Marko Atlagić ( sr-Cyrl, Марко Атлагић; born 30 April 1949) is a Croatian-born, Serbian politician and historian. He is one of the leaders of the
Serbian Progressive Party
The Serbian Progressive Party (, SNS) is a major populist, catch-all party, catch-all List of political parties in Serbia, political party in Serbia. It has been the Ruling party, ruling party since 2012. Miloš Vučević, the former prime mi ...
(SNS) and Head of the Historical Department at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Priština in
North Mitrovica
North Mitrovica; or ''Mitrovicë Veriore'' or North Kosovska Mitrovica, is a town and municipality located in Mitrovica District in Kosovo. As of 2015, it has a population of 29,460 inhabitants. It covers an area of .
North Mitrovica is a par ...
PR Croatia
The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), commonly abbreviated as SR Croatia and referred to as simply Croatia, was a ...
,
FPR 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 ...
, Atlagić finished primary school and high school in his hometown and in
Benkovac
Benkovac () is a town and municipality in the Zadar County, Croatia.
Geography
Benkovac is located where the plain of Ravni Kotari and the karstic plateau of Bukovica, Croatia, Bukovica meet, 20 km from the town of Biograd na Moru and 30&n ...
. He later graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy at the
University of Zadar
The University of Zadar (, ) is a public university located in Zadar, Croatia. The university in its present form was founded in 2002, but can trace its lineage to 1396, thus making it the oldest higher education institution in Croatia, and one ...
, where in 1981 he received his
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
in history. His professional biography states that he received his
PhD
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
Kosovo
Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
(later headquartered in
Kosovska Mitrovica
Mitrovica (Albanian language, Albanian Definiteness, indefinite Albanian morphology#Nouns (declension), form: ''Mitrovicë''; sr-Cyrl, Митровица, Mitrovica), also referred to as Kosovska Mitrovica ( sr-Cyrl, Косовска Митр ...
) in 1996. However, the accuracy of this information came into question in 2022 following a scandal regarding his alleged biographical forgeries. There is no record of his PhD thesis in the university's catalog and he was unable to publicly show it. He worked as a professor and a member of the senate of the same university in Serbia.
Scientific works
He reportedly published 8 books and 150 scientific papers. However, in 2022 it was revealed that at the time there was no available list of his works;
Google Scholar
Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of Academic publishing, scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. Released in Beta release, beta in November 2004, th ...
and
ORCID
The ORCID (; Open Researcher and Contributor ID) is a nonproprietary alphanumeric code to uniquely identify authors and contributors of scholarly communication.
This addresses the problem that a particular author's contributions to the scien ...
did not list him in their registry,
Scopus
Scopus is a scientific abstract and citation database, launched by the academic publisher Elsevier as a competitor to older Web of Science in 2004. The ensuing competition between the two databases has been characterized as "intense" and is c ...
listed one work, meanwhile
Serbian Citation Index
Serbian Citation Index (; SCIndeks) is a combination of an online multidisciplinary bibliographic database, a national citation index, an Open Access full-text Academic journal, journal repository and an electronic publishing platform. It is produc ...
listed 29, out of which 14 were published in ''Zbornik radova'' by the institute of the same University of Priština where he works as a professor, and 12 were in journal ''Baština'' where he is a member of the editorial board. Promoting himself as an expert on
heraldry
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...
and
vexillology
Vexillology ( ) is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general.Smith, Whitney. ''Flags Through the Ages and Across the World'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. Print.
A person who studi ...
, some of his works were critically reviewed by
SANU
The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , SANU) is a national academy and the most prominent academic institution in Serbia, founded in 1841 as Society of Serbian Letters (, DSS).
The Academy's membership has included Nobel laureates Ivo ...
academic historian Slavko Gavrilović, and heraldist Dragomir Acović, who deemed it as scientifically worthless due to its falsifications, false references, lack of knowledge, exceptional claims, and low literacy level.
Politics
1990s
As a member of the
League of Communists of Yugoslavia
The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, was the founding and ruling party of SFR Yugoslavia. It was formed in 1919 as the main communist opposition party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats ...
, he participated at the last convened
14th Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia
The League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY) convened the highest forum for its 14th Extraordinary Congress on 20–23 January 1990 before it adjourned. It later reconvened for one day on 26 May. This was the last convened LCY Congress and was ...
