Zvonimir Stević

Zvonimir Stević (Serbian Cyrillic: Звонимир Стевић; born March 17, 1957) is a politician in Serbia. He is a prominent figure in the Kosovo Serb community and has served several terms in the assemblies of Yugoslavia and Serbia as a member of the Socialist Party of Serbia. From 2008 to 2012, he held a high-ranking position in Serbia's Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija.

Early life and career

Stević was born in Priština, Autonomous Region of Kosovo and Metohija, then part of the People's Republic of Serbia in the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. He has a Bachelor of Laws degree. He worked as a journalist for the paper Jedinstvo from 1984 to 1987 and was secretary of the commission for the YU program from 1987 to 1990.[1]

Political career

Federal and municipal official

Stević was the vice-president of the Priština municipal assembly from 1991 to 1999.[2] He was also elected to the Assembly of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's Chamber of Citizens in the 1996 Yugoslavian parliamentary election for the Priština division, when the Socialist Party won three out of four available seats in the city.[3] During the campaign, Stević argued that the policies of the Socialist Party had established a "law-governed state" in Kosovo and Metohija and "the equality of all its residents."[4] The Socialist Party and its Montenegrin allies won the election, and Stević served on the government side in the sitting of the assembly that followed. In late 1998, he participated in a negotiation process between the Kosovo Serb and Kosovo Albanian communities against the backdrop of the emerging Kosovo War.[5] He served on the Socialist Party's executive committee for the Kosovo-Metohija region in this period.[6]

Stević continued to serve as a municipal official in Priština in the immediate aftermath the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, although he acknowledged that the local government was an "empty shell" in the absence of a functioning police force. When British Kosovo Force officials arrived in the city in June 1999, Stević reported issues with overflowing trash bins, filthy streets, and water shortages to this new authority.[7]

The United Nations (UN) subsequently brokered a deal for an integrated Serb and Albanian civil government in Priština; Stević became an interim co-mayor along with Mexhid Syla, an ethnic Albanian, in July 1999.[8] Both co-mayors worked under the auspices of UN civil administrator J.F. Carter, who had the right to resolve disputes when they could not.[9] Stević remarked at this time that the municipal integration agreement was "a step forward to end the divisions between the two communities in Kosovo."[10]

Stević's term in the Yugoslavian parliament ended in 2000.

Member of the National Assembly

Stević received the 222nd position (out of 250) on the Socialist Party's electoral list in the 2000 Serbian parliamentary election.[11] The party won thirty-seven seats, and he was not subsequently included in its delegation to the National Assembly of Serbia. (Between 2000 and 2011, Serbian parliamentary mandates were awarded to sponsoring parties or coalitions rather than to individual candidates, and it was common practice for mandates to be awarded out of numerical order. Stević's low position on the list – which was in any event mostly arranged in alphabetical order – would not have prevented him from being awarded a mandate, although ultimately he was not selected by the party).[12]

He again appeared on the Socialist party's list in the 2003 parliamentary election.[13] The party won twenty-two seats, and he was on this occasion selected for its assembly group.[14] He took his seat when the assembly met in early 2004. In the parliament that followed, the Socialist Party agreed to provide outside support to the administration of Vojislav Koštunica. Stević called for Serbs to boycott the 2004 Kosovan parliamentary election, arguing that participation would legitimate the anti-Serb violence in the region earlier in the year.[15]

Stević was given the fifteenth position on the Socialist Party's list in the 2007 election and was awarded a second term after the party won sixteen seats.[16][17] A new ministry was formed after the election, and the Socialists moved into opposition.

Deputy Minister and State Secretary

Stević received the 215th position on a coalition list led by the Socialist Party in the 2008 parliamentary election.[18] The list won twenty seats, and, after prolonged negotiations, the Socialist Party joined a new coalition government with the For a European Serbia group led by the Democratic Party. Stević did not receive an assembly mandate but was instead appointed as deputy minister and president of the co-ordination centre at the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija in July 2008. In December of the same year, he ceased to be deputy minister and was reassigned as a state secretary in the ministry.[19] Shortly after his initial appointment, he presided over a commemoration ceremony for the victims of the 1999 Staro Gracko massacre; he was quoted as saying that the murders were "one of the most cruel crimes in a series of crimes committed against Serbs in Kosovo since the deployment of the UN mission and [Kosovo Force]."[20]

Soon after Stević's initial appointment, the ministry and co-ordination centre issued a directive calling on Serb community leaders in Kosovo and Metohija to provide the government with accurate information to create a proper social map and so to better facilitate state investments.[21] In September 2008, he joined with minister Goran Bogdanović to open a new Kosovo Coordination Centre in Gračanica.[22]

