Milo Djukanovic

Prime Minister of Montenegro

(Die Welt; AIM; Free Serbia: Montenegrin Elections 2001; Discovery Online; British Helsinki Human Rights Group)

Longtime Montenegrin leader Milo Djukanovic came out of retirement to take up the post of prime minister once more in February 2008. Djukanovic, who spearheaded the country's drive for independence, was tapped for the post after former Prime Minister Zeljko Sturanovic stepped down due to health problems.

This marks Djukanovic's fifth term as prime minister.

Djukanovic was born in 1962 in Niksic. The son of a judge, he spent his youth progressing quickly though the ranks of the Communist Party apparatus. He studied economics and in 1979 joined the Central Committee of Yugoslav Socialists.

In 1991, with the support of Slobodan Milosevic -- a man who would later become Djukanovic’s most formidable enemy -- Djukanovic became at age 29 the youngest prime minister in Europe. When he assumed his post, with no political experience except in youth and party organizations, many observers questioned whether he would able to handle the complexities of his position. But the young leader proved remarkably adept at managing the republic’s diverse affairs.

After serving three terms as prime minister, Djukanovic assessed the growing split within his Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) over its relationship with Slobodan Milosevic, and decided that partnership with the Serbian president was long-run political suicide. In 1997 he gave an interview in which he blasted Milosevic, describing him as a man with an antiquated political philosophy who surrounds himself with corrupt henchmen.

This signalled an open rift between the ruling DPS, which clustered into two factions: one led by Djukanovic and the other by pro-Milosevic President Momir Bulatovic. In July1997, they faced-off in the republic’s presidential elections. Djukanovic, whose camp gained control of DPS finances and real estate, was elected with a narrow victory. Bulatovic moved on to become prime minister of the federal government and founded the Socialist People’s Party (SNP), which continued to support Milosevic’s agenda in Montenegro.

Djukanovic spent his presidency slowly wrestling political and economic control of the republic's affairs from Yugoslav federal structures.

Djukanovic is married.