. In the early 1990s, after Croatia proclaimed its independence from
SFRJ
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 ...
, as a member of the
Socialist Party of Croatia
Socialist Party of Croatia (Croatian language, Croatian: ''Socijalistička stranka Hrvatske'' or ''Socijalistički savez Hrvatske - Savez socijalista Hrvatske'', ''SSH'') was a left-wing political party in Croatia.
Before the arrival of multi-par ...
he was on the List of members of the Sabor, 1990–1992 as one of many representatives of the Council of Municipalities. However, he soon joined the Serb nationalist movement in Croatia, which sought to form a separate state from Croatia. In 1991, he participated in a pan-Serbian meeting of the SAO Kninska Krajina in
Knin
Knin () is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka (Croatia), Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagreb and Split, Croatia, Split. ...
as one of its speakers. As a member of
ultra-nationalist
Ultranationalism, or extreme nationalism, is an extremist form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its specific i ...
the "
Serbian Radical Party
The Serbian Radical Party (, abbr. SRS) is a Far-right politics in Serbia, far-right, Ultranationalism, ultranationalist List of political parties in Serbia, political party in Serbia. Founded in 1991, its co-founder, first and only leader is ...
for Republic of Srpska Krajina" ''(SRS for RSK)'' he was elected MP in the Parliament of the
Republic of Serbian Krajina
The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Република Српска Крајина, Republika Srpska Krajina, separator=" / ", ; abbr. РСК / RSK), known as the Serbian Krajina ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српск ...
, and in 1994 he was elected as its vice-president after the Serbian Radical Party dominated parliamentary majority was constituted. The government fell in late 1994, after which Atlagić resigned from the position of Deputy Speaker. In 1995, Atlagić was
Minister without portfolio
A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...
in the last RSK government, under
Milan Babić
Milan Babić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Бабић; 25 February 1956 – 5 March 2006) was a Croatian Serb politician and war criminal who served as the first president of the Republic of Serbian Krajina, a self-proclaimed state largely populated by ...
. After
Operation Storm
Operation Storm ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Operacija Oluja, separator=" / ", Операција Олуја) was the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence and a major factor in the outcome of the Bosnian War. It was a decisive victory f ...
, he had been one of the ministers from 1995 to 2006 by the SRS-promoted Government of the RSK in Exile.
In 2006, Atlagić testified at the trial of
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Милошевић, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the President of Serbia between 1989 and 1997 and President of the Federal Republic of Yugos ...
. He claimed various "notorious facts" against the
Croats
The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...
which "failed to corroborate", and "insisted that Serbs had committed no bad acts". In 2020 and 2021 he co-authored papers which denied that the
Srebrenica massacre
The Srebrenica massacre, also known as the Srebrenica genocide, was the July 1995 genocidal killing of more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in and around the town of Srebrenica during the Bosnian War. It was mainly perpetrated by unit ...
was a
genocide
Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...
, and provided a revisionist explanation of the circumstances of the
Breakup of Yugoslavia
After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, the constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia split apart in the early 1990s. Unresolved issues from the breakup caused a series of inter-ethnic Yugoslav ...
. He also claimed that over 800,000 Serbs were killed in the
WWII
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Jasenovac concentration camp
Jasenovac () was a concentration camp, concentration and extermination camp established in the Jasenovac, Sisak-Moslavina County, village of the same name by the authorities of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in occupied Yugoslavia durin ...
.
2000s–present
In 2007, the SRS had crumbled and Marko Atlagić had supported the
Tomislav Nikolić
Tomislav Nikolić ( sr-Cyrl, Томислав Николић, ; born 15 February 1952) is a Serbian former politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2012 to 2017. A former member of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS), he di ...
and
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 ...
faction as opposed to
Vojislav Šešelj
Vojislav Šešelj ( sr-Cyrl, Војислав Шешељ, ; born 11 October 1954) is a Serbian politician and convicted war criminal. He is the founder and president of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS). Between 1998 and 2000, he was a D ...
, becoming a member of the new
Serbian Progressive Party
The Serbian Progressive Party (, SNS) is a major populist, catch-all party, catch-all List of political parties in Serbia, political party in Serbia. It has been the Ruling party, ruling party since 2012. Miloš Vučević, the former prime mi ...
