Mirko Marjanović
Mirko Marjanović (born 27 July, 1937, in Knin, Kingdom of Yugoslavia, now Croatia - died 21 February, 2006, in Belgrade) was a former Prime Minister of Serbia and a high-ranking official in Slobodan Milošević's Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS).
Marjanovic was born into a large working-class family with 7 children. He had 4 brothers and 2 sisters. Dad Dušan worked in the factory, while mother Marija was a homemaker.
After completing primary school and gymnasium in his hometown, Marjanovic moved to Zagreb where he attended musical academy which he never finished.
He then moved to Belgrade, where in 1960 he graduated at University of Belgrade's Faculty of Economics, more specifically at the department for microeconomics.
Upon graduation, Marjanovic came back to Knin since he found employment there as the supervisor in Tvik factory. From there, he advanced to the position of financial director, and eventually moving on to metallurgical factory in Zenica. In 1973, he transferred to the Moscow outpost of Progres - a state company that handled close to 80% of Yugoslav black metalurgy and other heavy industries.
By 1976 he quickly advanced up the ranks to become one of the directors at Progres. He handled company's steel division in Russia quite successfully while developing an impressive network of influential friends and business partners such as Viktor Chernomyrdin (later to become Prime Minister of Russia), and Yuri Brezhnev, son of Leonid Brezhnev.
In 1979, Marjanovic was chosen as Progres' general director.
From 1989 until 1994, he was the president of FK Partizan's executive board. His most notable move while at the post was bringing Predrag Mijatović to the club. Mijatović, at the time a young promising player from Titograd's FK Budućnost, was very close to signing with Hajduk Split when Marjanovic stepped in and convinced him to come to Belgrade. Upon leaving the club, Marjanović was named Partizan's honorary president.
Political career
Prime Minister of Serbia 1994-1998
Marjanovic officially commenced his PM term on 18 March, 1994. He was widely regarded as little more than a puppet of then Serbian president Slobodan Milošević.
Prime Minister of Serbia 1998-2000
After early parliamentary elections in late 1997, Milošević's SPS formed a government with far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS) led by Vojislav Šešelj. Marjanovic was picked for another PM term that started on March 24, 1998.
Naturally, Marjanovic continued as a mere extension of Slobodan Milošević who at this time held the post of President of Yugoslavia. Here's how sources from the top levels of Milošević's Socialist Party of Serbia described Marjanovic's government modus operandi in Evropljanin magazine: Prime Minister Marjanovic suggests something - ministers do not vote - and then Marjanovic simply concludes the matter as agreed on. Of course Marjanovic neither suggest nor concludes anything without first consulting Milošević. (Evropljanin issue #13, 19 October, 1998, p. 15)
Even deputy PM Vojislav Seselj indirectly confirmed this oparating procedure when he said the government meetings are always well prepared, never lasting longer than 15-20 minutes. (Srpska slobodarska misao, Vol. I 2000, issue #1, p. 142)
This two-year period is widely seen as the most brutal of the entire 13 years of Milošević's regime. Marjanovic's government (with Šešelj as its deputy PM), passed two of the most draconian pieces of legislation in Serbian political history: the University Law that stripped University of Belgrade of its autonomy, opening the way for regime to install politically obedient professores, deans and rectors, as well as the Information Law, which legalized regime's brutal crackdown on independent media.
Similarly to his first term in office, Marjanovic again took a back seat, leaving the limelight to more aggressive members of his cabinet like deputy PM Šešelj and Minister of Information Aleksandar Vucic.
Finally, on 21 October, 2000, some two weeks after regime's overthrow on October the 5th overthrow, Marjanovic resigned to be replaced by transitional government composed of Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS), Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), and Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) until new parliamentary elections could be organized.
Business career while in office
In what many saw as the most blatant example of conflict of interest, Marjanovic continued to lead Progres all throughout his 6 and a half years as Serbian PM, though he claimed his status at the company was frozen. The company, which during the 1990s started importing gas from Russia (deal personally negotiated by Marjanovic) was still officially publicly owned, but it's believed Marjanovic cyphoned off its profits into his own pocket.
Although allegations of wrongdoing ran rampant for years, Marjanovic was never prosecuted even after new authorities that overthrew Milošević took office. On 23 January, 2002, he was even re-elected as Progres' main board president.
Death
He died on 21 February, 2006, in Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro, aged 68, from undisclosed causes.
References
- Mirko Marjanović - Ko je ovaj čovek?, Glas javnosti, February 26, 2000