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Southeast Europe
June 16, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 13
Serbia to get first female, first openly gay PM
bne IntelliNews
Ana Brnabic will become Serbia’s first female
and first openly gay minister prime minister, after President Aleksandar Vucic announced on June 14 he is giving her a mandate to form a new govern- ment.
By picking Brnabic as his successor, Vucic is demonstrating his determination to appoint a government that embraces liberal and democratic values as Serbia progresses towards EU member- ship. Her appointment also sends out a strong pro-business message given her background as
a manager at international companies in Serbia, before she became minister for public administra- tion and local self-government in Vucic’s cabinet.
“It is an honour to serve your own country and
I will, if the parliament supports me, lead the government in a dedicated and responsible man- ner and do my job with morals and love,” Brn- abic told the daily Blic just after her nomination was announced by Vucic.
“I’m aware of the responsibility I’m taking on my- self because I will succeed a true leader, as well as of my obligations to citizens who expect to feel the results of the government’s work through bet- ter life they will live,” she added.
More details about her cabinet should be known around June 21-22.
Since being elected president on April 2, Vucic has repeatedly delayed appointing a successor, leaving Ivica Dacic, Serbia’s foreign minister and deputy prime minister, as the country’s acting premier. He told a June 14 press conference that it had
not been an easy decision to make. “But I made it in accordance with the interests of Serbia and proclaimed goals... to keep making good results for citizens and the country by good work and energy,” Vucic told journalists at a June 14 press conference.
There had been speculation that the new presi- dent might appoint Dacic, the leader of the Social- ist Party of Serbia (SPS) and the junior partner in the current coalition, or appoint another politician from within the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). Brnabic’s name was only one of several mooted, and she was not considered one of the frontrunners for the post. By picking a relative outsider, Vucic is seen as saving the SNS from internal disputes.
Aside from the politics of the choice, as well as her gender and sexuality, Brnabic’s qualifications are impressive. Her high level roles at renewables investor Continental Wind Serbia and the non- profit Pexim Foundation have established her as a role model for young people, showing what can be achieved through education and hard work (rather than contacts and corruption). She is known to have a mortgage for a 200 square metre property in Belgrade (well beyond the dreams of most Ser- bians), paid for from her salary.
The 42-year-old politician is internationally educated, holding an MBA from Hull University in the UK. After her time in the private sector, she served as president of the board of
the National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED) and coordinator for
a USAID program for economic development