In 2009, Stević negotiated with Kosovo Serb workers who had left their administrative positions after Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence the previous year on the advice of the Serbian government. The workers were demanding the government provide compensation for their lost wages; Stević said that their demands were justified and urged the government to resolve their situation.[23]

Stević frequently expressed concern about the number of young Kosovo Serbs leaving the area due to limited employment prospects and, though his ministry, oversaw a strategic plan for a return of Serbs to the region.[24] In August 2009, both he and Bogdanović acknowledged that the plan had been delayed due to the financial crisis of 2007–2008.[25]

His ministry urged Serbs not to participate in the 2009 local elections in Kosovo, on the grounds that they were organized in a "unilaterally proclaimed independent Kosovo" and took place under the auspices of the Ahtisaari Plan, which was not supported by Serbia.[26] Speaking on behalf of the Socialist Party, Stević also urged Serbs to boycott the 2010 Kosovan parliamentary election, saying that "the fundamental human rights of Kosovo Serbs are still being threatened" in the area. During this time, he was president of the party's provincial committee in Kosovo and Metohija.[27]

Stević condemned the arrest of five Serbian officials by the Kosovo Police in early 2010, describing it as an intimidation tactic and accusing the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) of complicity in what he described as "brutal attempts at closing down Serbian institutions."[28]

Return to the assembly

Serbia's electoral system was reformed in 2011, such that parliamentary mandates were awarded in numerical order to candidates on successful lists. Stević received the nineteenth position on the Socialist-led electoral list in the 2012 Serbian parliamentary election and was elected to a third term in the assembly when the list won forty-four mandates.[29] After the election, the Socialists formed a new coalition government with the Serbian Progressive Party. The ministry for Kosovo and Metohija was abolished in August 2012, and Stević has not returned to a ministerial role since this time.

He was re-elected to the assembly in the elections of 2014 and 2016.[30] The Socialist Party's governing alliance with the Progressives has continued throughout this time. Stević is currently a member of the assembly committee on Kosovo-Metohija; a deputy member of the committee on constitutional and legislative issues, the defence and internal affairs committee, and the committee on labour, social issues, social inclusion, and poverty reduction; a member of a working group "for the collection of facts and evidence for the investigation of crimes committed against Serbs and other national communities in Kosovo-Metohija"; and a member of the parliamentary friendship groups with Azerbaijan, Belarus, Brazil, Egypt, India, Israel, Kazakhstan, and Venezuela.[31]

Sports

Stević became the president of FK Gračanica in 1992 and served as president of FK Priština from 1995 to 1999.[32][33]

