Velimir Ilic
Encyclopedia
Velimir "Velja" Ilić is Serbia
n politician and a former Minister of Capital Investments in the Serbian government in the cabinet of Vojislav Koštunica
.
's Faculty of Technology (Department of Construction Materials), he worked for various construction firms, and then became a private entrepreneur in 1986.
In 2005, he obtained his Masters Degree from the University of Kragujevac
. His qualification was granted by an academic supervisory board entirely composed of officials of his own New Serbia
party. The academics who granted his degree stated they acted purely as academics in this case and not as party officials under the leadership of their student.
Velimir Ilić was nominated for president in 2008 election
by New Serbia
with support of Democratic Party of Serbia
, United Serbia
and List for Sandžak. He finished third with 7.43% of votes.
(SPO) in 1990. He quickly rose in the party hierarchy by forming a strong local branch in Čačak
. His personable nature and imposing personality, quickly marked him out on the local political scene.
in 1996 by defeating the Socialist Party of Serbia
(SPS) candidate. Shortly thereafter, in 1997 following the breakup of Zajedno coalition, he left the SPO
, where he was the president of party's local branch, and founded his own New Serbia
party.
During his tenure, Čačak became a small haven of anti-Milošević struggle similar to few other cities where different opposition parties held municipal power. Ilić ran the city successfully, attracting legitimate investors and developing local economy. He was extremely vocal and direct in his criticism of Slobodan Milošević
and his regime, so much so that he was forced into hiding during the NATO airstrikes during Spring 1999, fearing brutal reprisal at a time when the regime often engaged in the practice of eliminating political opponents under the shield of NATO bombs.
In 2000 Ilić's New Serbia
joined the Democratic Opposition of Serbia
(DOS) coalition along with 17 other parties. Ilić had a large role in the October 5 overthrow as he organized and headed a long motorcade of cars, buses and trucks that left Čačak on the morning of October 5, 2000 and arrived in Belgrade after going through (often forcefully) numerous police road blocks and check points along the way. Ilić and his men then positioned themselves right in front of the Federal Assembly building, addressed the crowd, which was already gathered in hundreds of thousands, and eventually led the charge on Parliament.
In the immediate days and months after the successful overthrow, Ilić enjoyed wide praise and enormous popularity. So, many, including Ilić himself, were surprised and unhappy about him getting very little in the subsequent division of power among the DOS members. In comparison, many other leaders of small parties within DOS that had considerably lesser profile than NS and Ilić, like Vladan Batić
, Dušan Mihajlović
, Goran Svilanović
, Nebojša Čović
, Rasim Ljajić
, Žarko Korać
, Dragan Veselinov
, József Kasza
, Mile Isakov
, etc., all received high posts. Ilic on the other hand only got to be MP in the federal Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro
in addition to his mayoral duties in Čačak
.
So, even though he started out as a prominent member of the ruling coalition, Ilić's role was effectively marginalized over the coming years. He reportedly had an understanding with Zoran Đinđić that he'd be DOS' candidate for the President of Serbia
, but nothing materialiyed in that regard. Since he didn't have a national platform through a high-ranking government position, Ilić was seldom featured in the media for anything other than his frequent outburst or spats with reporters.
(also a political non-factor at this point) and their parties entered a pre-election coalition. Surprising many, they managed to get 22 parliamentary seats, which they used to form a minority government with Democratic Party of Serbia
(DSS) and G17 Plus
party. Drašković became the Foreign Minister of Serbia-Montenegro, while Ilić got the position of Serbia's Minister for Capital Investment.
After elections in 2007, Ministry for Capital Investments was dissolved into 3 ministries. Velimir became minister of newly formed Ministry for Infrastructures.
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n politician and a former Minister of Capital Investments in the Serbian government in the cabinet of Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica is a Serbian politician, statesman and the president of the Democratic Party of Serbia. He was the last President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, succeeding Slobodan Milošević and serving from 2000 to 2003...
.
Biography
After graduating from University of BelgradeUniversity of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...
's Faculty of Technology (Department of Construction Materials), he worked for various construction firms, and then became a private entrepreneur in 1986.
In 2005, he obtained his Masters Degree from the University of Kragujevac
University of Kragujevac
The University of Kragujevac is a university located in Kragujevac, Serbia. It was founded in 1976 and is organized in 11 Faculties.-History:...
