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The president of Serbia (), officially styled as President of the Republic (), is the
head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "
he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
of
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
. The current officeholder is
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 ...
, who was elected in
2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
and has held the role since 31 May 2017. According to the
Constitution of Serbia The current Constitution of the Republic of Serbia (), also known as Mitrovdan Constitution () is the supreme and basic law of Serbia. It was adopted in 2006, replacing the previous constitution dating from 1990. History The adoption of current ...
, the president represents Serbia at home and abroad, proposes a candidate for the position of
Prime Minister of Serbia The prime minister of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, премијер Србије, premijer Srbije; feminine gender, feminine: премијерка/premijerka), officially the president of the Government of the Republic of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, председн ...
to the
National Assembly of Serbia The National Assembly ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Народна скупштина, Narodna skupština, ), fully the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia (), is the unicameral legislature of Serbia. The assembly is composed of 250 deputies who are ...
, leads foreign policy by appointing and dismissing ambassadors, leads the
Serbian Armed Forces The Serbian Armed Forces () is the military of Serbia. The President of the Republic acts as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, while administration and defence policy is carried out by the Government through the Ministry of Defence. The h ...
, has limited executive powers, and can dissolve the National Assembly and schedule
parliamentary elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...
. The president is assisted by the General Secretariat, which is made up of the general secretary and advisers, and is seated at the Novi Dvor in
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
. The president is elected in
direct election Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they want to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are chosen ...
s that are scheduled every five years, and can serve up to two five-year terms. The presidents term ends when it formally expires, or when the president resigns or is removed from the office by the National Assembly. The office of the president of Serbia was created with the 1990 Serbian constitutional referendum;
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 ...
was the first officeholder. Serbia's system until 2006 was
semi-presidential A semi-presidential republic, or dual executive republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamen ...
, after which it became
parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
. The president can be replaced by the president of the National Assembly for up to three months if the president resigns or is removed from office or is unable to perform duties. Former presidents of Serbia and
Serbia and Montenegro The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...
from Serbia have the right to hold the title Former President of the Republic, attend state ceremonials, and for up to six months after the end of their term can keep receiving 80% of their presidential salary.


Powers and duties

The powers, duties, and competencies of the president of Serbia, officially styled President of the Republic (), is defined by the Article 112 of the
Constitution of Serbia The current Constitution of the Republic of Serbia (), also known as Mitrovdan Constitution () is the supreme and basic law of Serbia. It was adopted in 2006, replacing the previous constitution dating from 1990. History The adoption of current ...
, the Law on the Election of the President of the Republic, and the Law on the President of the Republic. The president represents Serbia at home and abroad, proclaims laws upon their decree, in accordance with the Constitution, proposes a candidate for the position of
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
to the
National Assembly of Serbia The National Assembly ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Народна скупштина, Narodna skupština, ), fully the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia (), is the unicameral legislature of Serbia. The assembly is composed of 250 deputies who are ...
, proposes holders of positions to the National Assembly, appoints and dismiss, upon their decree, ambassadors of Serbia, upon the proposal of the
government of Serbia The government of Serbia ( sr-cyrl, Влада Србије, Vlada Srbije), formally the Government of the Republic of Serbia ( sr-cyrl, Влада Републике Србије, Vlada Republike Srbije), commonly abbreviated to Serbian Governme ...
, receives letters of credit and revocable letters of credit of foreign diplomatic representatives, grants amnesties and awards honours, and administers other affairs stipulated by the Constitution. The president has the same immunity as members of the National Assembly; the president also cannot serve multiple public positions at the same time.


Foreign policy and defence

The foreign policy is led by the National Assembly, the president, and the prime minister of Serbia. The president's obligation is to receive letters of credit and revocable letters of credit of foreign diplomatic representatives and appoint and dismiss ambassadors of Serbia. Regarding defence, the president leads the
Serbian Armed Forces The Serbian Armed Forces () is the military of Serbia. The President of the Republic acts as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, while administration and defence policy is carried out by the Government through the Ministry of Defence. The h ...
and can appoint, promote, and relieve officers of the Army. Despite this, he is not the commander-in-chief, considering that the title does not exist in the Constitution. The president is part of the National Security Council, which also includes the prime minister, deputy prime ministers, and ministers of defence, internal affairs, and
finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...
. In case if the National Assembly cannot convene itself, the president, prime minister, and president of the National Assembly jointly discuss the introduction of the
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
or the proclamation of war.