's presidency and was assigned to deal with Refugee and IDP problems. As a member of Serbian Progressive Party after the
2012 Serbian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Serbia on 6 May 2012 to elect members of the National Assembly. The elections were held simultaneously with provincial, local, and presidential elections.
Background
The 2008 parliamentary elections result ...
he was on the
list of members of the National Assembly of Serbia, 2012–2014
MNAs by party
This is a list of the 250 members of the 2012–2014 National Assembly of Serbia, as well as a list of former members of the 2012–2014 National Assembly. which continued to be until the National Assembly of Serbia, 2022–2024. Atlagić "is a member of the Board on the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region, the Board on Education, Science, Technological Development and the Information Society and a deputy member of the Committee on Kosovo and Metohija". In 2022 and 2024, he was elected as the Head of the Board of Education, which some perceived as an insult to the public, academic and political community.
In 2013, he caused controversy in the National Assembly by proclaiming the first Croatian president
Franjo Tuđman
Franjo Tuđman (14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999) was a Croatian politician and historian who became the first president of Croatia, from 1990 until his death in 1999. He served following the Independence of Croatia, country's independe ...
as an example of a "proper management of the state" and "for a good solution to personnel problems".
Atlagić was one of the ideological creators of the Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Higher Education from September 2018, which "legalized fake doctorates". In 2019, during the
Siniša Mali plagiarism scandal
Siniša Mali plagiarism scandal refers to the political scandal in Serbia which led to the 2019 annulment of the 2013 doctoral dissertation of economist and politician Siniša Mali by the Belgrade University. After the first plagiarism claims in ...
and
2018–2020 Serbian protests
In late 2018, a series of largely peaceful protests (called Stop Bloody Shirts, ; or One of Five Million, 1 of 5 Million, #1of5million, ) over the rise of political violence and against the authoritarian rule of Serbian President Aleksandar Vuč ...
, he attacked and spread misinformation about professors from the
Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy (), established in 1838 within the University of Belgrade#History, Belgrade Higher School, is the oldest Faculty at the University of Belgrade. The Faculty building is located at the meeting point ...
who supported the protests (and Raša Karapadža who published a review of Siniša Mali's plagiarized PhD).
In 2020, he was insulting to the political members of the opposition (incl.
Vuk Jeremić
Vuk Jeremić ( sr-Cyrl, Вук Јеремић, ; born 3 July 1975) is a Serbian politician and diplomat who served as the president of the United Nations General Assembly from 2012 to 2013 and as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia from 2 ...
), and actress
Seka Sablić
Jelisaveta "Seka" Sablić ( sr-cyr, Јелисавета "Сека" Саблић; born 13 June 1942) is a Serbian actress. She has performed in theatre houses in Belgrade and on TV and film. She is the winner of major theatre awards in Serbia and ...
. In 2021, he continued to insult Vuk Jeremić which resulted in a warning by National Assembly President
Ivica Dačić
Ivica Dačić ( sr-cyrl, Ивица Дачић, ; born 1 January 1966) is a Serbian politician serving as deputy prime minister of Serbia since 2022 and minister of internal affairs since 2024. He has been the leader of the Socialist Party of ...
. In 2023,
PEN International
PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide professional association, association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association ...
published an article, and
Union of Concerned Scientists
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is a nonprofit science advocacy organization based in the United States. The UCS membership includes many private citizens in addition to professional scientists. Anne Kapuscinski, Professor of Environment ...
wrote an open letter to president Vučić because of Atlagić's personal attack which were additionally promoted by the pro-government tabloids which harassed sociology professor Jovo Bakić of the University of Belgrade due to his criticism of the government. In his statements against the opposition, he also made disparaging remarks about the
LGBTQ
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...
community. His behavior in the National Assembly was described by others, like
Zdravko Ponoš
Zdravko Ponoš ( sr-Cyrl, Здравко Понош; born 3 November 1962) is a Serbian politician, former diplomat, and retired general who served as Chief of the Serbian General Staff, chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces fr ...
in 2024, as a tactic to provoke and insult opposition representatives, in order to "distract us from the essential issues and responsibilities of the current government".