Serbian President

The president of Serbia (), officially styled as President of the Republic (), is the head of state of Serbia. The current officeholder is Aleksandar Vučić, who was elected in 2017 and has held the role since 31 May 2017.

According to the Constitution of Serbia, the president represents Serbia at home and abroad, proposes a candidate for the position of Prime Minister of Serbia to the National Assembly of Serbia, leads foreign policy by appointing and dismissing ambassadors, leads the Serbian Armed Forces, has limited executive powers, and can dissolve the National Assembly and schedule parliamentary 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. The president is elected in direct elections 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 was the first officeholder. Serbia's system until 2006 was semi-presidential, after which it became parliamentary. 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 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 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 to the National Assembly of Serbia, 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, 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 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. 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 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 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. 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 convocation lasts four years, but can end earlier, in case if a snap election 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. The building was built between 1911 and 1922 for the seat of the House of Karađorđević; 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 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 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, 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, 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. 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 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. Once Milutinović's term ended, elections 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, a new election was scheduled, however, the election's turnout was again lower than 50%. In the 2004 election, however, Boris Tadić was elected president after the turnout rules were abolished.

Upon the implementation of the new Constitution in 2006, Serbia became a parliamentary republic. 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 to be held concurrently with the parliamentary elections. He became the first president of Serbia to resign from office. Tadić, however, lost the election to Tomislav Nikolić. Nikolić resigned as president of the Serbian Progressive Party upon assuming office. Nikolić remained in office until 2017, when he was succeeded by Aleksandar Vučić, 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 served as acting president between Milošević's and Milutinović's terms as presidents, while Nataša Mićić, Dragan Maršićanin, Vojislav Mihailović, 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 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 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
* Prime Minister of Serbia

References

External links

Official website of the President of Serbia

{{Heads of state and government of Europe

Politics of Serbia

1991 establishments in Serbia