Legislative power

The office of the president of Serbia is part of Serbia's executive government, alongside the government of Serbia, but has limited executive powers. The position is not ceremonial, but has duties prescribed by the
parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
style of governance. The president cannot propose laws to the government. The president has the obligation to issue a decree that would promulgate a law, while they can also veto laws and send them back to the National Assembly for discussion. If the National Assembly again adopts the law that was previously vetoed by the president, the president then has to promulgate the law.


Dissolution of parliament

According to the Article 101 of the Consitution, the president has the right to dissolve the National Assembly and call
parliamentary elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...
. The president has to dissolve the National Assembly 90 days before the expiration of the National Assembly's convocation, after which parliamentary elections have to be held in the next 60 days. The president also has to dissolve the National Assembly if a new government is not elected within 90 days of the beginning of a new convocation or within 30 days of a
vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...
. A convocation lasts four years, but can end earlier, in case if a
snap election A snap election is an election that is called earlier than the one that has been scheduled. Snap elections in parliamentary systems are often called to resolve a political impasse such as a hung parliament where no single political party has a ma ...
gets called. A snap election is called upon the dissolution of the National Assembly on the proposal of the government or when the National Assembly fails to elect a new government within 30 days of the acknowledgment of the resignation of the prime minister. The president can, however, reject government's proposal to dissolve the National Assembly. The election campaign has to last between 45 and 60 days.


General Secretariat

The General Secretariat () is the office that provides support for the president of Serbia. It consists of the cabinet of the president and the bureau of the general secretary of the president. The current general secretary is Suzana Paunović. The office also consists of advisers to the president, which as of 2025 include Tatjana Jović, Milorad Veljović, Suzana Vasiljević, Verica Lazić, Nenad Mihailović, Dejan Savić, Branka Đukić, and Miloš Vučević. The net monthly salary of the president is (), as of May 2023.


Novi Dvor

The seat of the president is at the Novi Dvor, located at Andrićev Venac 1 in
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
. The building was built between 1911 and 1922 for the seat of the
House of Karađorđević The House of Karađorđević or Karađorđević dynasty ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Династија Карађорђевић, Dinastija Karađorđević, ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Карађорђевићи, Karađorđevići, label=none) was the former ruling Kin ...
; the architect was Stojan Titelbah. The Karađorđevićs were seated in the building between 1922 and 1933, after which the building was transfered into the Museum of
Prince Paul of Yugoslavia Prince Paul of Yugoslavia, also known as Paul Karađorđević (, English transliteration: ''Paul Karageorgevich''; 27 April 1893 – 14 September 1976), was prince regent of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia during the minority of King Peter II. Paul w ...
from 1934 to 1948. After 1948, the building was used as the seat of the National Assembly of Serbia. Since the creation of the office of president of Serbia, the building has been used as the seat of the president. Allegedly, there is an underground tunnel connecting Novi Dvor and the old building of the National Assembly, now the seat of the Republic Electoral Commission.


Election and taking office

The president of Serbia is elected in a
direct election Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they want to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are chosen ...
with secret voting that is held every five years. The president of the National Assembly calls the election 90 days prior to the end of the president's mandate, for the election to be held in the next 60 days. The candidate who wins at least a majority of votes (50%) is elected president. If no candidate wins a majority, a second round is scheduled between the top two candidates from the first round. In the second round, the candidate with the most votes wins. Any adult with Serbian citizenship can become a candidate for president; they can be nominated either by a citizens group,
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
, or a coalition of political parties. According to the Article 114 of the Constitution of Serbia, the text of the presidential oath of office is as follows: The term of office of the president lasts 5 years, beginning on the day when the president takes the oath before the National Assembly; the president can only serve two terms. The term of a president can be extended during wartime or state of emergency. The term ends when it formally expires or when the president resigns or is removed from the office by the National Assembly. Upon the resignation of the president, they have to inform their decision to the National Assembly.