. His qualification was granted by an academic supervisory board entirely composed of officials of his own New Serbia
New Serbia
New Serbia is a political party in Serbia. It was created in 1997 by a number of dissidents from the Serbian Renewal Movement....
party. The academics who granted his degree stated they acted purely as academics in this case and not as party officials under the leadership of their student.
Velimir Ilić was nominated for president in 2008 election
Serbian presidential election, 2008
A pre-term presidential election was held in Serbia on January 20 and February 3, 2008. Incumbent President Boris Tadić was reelected as President of Serbia in the second round with 51.61 percent of the votes cast, defeating challenger Tomislav Nikolić....
by New Serbia
New Serbia
New Serbia is a political party in Serbia. It was created in 1997 by a number of dissidents from the Serbian Renewal Movement....
with support of Democratic Party of Serbia
Democratic Party of Serbia
The Democratic Party of Serbia is a political party in Serbia.-Foundation:The Democratic Party of Serbia was founded when a faction of the Democratic Party that supported its involvement in the Democratic Movement of Serbia split from the party and formed their own in 1992.Soon after the March...
, United Serbia
United Serbia
United Serbia is a political party in Serbia, centered in Jagodina. It was previously a close ally of New Serbia, and was a member of its coalition with the Democratic Party of Serbia....
and List for Sandžak. He finished third with 7.43% of votes.
Political career
Velja's first political steps were taken with Serbian Renewal MovementSerbian Renewal Movement
The Serbian Renewal Movement is a political party in Serbia.It was founded in 1990.In 1997 a dissident group abandoned the party and formed New Serbia....
(SPO) in 1990. He quickly rose in the party hierarchy by forming a strong local branch in Čačak
Cacak
Čačak is a city in central Serbia. It is the administrative center of the Moravica District of Serbia. Čačak is also the main industrial, cultural and sport center of the district...
. His personable nature and imposing personality, quickly marked him out on the local political scene.
Mayor of Čačak 1996-2004
He was elected mayor of ČačakCacak
Čačak is a city in central Serbia. It is the administrative center of the Moravica District of Serbia. Čačak is also the main industrial, cultural and sport center of the district...
in 1996 by defeating the Socialist Party of Serbia
Socialist Party of Serbia
The Socialist Party of Serbia is officially a democratic socialist political party in Serbia. It is also widely recognized as a de facto Serbian nationalist party, though the party itself does not officially acknowledge this...
(SPS) candidate. Shortly thereafter, in 1997 following the breakup of Zajedno coalition, he left the SPO
Serbian Renewal Movement
The Serbian Renewal Movement is a political party in Serbia.It was founded in 1990.In 1997 a dissident group abandoned the party and formed New Serbia....
, where he was the president of party's local branch, and founded his own New Serbia
New Serbia
New Serbia is a political party in Serbia. It was created in 1997 by a number of dissidents from the Serbian Renewal Movement....
party.
During his tenure, Čačak became a small haven of anti-Milošević struggle similar to few other cities where different opposition parties held municipal power. Ilić ran the city successfully, attracting legitimate investors and developing local economy. He was extremely vocal and direct in his criticism of Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
and his regime, so much so that he was forced into hiding during the NATO airstrikes during Spring 1999, fearing brutal reprisal at a time when the regime often engaged in the practice of eliminating political opponents under the shield of NATO bombs.
In 2000 Ilić's New Serbia
New Serbia
New Serbia is a political party in Serbia. It was created in 1997 by a number of dissidents from the Serbian Renewal Movement....
joined the Democratic Opposition of Serbia
Democratic Opposition of Serbia
The Democratic Opposition of Serbia was a wide alliance of political parties in Serbia , formed as a coalition against the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia and its leader, Slobodan Milošević in 2000...
(DOS) coalition along with 17 other parties. Ilić had a large role in the October 5 overthrow as he organized and headed a long motorcade of cars, buses and trucks that left Čačak on the morning of October 5, 2000 and arrived in Belgrade after going through (often forcefully) numerous police road blocks and check points along the way. Ilić and his men then positioned themselves right in front of the Federal Assembly building, addressed the crowd, which was already gathered in hundreds of thousands, and eventually led the charge on Parliament.
In the immediate days and months after the successful overthrow, Ilić enjoyed wide praise and enormous popularity. So, many, including Ilić himself, were surprised and unhappy about him getting very little in the subsequent division of power among the DOS members. In comparison, many other leaders of small parties within DOS that had considerably lesser profile than NS and Ilić, like Vladan Batić
Vladan Batic
Vladan Batić was a Serbian politician. He graduated from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law. He was the Minister of Justice in the Serbian Government from 2000 to 2003. It 2001, Batić announced that warrants would be made for the arrests of former persons in power before the 5 October...
