Demo Beriša ( sr-cyr, Демо Бериша, ; born 17 April 1963) is a Serbian retired military officer serving as the minister of human and minority rights and social dialogue since 16 April 2025. An ethnic

Kosovo Albanian The Albanians of Kosovo (, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars (), constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-group of Ghegs, who inhabit the north of ...

, he opposes the recognition of Kosovo.

Early life and career

Beriša was born in 1963 in a

family in

Peć Peja or Peć, ), is the fifth most populous city in Kosovo and serves as the seat of the Peja Municipality and the District of Peja. It is located in the Rugova (region), Rugova region on the eastern section of the Accursed Mountains along the ...

SAP Kosovo The Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Socijalistička Autonomna Pokrajina Kosovo, Социјалистичка Аутономна Покрајина Косово, separator=" / "; ; . Also abbreviated as SAP Kosovo. referre ...

SR Serbia The Socialist Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Социјалистичка Република Србија, Socijalistička Republika Srbija), previously known as the People's Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / " ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

. He graduated from a military school in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

and later continued his studies in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

, where he earned a degree in economics. He served as an officer in the military police branch of the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

and the

Serbian Army The Serbian Army () is the land-based and the largest component of the Serbian Armed Forces. Its organization, composition, weapons and equipment are adapted to the assigned missions and tasks of the Serbian Armed Forces, primarily for operatio ...

, retiring in 2005. Since 2014, Beriša has served as the president of the Matica of Albanians. The association works to improve relations between Serbs and Albanians, and also focuses on preserving the

Albanian language Albanian (Endonym and exonym, endonym: , , or ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid, Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan group. It ...

and culture, as well as promoting literacy among Albanians in

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

. The association publishes the first Serbian-Albanian bilingual magazine and also engaged in humanitarian activities. Beriša and his association maintain cooperation with the Embassy of Albania in Belgrade Matica of Albanians has had all its bank accounts blocked since 2019.

Political activities

Since 2023, Beriša has been working as an advisor in the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue. In March 2025, Beriša was one of the founding members of the People's Movement for the State (PZND), a political initiative launched by Serbia's president

Aleksandar Vučić Aleksandar Vučić, (born 5 March 1970) is a Serbian politician serving as President of Serbia since 2017. A founding member of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), he previously served as President of the SNS from 2012 to 2023, Deputy Prim ...

. Beriša voiced opposition to the student-led anti-corruption protests in Serbia that have been organised since 2024. In April 2025, Beriša attended the pro-government

counter-protest A counter-protest (also spelled counterprotest) is a protest action which takes place within the proximity of an ideologically opposite protest. The purposes of counter-protests can range from merely voicing opposition to the objective of the ot ...

in Belgrade.

Minister of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue

The composition of

Đuro Macut Đuro Macut (; born 22 November 1963) is a Serbian endocrinologist and academic, serving as the prime minister of Serbia since 2025. Born in Belgrade, Macut graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in 1989, later obtaining a doctorate from the ins ...

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

was announced on 14 April 2025, with Beriša mentioned as a candidate for the minister of human and minority rights and social dialogue. His nomination was opposed by

Shaip Kamberi Shaip Kamberi ( ''Šaip Kamberi''; born 15 October 1964) is a Serbian politician. An ethnic Albanian, he has led the Party for Democratic Action since 2018, and has been an MP since 2020, a role he previously held between 2014 and 2016. Previo ...

, the only ethnic Albanian member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

. Kamberi stated that the proposal to appoint Beriša represented "a heavy blow to every Albanian who has suffered, resisted, and sacrificed for their rights in Serbia". Beriša was elected minister on 16 April 2025. Beriša condemned the blockade of the

Radio Television of Serbia The Serbian Broadcasting Corporation, more commonly referred to as Radio Television of Serbia (), or RTS (), is the state-owned public radio and television broadcaster of Serbia. RTS has four organizational units – radio, television, music pro ...

and stated that his ministry will invite the deans of the faculties for a discussion within the framework of the social dialogue.

Personal life

Beriša is married and has two children. He is a licensed court interpreter for the Albanian language. In 2019, Beriša was convicted for obstructing a police officer during a traffic stop in Novi Sad and received a six-month suspended sentence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berisa, Demo 1963 births Living people People from Peja Albanians in Serbia University of Novi Sad alumni Yugoslav military personnel Serbian military personnel Government ministers of Serbia People's Movement for the State politicians

Early life and career

Political activities

Minister of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue

Personal life

See also

References