Veteran premier leader pushing Montenegro west
PODGORICA, Montenegro: Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, the mastermind of his country’s independence, is the only Balkan leader to have held on to power since the collapse of Yugoslavia began 25 years ago. Seen as a dynamic reformist by some and an authoritarian leader by others, Djukanovic has six times been elected prime minister and once served as president. In 2006 he led Montenegro to independence from Serbia - its often-troubled partner for around 90 years - and has since won praise for guiding the small state to NATO membership and the doorstep of the European Union.
But the PM has also found himself at the center of corruption allegations, and was named as a suspect in an Italian cigarette trafficking enquiry. He has repeatedly denied the allegations and an Italian court eventually dropped the case against him in 2009 because he enjoyed diplomatic immunity.
PM at 29
Born in the central town of Niksic in 1962, Djukanovic is an economist by training and began his political career in the 1980s while Montenegro was part of communist Yugoslavia. He rose rapidly through the communist party ranks, becoming a youth leader and winning over old-time party members. As the region teetered on the brink of war in Feb 1991, Djukanovic became Montenegro’s prime minister at the tender age of 29. When Yugoslavia disintegrated into bloody conflict as other republics declared their independence, Djukanovic backed Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic.
But in 1996 he took the decisive step to break ranks with hardliners in the rump Yugoslav federation - made up of just Serbia and Montenegro - becoming one of the fiercest critics of the Milosevic regime and an advocate of independence. Elected president in 1998, Djukanovic shed his old communist-era ideology and opened Montenegro to the outside world.