POLITICAL VOICES

Boris Tadić

President of Serbia (2004-2012), Member of Club de Madrid

Boris Tadić was President of Serbia between 2004 and 2012.

After the overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic’s regime in 2000, Tadić served as the Minister of Telecommunications under the Democratic Opposition of Serbia coalition. From 2003 until 2004, Tadić served as the Minister of Defense to Serbia and Montenegro. While serving as Minister of Defense, Mr. Tadić made dramatic reforms to the Ministry (which brought it to comply with NATO regulations) and the military. In 2004 Mr. Tadić was chosen as the new leader of Serbia´s Democratic Party, and later that year he won the general presidential elections.

As President of Serbia, he led the movement for a “new Serbia”, and revitalized Serbia’s role internationally. Mr. Tadić encouraged the development of businesses within Serbia, and promoted regional trade within the Balkans. Under his presidency, Serbia´s partnerships with the United States, Russia, China, and EU member states were strategically improved.

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Action

President Boris Tadić became the first prominent Serbian politician to apologize to Croatia for war crimes committed by Serbian forces in the country during the 1991-1995 conflicts since the wars on the territory of the former Yugoslavia ended over a decade ago.

On an emotionally loaded visit to the town of Vukovar, which Serbian forces besieged and overran in Croatia’s bitterly fought independence war, Serbia’s President made a pitch for reconciliation. On a visit that has been widely dubbed as historic, Tadic and his Croatian counterpart, Ivo Josipovic, placed wreaths for Croat victims at the nearby Ovcara memorial.

Relevant discourse

President Boris Tadić offered an apology to Croatia for the war crimes committed by Serbian forces, saying on Croatian television in 2007: “I apologize to all the citizens of Croatia for the injustice done by my people, and I take responsibility for their actions”

At the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in January 2011, Tadić said the following: “Serbia feels that it can make a positive contribution to the further progress of the entire region. This includes the way in which we think about ourselves and our neighbours. Some will still wish to define themselves by differences, disagreements and disparities – be they political, economic or cultural. We see things differently. It is our purpose in Serbia to promote harmony – within our society, among our societies in the region and between the EU and the region. In this regard, I want to focus on the issue of what I call healing – on what we define as reconciliation. The evidence of progress in the Balkans is conclusive: regional relations have reached a new level of trust and understanding. In fact, they have not been better in the past 20 years. Even on the most challenging issues, we have found ways of working together as never before.”

Boris Tadić's channels

Boris Tadić is leader on:

Reconciliation and social justice