References
  1. ZVONIMIR STEVIĆ, Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 26 June 2018.
  2. ZVONIMIR STEVIĆ, Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 26 June 2018.
  3. ИЗБОРИ '96: ВЕЋЕ ГРАЂАНА САВЕЗНЕ СКУПШТИНЕ, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Department of Statistics (1996), p. 307.
  4. "ONLY SERBIAN RULING PARTY CAN PROMOTE SERB INTERESTS IN KOSOVO, LEADER SAYS," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Service: Central Europe & Balkans, 28 October 1996 (Source: Serbian TV, Belgrade, in Serbo-Croat 1730 gmt 26 Oct 96).
  5. "Serbian president chairs Kosovo talks," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European - Political, 25 November 1998 (Source: Tanjug news agency, Belgrade, in English 1208 gmt 25 Nov 98).
  6. "Serbia's ruling party accuses NATO of preventing return of Kosovo refugees," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European - Political, 19 May 1998 (Source: Radio Belgrade in Serbo-Croat 1300 gmt 19 May 99).
  7. John Reed and James M. Dorsey, "Into the Void: Justice Gets Rough In Kosovo as Serbs Flee, KFOR Arrives," Wall Street Journal Europe, 21 June 1999, p. 1.
  8. Jim Heintz, "City hall in Pristina reopens with Albanian and Serb employees," Associated Press Newswires, 11 July 1999.
  9. Colleen Barry, "U.N. establishes new civil order: Serbs, Albanians working side by side," Associated Press Newswires, 12 July 1999.
  10. Aferdita Muja, "Albanians, Serbs go back to work at Kosovo council," Reuters News, 12 July 1999.
  11. Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 23. децембра 2000. године и 10. јануара 2001. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (Социјалистичка партија Србије – Слободан Милошевић), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 28 July 2017.
  12. Serbia's Law on the Election of Representatives (2000) stipulated that parliamentary mandates would be awarded to electoral lists (Article 80) that crossed the electoral threshold (Article 81), that mandates would be given to candidates appearing on the relevant lists (Article 83), and that the submitters of the lists were responsible for selecting their parliamentary delegations within ten days of the final results being published (Article 84). See Law on the Election of Representatives, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 35/2000, made available via LegislationOnline, accessed 28 February 2017.
  13. Stević received the 222nd position on a list that was, once again, mostly alphabetical. See Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 28. децембра 2003. године, СОЦИЈАЛИСТИЧКА ПАРТИЈА СРБИЈЕ - СЛОБОДАН МИЛОШЕВИЋ, Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 17 February 2017.
  14. PRVA SEDNICA, 27.01.2004., Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 26 June 2018.
  15. "KOSOVO/ CONCLUSA CAMPAGNA ELETTORALE, IL PAESE SI PREPARA AL VOTO," e.BisNews Direct, 22 October 2004.
  16. Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 11. маја 2008. године, Социјалистичка партија Србије, Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 17 February 2017.
  17. 14 February 2007 Legislature, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 26 February 2017.
  18. Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 11. маја 2008. године, Социјалистичка партија Србије (СПС), - Партија уједињних пензионера Србије (ПУПС) - Јединствена Србија (ЈС), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 17 February 2017.
  19. ZVONIMIR STEVIĆ, Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 26 June 2018.
  20. "Anniversary of killing of Kosovo Serb farmers marked," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 24 July 2008 (Source: Radio B92 text website, Belgrade, in English 1813 gmt 23 Jul 08).
  21. "Young Serbs leaving Kosovo, paper reports," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 20 August 2008 (Source: Glas javnosti, Belgrade, in Serbian 19 Aug 08 pp 4-5).
  22. "Serbian government opens office in Kosovo Serb enclave," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 17 September 2008 (Source: Radio B92 text website, Belgrade, in English 1315 gmt 17 Sep 08).
  23. "Kosovo Serbs end job protest after accord reached with Serbian official," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 5 March 2009 (Source: Beta news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 1321 gmt 5 Mar 09).
  24. "Serbian official: Serb emigration from Kosovo acquiring 'dramatic proportions," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 31 March 2009 (Source: Glas javnosti website, Belgrade, in Serbian 30 Mar 09).
  25. "Serbian officials admit to delay in plan for return of Kosovo Serbs," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 21 August 2009 (Source: Glas javnosti website, Belgrade, in Serbian 15 Aug 09).
  26. "Kosovo Serbs differ over Serbia's message on local elections," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 4 November 2009 (Source: Politika website, Belgrade, in Serbian 29 Oct 09).
  27. "Most Kosovo Serb parties against participation in Pristina-run early elections," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 17 October 2010 (Source: Radio B92 text website, Belgrade, in English 0950 gmt 17 Oct 10).
  28. "Serbian official accuses Kosovo police, EU mission of violating UN resolution," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 27 January 2010 (Source: Radio B92 text website, Belgrade, in English 0930 gmt 27 Jan 10).
  29. Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине, 6. мај 2012. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (ИВИЦА ДАЧИЋ - "СОЦИЈАЛИСТИЧКА ПАРТИЈА СРБИЈЕ (СПС), ПАРТИЈА УЈЕДИЊЕНИХ ПЕНЗИОНЕРА СРБИЈЕ (ПУПС), ЈЕДИНСТВЕНА СРБИЈА (ЈС)"), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 27 February 2017.
  30. He received the nineteenth position in 2014 and the sixteenth in 2016. See Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 16. и 23. марта 2014. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (ИВИЦА ДАЧИЋ - "Социјалистичка партија Србије (СПС), Партија уједињених пензионера Србије (ПУПС), Јединствена Србија (ЈС)"), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 27 February 2017; Избори за народне посланике 2016. године » Изборне листе (ИВИЦА ДАЧИЋ – „Социјалистичка партија Србије (СПС), Јединствена Србија (ЈС) – Драган Марковић Палма“), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 27 February 2017.
  31. ZVONIMIR STEVIC, National Assembly of Serbia, accessed 26 June 2018.
  32. Звонимир Стевић, Socialist Party of Serbia, accessed 26 June 2018.
  33. "Yugoslav football championship opens without Kosovo Pristina club," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European - Political, 2 August 1999 (Source: Radio B2-92, Belgrade, in Serbo-Croat 0700 gmt 2 Aug 99).
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