanović lagged by roughly 2000 votes behind Bulatović (a staunch ally of Slobodan Milošević).

Đukanović campaign poster for 1997 Presidential elections. The slogan exclaims: Get involved! Vote for Milo!

Three of the other candidates, who received 11,000 votes, gave support to Bulatović for the second round run-off. However, in the October 1997 second round vote seen as the most significant electoral victory in Montenegro's history by Đukanović's supporters, Đukanović won the elections by a margin of five thousand, after assembling 29,000 more votes than in the first round. There were some serious doubts about the regularity of this second round.

Although achieved in a highly disputable manner, this victory nevertheless cemented Đukanović's powerful position in Montenegro. Bulatović, his one-time mentor, was completely squeezed out and now all institutions of power (DPS party, government, parliament and President's office) were firmly in the hands of Đukanović and his handpicked circle of associates.

Already distant from Milosevic and his regime, Đukanović took this policy further, although assuring everyone that he saw the future of Montenegro in the same country with Serbia. He very much tried to project an impression that whatever problems Montenegro had with its participation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had only to do with the authoritarian Milosevic regime and not with Serbian democratic forces or the people of Serbia.

Milo Đukanović (right) talks to William Cohen in the Pentagon, Nov. 4, 1999

In 1998, the West also began to turn its back on Milošević. Naturally, Đukanović became an automatic local ally in this policy shift. That was especially obvious after the end of NATO bombing when Yugoslavia was plunged into deep international isolation. Milošević and other members of his clique were considered pariahs by every western government, so Đukanović became one of the few elected politicians within Yugoslavia they would openly communicate with. They were willing to overlook Đukanović's communist past, initial pro-war stance, and mounting evidence of criminal involvement, allowing him to regularly meet with Clinton administartion officials such as Secretary of State Madeline Albright, Secretary of Defense William Cohen and National Security Advisor Sandy Berger as well as British PM Tony Blair, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana all throughout this period.

However, this special relationship decreased after October 2000 when Milošević was finally ousted and a coalition led by Zoran Đinđić and Vojislav Koštunica took power in Belgrade.

Soon after the change in Serbia, Đukanović shifted his own politics again and now, for the very first time, started openly pushing for Montenegrin independence.

Prime Minister again, 2002-

From the downfall of Milošević until the recognition of Montenegro’s independence in June 2006, Đukanović struggled with Serbia over the issue of Montenegrin independence. His pro-independence policy resulted in a compromise some see as having been imposed by the European Union and its newly named foreign policy chief Javier Solana, with the creation of the new State Union of Serbia and Montenegro (replacing the two-republic Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), but this also caused fallout with elements of his supporters who wanted him to push for full independence. As a result, he became the most high-profile supporter of the 2006 referrendum on Montenegran independence.

In June 2006, Djukanovic named himself as Montenegrin Minister of Defence, a decision that led to a chorus of criticism from different NGOs. They point to a clear breach of Montenegrin constitution and a conflict of interest law that both prohibit members of government from performing multiple public duties. In addition to his PM, and now Minister of Defence duties, Djukanovic earlier named himself as the president of National Council for Sustainable Growth, member of the Council for European Integration, and the president of Agency for Promotion of Foreign Investment's managing board.[3]

Despite holding five public posts, Djukanovic declared his personal monthly income to be a mere 456 euros.

Ongoing criminal investigation in Italy

For years Milo Đukanović has been accused of personal and political ties to wide spread tobacco smuggling in Montenegro throughout the 1990s.

According to a 240-page internal report compiled in 1997 by the Guardia di Finanza (Italian Border/Customs Police and Financial Police, is also a Military Police Corp), Montenegro was part of smuggling hierarchy divided among various crime families connected to Sicilian mafia, Camorra and Sacra corona unita organized crime syndicates. The report claimed that tobacco smuggling in Europe caused an estimated $700 million annually in losses to governments and legitimate merchants.[4]

Various reports implicate Đukanović in doing business with different Mafia bosses like Neapolitan Camorra's Ciro Mazzarella who was arrested in 1993 in Lugano.[5]

Since then, other mafia figures like Francesco Prudentino, Gerardo Cuomo, Filippo Messina, etc. connected to the highest echelons of Italian organized crime operated out of Montenegro closely tied to Đukanović's government.[6]

In 1996, Italy's Anti-mafia Investigative Agency taped a telephone conversation between Cuomo and Santo Vantaggiato, a fugitive from Italian law hiding in Montenegro. The two men were discussing the election in Montenegro, and Cuomo boasted that he was close to senior Montenegrin politicians. He mentioned that if his "friends" got in, he would be "much stronger." Vantaggiato was murdered in Montenegro two years later in a mafia war.[7]

In July 2003, the prosecutor's office in Naples named Đukanović as a linchpin in the illicit trade which used Montenegro as a transit point for smuggling millions of cigarettes across the Adriatic sea into Italy and into the hands of the Italian mafia for distribution across the EU.[8]

Warrant for his arrest issued in Italy

On April 16, 2003, the Judge for Preliminary Inquiries in Naples rejected the Anti-Mafia Bureau's request for a warrant for Đukanović's arrest, claiming him to be immune from arrest as prime minister of Montenegro. The bureau had been investigating him for a while and now charged him with "crimes of the Mafia type" and had further requested his arrest as a precautionary measure; to prevent him from committing more crimes and destroying evidence as the investigation continued.

The case was appealed to the Naples Court of Review, which ruled Đukanović's favor. Besides claiming his immunity, he was described as not socially dangerous as well as ignorant that he was committing crimes.

The case was then once again appealed, to the Court of Cassation (Corte di Cassazione). On December 28, 2004, this court ruled in favor of the Anti-Mafia Bureau. It argued that as Montenegro was not a sovereign state, Đukanović had no diplomatic immunity. The court further ruled that he should be arrested to prevent further crimes and destroyed evidence. The court also added that if Đukanović was unaware of the gravity of his crimes, then this was nothing but a further argument for arresting him.

In mid-2005, Robert Amoroso, a legal advisor in the Italian Foreign Ministry, confirmed the warrant for Đukanović's arrest when stating that "Djukanovic will be arrested if he ever sets foot in Italy."

Since the independence referendum in Montenegro, Đukanović has openly used the change in Montenegro's status to have the warrant dropped. Only one day after the referendum, his lawyer, Enrico Tuccillo, has proclaimed that "The referendum has confirmed the premise of the Prime Minister, Milo Djukanovic, about the sovereignty of Montenegro: therefore no doubt can now remain about the immunity, granted to heads of state and of government, which Djukanovic enjoyed and enjoys."[9]

Trivia

• He is married to Lidija Đukanović (nee Kuč). They have a son, Blažo, born in 1988
• He is also a 1.96m (6'4") former basketball player, and as such he is a rather tall statesman.
• He was nicknamed "Britva", which is a Serbian term for straight razor.