Zoran Tegeltija

Zoran Tegeltija (Serbian Cyrillic: Зоран Тегелтија; born 29 September 1961) is a Bosnian Serb politician who is the 10th and current Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Zoran Tegeltija
Tegeltija in January 2021
10th Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Incumbent
Assumed office 23 December 2019
President	Šefik Džaferović Milorad Dodik Željko Komšić
Preceded by	Denis Zvizdić
Minister of Finance of Republika Srpska
In office 29 December 2010 – 18 December 2018
Prime Minister	Aleksandar Džombić Željka Cvijanović
Preceded by	Aleksandar Džombić
Succeeded by	Zora Vidović
Mayor of Mrkonjić Grad
In office 2 October 2004 – 29 December 2010
Succeeded by	Divna Aničić
Personal details
Born	29 September 1961 Mrkonjić Grad, PR Bosnia and Herzegovina, FPR Yugoslavia
Nationality	Bosnian Serb
Political party	Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (1998–present)
Spouse(s)	Dušanka Tegeltija
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Sarajevo Alfa BK University

He has also served as the 7th Minister of Finance of the Republika Srpska from 29 December 2010 until 18 December 2018 and has also been the Mayor of Mrkonjić Grad from 2004 to 2010. Tegeltija is a member of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats.

Early life

Tegeltija is a Serb and has attended schools in his native Mrkonjić Grad and then moved to Sarajevo, where in 1986 he graduated from the School of Economics and Business Sarajevo in the University of Sarajevo.

He worked at the Bosanski Brod oil refinery, the Tax Administration and the Customs Administration of Republika Srpska as an adviser to the director. In addition, he was a lecturer at the RS Customs Administration training centre, and member of the Commission for the implementation of the BiH customs policy.

Political career

Early career

Tegeltija has been a member of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats since 1998. He was first elected in 2000 in the town council of Mrkonjić Grad[1] as well as a member of the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska[2] and later served as chairman of the State Commission for the BiH borders.

He was elected mayor of Mrkonjić Grad in 2004 and confirmed in 2008, serving until 2010.[3][4] At the 2006 Bosnian general election, Tegeltija was the head of the party's election headquarters.[5] Albeit a close ally of Milorad Dodik, Tegeltija has never engaged in nationalistic rhetoric, nor been embroiled in major scandals.[1]

In 2006, he completed his postgraduate studies and in 2008 gained the title of Doctor of Economic Sciences from Alpha BK University in Belgrade. Since 2009 he worked as senior assistance and then assistant professor at the Faculty of Engineering and Business Management, University of Banja Luka, teaching public finance and monetary economics.

Entity minister of finance

Tegeltija was appointed Minister of Finance of the Republika Srpska entity on 29 December 2010 in the government of Aleksandar Džombić,[6] and was later confirmed in the post in the first and second cabinet of Željka Cvijanović in 2013 and 2014.[7] He was re-elected in the National Assembly at the 2018 general elections.

During his ministerial tenure, three banks failed in Republika Srpska, including Bobar Banka and Balkan Investment Bank. Tegeltija's government increased its capital in the latter by €15.000.000 in 2013, becoming majority owner of it. The bank changed its name in Bank of Srpska, but was liquidated in 2016, with a loss estimated at €60.000.000 in public and private deposits. The RS Banking Agency, under the jurisdiction of Tegeltija's entity ministry of Finance, was blamed for lack of supervision on the banking sector. The RS entity Supreme Court ruled in July 2019 that the Agency had illegally hid data on banking operation and that the bankruptcies could have been prevented.[1]

In 2017, the RS entity Public Sector Audit Office contested the official estimates of public deficit, claiming it was up to €87.500.000, and not €22.500.000 as reported by Tegeltija's ministry. The audit office also found that the government had taken loans on behalf of funds and public institutions without their knowledge. The Auditor-General Duško Šnjegota resigned soon after, and Jovo Radukić, a former assistant to Tegeltija was appointed in his stead. The move was widely denounced as a clear case of political pressure on independent institutions.[1]

Chairman of the Council of Ministers

On 5 December 2019, the national House of Representatives confirmed the appointment of Zoran Tegeltija as the new Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[8] The whole government was confirmed by Parliament on 23 December 2019.[9]

Personal life

Zoran is married to Dušanka Tegeltija, and together they have two daughters, Jelena and Ivana.[10] They live in Mrkonjić Grad. On 7 November 2020, it was confirmed that Tegeltija tested positive for COVID-19, amid its pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina;[11] by 21 November, he recovered.[12]

References

1. Balkan Insight
2. "Zoran Tegeltija basic information" (in Bosnian).
3. "Elections results 2004" (PDF).
4. "Elections results 2008".
5. "Društvo – Nezavisne novine". 9 February 2008. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
6. Muller, Tom (2012). Political Handbook of the World 2012. SAGE. p. 171. ISBN 9781608719952.
7. Lansford, Tom (2015). Political Handbook of the World 2015. CQ Press. p. 776. ISBN 9781483371559.
8. Kovacevic, Danijel (5 December 2019). "Bosnia Parliament Confirms Tegeltija as New State PM". Balkan Insight.
9. Er.M. (23 December 2019). "Počela sjednica o imenovanju Vijeća ministara BiH" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
10. "Zoran Tegeltija biografija". hamdocamo.wordpress.com (in Bosnian). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
11. I.P. (7 November 2020). "Zoran Tegeltija pozitivan na koronavirus" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
12. "Tegeltija negativan na koronavirus, od ponedjeljka se vraća redovnim dužnostima" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. 21 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.

External links

• Zoran Tegeltija at CIN.ba