Miloš Vučević
Photo: Ministry of Defence of Serbia
President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić appointed Miloš Vučević as Prime Minister-designate on 30 March 2024. Vučević was Minister of Defence in the previous government and succeeded Vučić as the President of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in May 2023. He is considered to be a loyal associate of Vučić, who is expected to remain the most dominant political figure in the party and in the country.
A lawyer by profession, Vučević was the mayor of Novi Sad, the second biggest city of Serbia, for ten years, from 2012 to 2022.
He was first elected through the reconstruction of the ruling majority in the Novi Sad Assembly, after the national coalition between the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) had been formed. The same coalition is now expected to elect Vučević as Prime Minister.
Vučević became more prominent nationally towards the end of his second term as the mayor of Novi Sad. He is often described by the media as being close to Andrej Vučić, brother of Aleksandar Vučić, who carries significant informal influence within the party.
Vučević became a member of the national government in October 2022, as the Minister of Defence in the third government of Ana Brnabić. He was particularly active in this role following the September 2023 Banjska attack in Kosovo, after which he denied the involvement of Serbian Armed Forces.
At the beginning of 2024, Vučević launched a new initiative of reintroducing the mandatory military service in the Serbian Armed Forces. The discussions about the topic are reportedly ongoing and coordinated with the President of Serbia.
In May 2023, Aleksandar Vučić withdrew from his position as the President of Serbian Progressive Party, which he held from 2012. Miloš Vučević was elected as his successor, as the only candidate.
He was endorsed by Vučić, who described him as “a man loyal to SNS, from a good family and committed to the idea of independent and prosperous Serbia”. Vučić has, meanwhile, announced intention to form, and presumably lead, a “political movement” which would include SNS, other parties and independent figures.
During the December 2023 elections, Miloš Vučević played a prominent role in the campaign, especially in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. He was nevertheless overshadowed by Aleksandar Vučić, who was by far the most dominant figure in the campaign of the ruling party, despite no longer being its formal leader.
Vučević is not known for taking political positions that differ from those taken by Vučić. Despite the fact that, according to the Constitution of Serbia, Prime Minister is a more powerful office than the President, Miloš Vučević is expected to remain a loyal associate of Aleksandar Vučić, who will remain the most influential political figure in the country.
