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Events in the year 2023 in Montenegro .
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Events in the year 2023 in Montenegro .
Ongoing — COVID-19 pandemic in Montenegro
Montenegro is a country in Southeastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Its 25 municipalities have a total population of 633,158 people in an area of 13,812 km². It is bordered by Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast, Kosovo to the east, Albania to the southeast, Croatia to the west, and has a coastline along the Adriatic Sea to the southwest. The capital and largest city is Podgorica, while Cetinje is the Old Royal Capital and cultural centre.
The early written records of the history of Montenegro begin with Illyria and its various kingdoms until the Roman Republic incorporated the region into the province of Illyricum after the Illyro-Roman Wars.
The Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro is a social-democratic and populist political party in Montenegro. A former long-time ruling party sitting at the opposition for the first time since 2020, it was formed on 22 June 1991 as the successor of the League of Communists of Montenegro, which had governed Montenegro within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia since World War II, and has remained a major force in the country ever since. The party is a member of the Socialist International and the Progressive Alliance, and an associate of the Party of European Socialists. During the 1990s, DPS was the major centre-left, social-democratic party in favour of Serbian–Montenegrin unionism. However, since 1997, the party has embraced Montenegrin independence and has been improving ties with the West, slowly turning into a catch-all party embracing Atlanticism, Montenegrin nationalism, neoliberalism, and pro-Europeanism.
Milo Đukanović is a Montenegrin politician who served as the President of Montenegro from 2018 to 2023, previously serving in the role from 1998 to 2002. He also served as the Prime Minister of Montenegro and was the long-term president of the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro, originally the Montenegrin branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, which governed Montenegro alone or in a coalition from the introduction of multi-party politics in the early 1990s until its defeat in the 2020 parliamentary election. He is the longest-ruling contemporary politician in Europe, having held key positions in the country for over 33 years. However, he was defeated by the 36-year-old centrist former economy minister, Jakov Milatović, after the presidential run-off held on 2 April 2023.
The Politics of Montenegro takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Montenegro is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of Montenegro. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Montenegro a "flawed democracy" in 2022.
The Socialist Republic of Montenegro, commonly referred to as Socialist Montenegro or simply Montenegro, was one of the six republics forming the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the nation state of the Montenegrins. It is a predecessor of the modern-day Montenegro.
Aleksandar "Aco" Đukanović is a Montenegrin businessman, widely considered to be one of the richest and most powerful individuals in the country, along with Brano Mićunović, Vesko Barović, Dragan Brković and others from the Montenegrin nouveau riche class that emerged during the 1990s following the break-up of SFR Yugoslavia. All of Aco Đukanović's wealth and influence were achieved during his older brother Milo Đukanović's rule in Montenegro as Prime Minister and President of the Republic (1991–2006) and currently as the ruling political party's (DPS) president and prime minister again (2006–present).
A political crisis in Montenegro was initiated by the opposition parties which staged protests requesting fair elections and transitional government. Opposition coalition Democratic Front organised continuous protests in October 2015 which culminated in a large riot in Podgorica on 24 October. A split in the ruling coalition followed in January 2016, leaving the government functioning as a de facto minority government.
In February 2019, protests began in Montenegro against President Milo Đukanović, Prime Minister Duško Marković, and the government led by the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), which has been in power since the introduction of multi-party system in 1990.
The Open Balkan is an economic and political zone of three member states in the Balkans, those being Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia. The zone has a total area of 131,935 km2 (50,940 sq mi) and an estimated total population of almost 12 million located in Central and Southern Europe. The official languages are Albanian, Macedonian and Serbian. Its administrative centres are the cities of Belgrade, Skopje and Tirana. With the establishment of the zone, all three member states aim to increase trade and cooperation as well as improve bilateral relations.
Milojko "Mickey" Spajić is a Montenegrin politician and financial engineer serving as Prime Minister of Montenegro since October 2023. He also served as the Minister of Finance and Social Welfare in the Government of Montenegro and the cabinet of Zdravko Krivokapić from 2020 to 2022.
Jakov Milatović is a Montenegrin politician and economist who is the incumbent president of Montenegro, serving since May 2023. He previously served as the minister of economic development in the cabinet of Zdravko Krivokapić from 2020 to 2022, and as an economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London and Podgorica. He was a co-founder and until 24 February 2024 the deputy leader of Europe Now!, a liberal and pro-European political party that is the largest single party in the Montenegrin parliament.
Parliamentary elections were held in Montenegro on 11 June 2023. Parliament had been dissolved by President Milo Đukanović just three days before the 2023 presidential elections were held, in which he lost to Europe Now! candidate Jakov Milatović.
Presidential elections were held in Montenegro on 19 March 2023. Long-ruling incumbent president Milo Đukanović was eligible for re-election. Since no candidate received a majority of the vote, a second round vote was held on 2 April. In the first round, Đukanović, leader of the populist DPS, received 35%, coming first. Jakov Milatović, candidate of the newly formed centrist Europe Now! movement, running on an anti-corruption platform, outperformed the polls, gaining 29% of the votes and faced Đukanović in the second round. Andrija Mandić, one of the leaders of the right-wing populist DF secured 19% of the votes, finishing third in the first round. The second round runoff resulted in Milatović defeating Milo Đukanović in a landslide, becoming the first elected president not being a member of the Đukanović's DPS since introduction of the multi-party system in 1990, winning roughly 60% of the popular vote. It was the first time a runoff vote was held since the 1997 election, making it first presidential runoff since Montenegro gained independence in 2006, also the first election since 1997 where an incumbent president actively seeking reelection was denied a second term.
Protests are being held in Montenegro against the dismissal of the Prime Minister, Zdravko Krivokapić, and the 42nd Cabinet of Montenegro, along with the possible formation of a temporary minority government. Since most ministers of the cabinet are close to Krivokapić, most ministers supported or attended these protests, including Vesna Bratić, Jakov Milatović and Milojko Spajić. The protests are being held in multiple cities such as Podgorica, Bijelo Polje and Berane. While most have been peaceful, there have been incidents of violence at the protests, such as the assault of a reporter of RTCG, the state media of Montenegro.
The Europe Now Movement, sometimes stylised with an exclamation mark, is a centrist political organization in Montenegro, founded in June 2022 by the former Ministers of Finance and the Economy, Milojko Spajić and Jakov Milatović, respectively. It describes itself as an economy-focused and anti-corruption movement, that is economically liberal.
Events in the year 2022 in Montenegro.
Danijel Živković is a Montenegrin politician serving as a member of the Parliament of Montenegro since 1 July 2017 and the president of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) since 6 April 2023. He succeeded the long-term DPS president Milo Đukanović who resigned following his loss to Jakov Milatović in the 2023 presidential election.
Filip Ivanović is a Montenegrin philosopher, university professor, who served as minister of foreign affairs of Montenegro from October 2023 to July 2024. Currently he holds the position of Deputy Prime Minister for Foreign and European Affairs in the Government of Montenegro.