History

After
World War II 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 ...
, the highest positioning public official within Serbia was the president of the Presidency of the National Assembly of Serbia, considering that the office of the president of Serbia did not exist yet. The first officeholder was
Siniša Stanković Siniša Stanković (; ; 26 March 1892 – 24 February 1974) was a Yugoslav and Serbian scientist and politician. As a prominent biologist, he became member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. As a politician and statesman, from 1944 to ...
. In 1953, the highest positioning office became the President of the National Assembly of Serbia, and later the President of the Presidency of Serbia in 1974. The position of the president of Serbia was introduced with the 1990 Serbian constitutional referendum;
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 ...
was the first one to be elected to the office. He was sworn into office on 11 January 1991. Political scientists Vladimir Goati and Milan Jovanović argued that under the 1990 Constitution, Serbia's political system was semi-presidential. Milošević remained in office until the 1997 Serbian general election. Considering that the turnout in the election was less than 50%, a new election was scheduled for December 1997, which was won by
Milan Milutinović Milan Milutinović ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Милутиновић, ; 19 December 1942 – 2 July 2023) was a Serbian politician who served as the president of Serbia from 1997 to 2002. Milutinović served as Secretary for Education and Science of ...
. Once Milutinović's term ended,
elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...
were called for September 2002. However, the turnout in the second round was lower than 50%, and therefore a new election had to be called for December 2002, which also faced the same outcome. In
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
, a new election was scheduled, however, the election's turnout was again lower than 50%. In the 2004 election, however,
Boris Tadić Boris Tadić, (born 15 January 1958) is a Serbian politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2004 to 2012. Born in Sarajevo, he graduated from the University of Belgrade with a degree in psychology. He later worked as a journalist ...
was elected president after the turnout rules were abolished. Upon the implementation of the new Constitution in 2006, Serbia became a
parliamentary republic A parliamentary republic is a republic that operates under a parliamentary system of government where the Executive (government), executive branch (the government) derives its legitimacy from and is accountable to the legislature (the parliament). ...
. Additionally, elections were called for January 2008, in which Tadić was re-elected as president. Tadić resigned as president in 2012 for the
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...
to be held concurrently with the
parliamentary elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...
. He became the first president of Serbia to resign from office. Tadić, however, lost the election to
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 ...
. Nikolić resigned as president 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 ...
upon assuming office. Nikolić remained in office until 2017, when he was succeeded by
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 ...
, who was sworn in as president on 31 May 2017. After winning his second term in the 2022 Serbian general election, Vučić was again sworn in on 31 May 2022.


Vacancy or incapacity

In case if the president resigns, is removed from office, or is unable to perform duties, the president of the National Assembly of Serbia replaces them for up to three months. The president can be removed from office if at least two-thirds of members of the National Assembly vote in favour of their removal.
Dragan Tomić Dragan Tomić ( sr-cyrl, Драган Томић; 9 December 1935 – 21 June 2022) was a Serbian politician who served as the president of the National Assembly of Serbia from 1994 to 2001. He was a member of the Socialist Party of Serbia and ...
served as acting president between Milošević's and Milutinović's terms as presidents, while Nataša Mićić,
Dragan Maršićanin Dragan Maršićanin ( sr-Cyrl, Драган Маршићанин; born 26 January 1950) is a Serbian economist and politician. He was the ambassador of Serbia to Switzerland from 2004 to 2009. He served as the Ministry of Economy (Serbia), Minist ...
,
Vojislav Mihailović Vojislav Mihailović ( sr-cyrl, Војислав Михаиловић; born 3 September 1951) is a Serbian politician who served as the mayor of Belgrade from 1999 to 2000. As of January 2022, he has been the president of the Movement for the ...
, and Predrag Marković served as acting presidents between Milutinović's and Tadić's terms as presidents. Mihailović only served for one day, between 3 and 4 March 2004. Since the implementation of the new Constitution in 2006,
Slavica Đukić Dejanović Slavica Đukić Dejanović ( sr-Cyrl, Славица Ђукић Дејановић, ; born 4 July 1951) is a Serbian politician who served as minister of education from 2023 to 2025. A long-time member of the Socialist Party of Serbia, she previ ...
has only served as acting president between Tadić's and Nikolić's terms as presidents.


Post-presidency

According to the Law on the President of the Republic, former presidents of Serbia and presidents of
Serbia and Montenegro The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...
from Serbia have the right to hold the title Former President of the Republic () and attend state ceremonials in accordance with the protocol. For up to six months beyond the end of their term, former presidents can also receive 80% of the presidential salary until they obtain a job or retire. Additionally, former presidents have the right to an office, adviser, secretary, and a car with a driver for the amount of time they served in the office.


See also

*
Politics of Serbia The Politics of Serbia are defined by a unitary parliamentary framework that is defined by the Constitution of Serbia in which the President of the Republic is the head of state while the Prime Minister is the head of government. Executive powe ...
*
Prime Minister of Serbia The prime minister of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, премијер Србије, premijer Srbije; feminine gender, feminine: премијерка/premijerka), officially the president of the Government of the Republic of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, председн ...


References


External links


Official website of the President of Serbia
{{Heads of state and government of Europe Politics of Serbia 1991 establishments in Serbia