, Dušan Mihajlović
Dušan Mihajlovic (politician)
Dušan Mihajlović is a Serbian politician. Mihajlović was the founder and president of the New Democracy political party with its base in Valjevo, Serbia. Mihajlović earned a degree from the University of Belgrade's Law School...
, Goran Svilanović
Goran Svilanovic
Goran Svilanović is a Serbian politician, the Chairman of Working Table I of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe....
, Nebojša Čović
Nebojša Covic
Nebojša Čović, Ph.D is a Serbian politician and businessman. He is the President of the Social Democratic Party...
, Rasim Ljajić
Rasim Ljajic
Rasim Ljajić is the current Minister of Labor, Employment, and Social Affairs of Serbia since 15 May 2007. He is a medical graduate. He is the President of the Social Democratic Party of Serbia, elected on 21 January 2007 on the list of the Democratic Party in the parliament, where it has three...
, Žarko Korać
Žarko Korac
Professor Žarko Korać , Ph.D. is a Serbian psychologist and politician.He teaches psychology at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy and is one of the founders and president of the Social Democratic Union...
, Dragan Veselinov
Dragan Veselinov
Dragan Veselinov is a Serbian politician. As the president of the Serbian Peasants Party in 1990, he was among the few Serbians to go openly against the Serb nationalist policies of Slobodan Milosevic and his allies in the early 1990s....
, József Kasza
József Kasza
József Kasza is an ethnic Hungarian politician, economist and banker in Serbia....
, Mile Isakov
Mile Isakov
Miodrag "Mile" Isakov is a Serbian former politician, journalist and diplomat. He is most notable as a long-time leader of the Reformists of Vojvodina political party...
, etc., all received high posts. Ilic on the other hand only got to be MP in the federal Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro
Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro
The Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro was the legislative body of Serbia and Montenegro. The parliament was unicameral and was made up of 126 deputies, of which 91 were from Serbia and 35 were from Montenegro. The parliament was established in 2003, and was a replacement for the Federal...
in addition to his mayoral duties in Čačak
Cacak
Čačak is a city in central Serbia. It is the administrative center of the Moravica District of Serbia. Čačak is also the main industrial, cultural and sport center of the district...
.
So, even though he started out as a prominent member of the ruling coalition, Ilić's role was effectively marginalized over the coming years. He reportedly had an understanding with Zoran Đinđić that he'd be DOS' candidate for the President of Serbia
President of Serbia
The President of Serbia is the head of state of Serbia. Presently serving as the head of state is Boris Tadić. He was elected with a narrow majority of 50.31% in the 2008 Serbian presidential elections.-Authority, legal and constitutional rights:...
, but nothing materialiyed in that regard. Since he didn't have a national platform through a high-ranking government position, Ilić was seldom featured in the media for anything other than his frequent outburst or spats with reporters.
Minister of Capital Investment 2004-2008
In late 2003 after dissolution of Serbia's parliament in anticipation of new elections, he reached out to his old friend Vuk DraškovićVuk Draškovic
Vuk Drašković , leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement, is a Serbian politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Yugoslavia and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of State Union of Serbia and Montenegro and Serbia.He graduated from the University of Belgrade's Law School in 1968...
(also a political non-factor at this point) and their parties entered a pre-election coalition. Surprising many, they managed to get 22 parliamentary seats, which they used to form a minority government with Democratic Party of Serbia
Democratic Party of Serbia
The Democratic Party of Serbia is a political party in Serbia.-Foundation:The Democratic Party of Serbia was founded when a faction of the Democratic Party that supported its involvement in the Democratic Movement of Serbia split from the party and formed their own in 1992.Soon after the March...
(DSS) and G17 Plus
G17 Plus
G17 Plus , abbreviated to G17+, is a centre-right political party in Serbia. With 22 seats in the National Assembly, it is the third-largest party, and currently participates in a coalition with, amongst others, the Democratic Party and the Socialist Party...
party. Drašković became the Foreign Minister of Serbia-Montenegro, while Ilić got the position of Serbia's Minister for Capital Investment.
After elections in 2007, Ministry for Capital Investments was dissolved into 3 ministries. Velimir became minister of newly formed Ministry for Infrastructures.