 | |
 Montenegro |  United States |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of Montenegro, Washington, D.C. | Embassy of the United States, Podgorica |
According to the 2012 U.S. Global Leadership Report, 26% of Montenegrins approve of U.S. leadership, with 48% disapproving and 26% uncertain. [1]
Relations between the United States and Principality of Montenegro existed from 1905 and lasted until the latter was annexed into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces bombed Podgorica due to Nazi occupation in Montenegro. [2] [3]
When Milo Đukanović first emerged on the political scene, he was a close ally of Slobodan Milošević. [4] However, in the years up to the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, he gradually became pro-western. [5] Milošević and other members of his governing coalition were considered pariahs by every western government, so Đukanović became one of the few elected politicians within FR Yugoslavia they would openly communicate with. They were willing to overlook Đukanović's communist past, initial pro-war stance, and mounting evidence of criminal involvement, allowing him to regularly meet with Clinton administration officials such as Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Secretary of Defense William Cohen and National Security Adviser Sandy Berger as well as British PM Tony Blair, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana all throughout this period. Some credited Đukanović for the fact that Montenegro was spared from the brunt of the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia that devastated the infrastructure of Serbia, suffering no greater destruction. Others find it more reasonable to conclude that he did so only for pragmatic reasons and foresaw great incentives in communicating with Western leaders to push for political separatism.
The United States recognized Montenegro on June 12, 2006 and formally established diplomatic relations on August 15. The U.S. maintains an embassy in Podgorica. A variety of U.S. assistance programs are currently in place in Montenegro to help improve the economic climate and strengthen democracy. These programs include initiatives to prepare the country for World Trade Organization accession and to promote local economic growth and business development.
The United States has had an active policy regarding military cooperation with Montenegro's military forces, mainly to improve Montenegrin standards necessary for eventual membership in NATO (which eventuated in 2017). [6] Public opinion in Montenegro regarding NATO membership has been cited to be very negative, largely due to the bombing of FR Yugoslavia. [7] [8] [9] In August 2006, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld paid an official visit to Montenegro, seeking support for the War on Terror and overall American geopolitical goals in Europe. [10] Following the Secretary's meeting with Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Đukanović, it was announced that Montenegro had agreed in principle to aid the US efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, although no specific pledges of aid were made. [11]
The United States Navy has maintained a regular presence on the Montenegrin coast since 2003. [12] [13] The United States has on many occasions sent destroyers to the port of Bar for naval training, exercises, and regular patrol of traffic in the Mediterranean Sea. [14]
Montenegro is a country in Southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. It is bordered by Bosnia and Herzegovina to the north, Serbia to the northeast, Kosovo to the east, Albania to the southeast, and Croatia and the Adriatic Sea to the northwest with a coastline of 293.5 km. Podgorica is the country's capital and its largest city; it covers 10.4% of Montenegro's territory of 13,812 square kilometres (5,333 sq mi), and is home to roughly 31% of its total population of 621,000. Cetinje is the former royal capital and cultural centre of Montenegro and is the location of several national institutions, including the official residence of the President of Montenegro.
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 as of 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.
The Socialist People's Party of Montenegro is a political party in Montenegro. It is a social-democratic and socially conservative party, that is positioned on the centre-left on the political spectrum with regard to economic matters. It is supportive of accession of Montenegro to the European Union, and was historically supportive of Serbian–Montenegrin unionism.
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.
Montenegrins are a South Slavic ethnic group that share a common ancestry, culture, history, and language, identified with the country of Montenegro.
Momir Bulatović was a Yugoslav and Montenegrin politician. He was the first President of the Republic of Montenegro from 1990 to 1998, after which he served as the Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1998 until 2000, when Slobodan Milošević was overthrown. He was a leader of the Montenegro's Democratic Party of Socialists from 1989 to 1997, when he split from DPS after a conflict with Milo Đukanović.
The European Montenegro was the ruling political alliance in Montenegro headed by Milo Đukanović's Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS).
Nebojša Medojević is a politician in Montenegro. He is the president of Movement for Changes (PzP), a political party emerging from the Montenegrin NGO Group for Changes. He ran for president in the 2008 presidential election of Montenegro.
The 1992 Montenegrin independence referendum was the first referendum regarding Montenegrin independence, held on 1 March 1992 in SR Montenegro, a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
In a referendum on 21 May 2006, the people of Montenegro opted to leave the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. This result was confirmed with a declaration of independence by the Montenegrin parliament on 3 June 2006. It simultaneously requested international recognition and outlined foreign policy goals.
Montenegro–Russia relations are foreign relations between Montenegro and Russia. Montenegro has an embassy in Moscow and Russia has an embassy in Podgorica.
Presidential elections were held in Montenegro, then a constituent republic of Yugoslavia, on 5 October 1997. A second round run-off was held on 19 October 1997. Although incumbent President Momir Bulatović, who was supportive of Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milošević, received a plurality of the vote in the first round, he was defeated in the second round by Prime Minister Milo Đukanović.
Serbian–Montenegrin unionism is a political movement which arose after the break up of former Yugoslavia. It advocates Montenegro being in a political union with Serbia. The relationship between Serbs and ethnic Montenegrins is generally identified as being the most amicable of all the peoples of the former Yugoslavia. According to a 2011 national census, 178,110 Montenegrin citizens ethnically identify as Serb, with more than 4,000 identifying as "Serbian-Montenegrin" or "Montenegrin-Serbian".
Montenegrin–Serbian relations are foreign relations between Montenegro and Serbia. From 1918 until 2006, the two states were united under the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and Serbia and Montenegro. Since 2006, there have been sporadic instances of debate on Montenegro's legitimacy as a separate state as well as much more prominent controversial debate on the Montenegrin ethnic identity. Despite this, the two countries have maintained mostly friendly geopolitical and economic relations.
Goran Žugić was a Montenegrin policeman and state security operative. He was also the personal aide and a close friend to Montenegrin statesman Milo Đukanović.
Montenegrin nationalism is the nationalism that asserts that Montenegrins are a nation and promotes the cultural unity of Montenegrins.
Miodrag Lekić is a Montenegrin political scientist, diplomat and politician. He is the founder and current president of the liberal conservative Democratic Alliance (DEMOS).
Ivan Brajović is a Montenegrin politician. He is a former President of the Parliament of Montenegro and former Minister of Transport and Maritime Affairs in the government of Montenegro. He is the founder and current president of the Social Democrats of Montenegro (SD) political party.
Vladislav Dajković is a Montenegrin Serb politician serving as a member of the City Assembly of Podgorica since 12 April 2023. He was one of the founders and former secretary general of the True Montenegro, a right-wing populist pro-Serbian political party in Montenegro, which he left in 2019, after which he founded another right-wing party, Free Montenegro.
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.
This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State.
Media related to Relations of Montenegro and the United States at Wikimedia Commons
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