Čedomir Antić
Encyclopedia
Čedomir Antić, PhD, (born 9 October 1974) is a Serbia
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 historian, politician, and former student leader.

Student activism

During Serbian Student Protest 1996/97, Antić was the long-standing chairman of the protest's Main Council (Parliament). Previously, Antić was one of the protest leaders at the Faculty of Philosophy. After the student protest had reached its triumphant end, Antić had, together with several colleagues (Čedomir Jovanović
Cedomir Jovanovic
Čedomir "Čeda" Jovanović is a Serbian politician and president of the Liberal Democratic Party .- Early life :...

, Vladimir Dobrosavljević, Igor Žeželj, Saša Ćirić, and others) organized Student Political Club (SPC). SPC was the first student party in history of Serbia. It led a boycott campaign of the 1997 elections. SPC called for political reforms and opted for new national, economic and regional policy. After revival 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...

’s regime in 1998, SPC joined the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Serbia)
The Democratic Party is a political party in Serbia. It is described as a social liberal or social democratic party.-Pre-war history:The Democratic Party was established on 16 February 1919 from unification of Sarajevo parties independent radicals, progressives, liberals and the Serbian part of...

, the strongest non-parliamentary political party in Serbia. Zoran Đinđić, then the party leader, named Antić as the party spokesman.

Scholarly career

Čedomir Antić graduated from History at the University of Belgrade
University 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...

 in 1999 as the first in generation. Antić attended an MA course in Contemporary history at the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...

 (2001/02). He also took an MPhil in Modern history (2003) at the University of Belgrade. In 2008 Antić obtained a PhD in history from the University of Belgrade. His PhD thesis is titled Great Britain and Serbia during the 1914-18 War. Čedomir Antić has been a fellow at the Institute for Balkan Studies of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts is the most prominent academic institution in Serbia today...

 since 2000.
In 2000, the Association of University Professors and Scientist of Serbia (Udruženje univerzitetskih profesora i naučnika Srbije) awarded Antić with the title of the best student in Serbia. Antić’s book, Ralph Paget: A Diplomat in Serbia, was awarded by North American Society for Serbian Studies as the best monograph published in 2006 written in English.

Political stand

Čedomir Antić was regarded as an intellectual among the leadership of the Student Protest 1996/1997. He was prominent for his reformist attitude, but it was indicated that he was an enlightened patriot as well. When Student Political Club joined the Democratic Party, Antić was the only one who got a high post in the party. However, due to Čedomir Jovanović
Cedomir Jovanovic
Čedomir "Čeda" Jovanović is a Serbian politician and president of the Liberal Democratic Party .- Early life :...

's personal dealings and ambitions in the Democratic Party, SPC members failed to create a wing in the party, and Antić was soon marginalized. Antić withdrew from political life after year 2000. He was a member of the first Executive Board of the University of Belgrade since the beginning of the democratic changes and took part in governmental commission for drafting the Public Holidays Law.

Dissatisfied by aspects of political transition in Serbia and disillusioned after corruption scandals in the Democratic Party, Antić entered politics again. In 2002 he published his state and national program "The Draft: Independent Serbia in the European Union" ("Nacrt: Nezavisna Srbija u Evropskoj uniji"). In the Draft he advocated dissolution of dysfunctional union between Serbia and Montenegro and a "historical compromise" between Republic of Serbia and ethnic Albanians from Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

. Even though he left possibility for reintegration of Kosovo in Serbia, Antić opted for the peaceful and democratic division of Kosovo. He advocated new political beginning for Serbia, establishment of firm, functional, but economically and politically fully regionalised state. The Draft was adopted as political program of the newly established party G 17 Plus. G 17 Plus came fourth in parliamentary elections of 2003 (its political club in parliament was the third in number of MPs). Soon after, Antić was elected the youngest member of G 17 Plus presidency. After establishment of the first Koštunica's government (DSS - G17 - SPO/NS), Antic became political advisor of Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus. In government, Antic was known as independent and bold critic of general state and national policy. He played important role in writing Labus Plan for Kosovo (2004), announced the biggest government crisis over cooperation with the ICTY (from January to March 2005), and was firm in M. Labus public defence during "the Ericsson Scandal" in 2005. However, his firm stand over Montenegro and Kosovo, and popularity within the party, alienated the party leadership from Antic. After Labus resigned and left the party leadership in May 2006, Antic supported the party's Vice-President Dinkic. Nevertheless, Antic’s candidacy for vice-presidency was "banned" and abolished in September 2006. Cedomir Antic resisted, rejected to stay in the party leadership and later on left the party.

In Progressive Club

In July 2007 Cedomir Antic established the Progressive Club
Progressive Club
The Progressive Club is a non-governmental organization in the Republic of Serbia founded in 2007 by dr Čedomir Antić. According to its Statute the organization promose the modernisation and reformation of the Serbian state, his politics, economy and the culture...

, a political NGO which continues conservative and modernist traditions of the 19th century Serbian Progressive Party. Together with Antic, members of the Progressive Club are Slobodan G. Markovic - historian and university professor, Predrag J. Markovic – historian and university professor, Fedja Dimovic – lawyer and musician from the hip-hop band Belgrade Syndicate, Mr Miroslav Marinkovic former head of the Sumadija County, and others.

Cedomir Antic has been the youngest member of the Crown Cabinet of H.R.H. Prince Alexander II of Serbia since 2002.

Books

History
  • A Country of Holidays and a City of Monuments, Velika Plana 2004.
  • Velika Britanija, Srbija i Krimski rat (1853–1856), Belgrade 2004.
  • Kratka istorija Srbije (1804–2004), Belgrade 2004.
  • Istorija i zabluda, Belgrade 2005.
  • Ralph Paget: A Diplomat in Serbia, Belgrade 2006.
  • Neutrality as Independence: Great Britain, Serbia and the Crimean War, Belgrade 2007
  • Četrnaesti vojvoda i devet baba: iz društvene istorije novovekovne Srbije, Belgrade 2009


Politics
  • Nezavisna Srbija, Beograd 2006.
  • Decenija: Spomenica Studentskog protesta 1996/97

External links

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