Milica Pejanović-Đurišić

Milica Pejanović-Đurišić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милица Пејановић-Ђуришић) (born 27 April 1959 in Nikšić) is a Montenegrin professor and politician who was Minister of Defense 2012 to 2016.[1] She is the first woman to hold this office.[2]

Milica Pejanović-Đurišić
Milica Pejanović-Đurišić in 2015
Minister of Defence
In office
13 March 2012 – 28 November 2016
Prime MinisterIgor Lukšić
Milo Đukanović
Preceded byBoro Vučinić
Succeeded byPredrag Bošković
Personal details
Born (1959-04-27) 27 April 1959
Nikšić, FPR Yugoslavia
Political partyDemocratic Party of Socialists
Alma materUniversity of Belgrade
OccupationProfessor, politician

Political career

Anti-bureaucratic revolution and Democratic Party of Socialists

Pejanović-Đurišić was active in the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, where Momir Bulatović chose her as a board member on the organizational committee which replaced the older communists during the anti-bureaucratic revolution in Montenegro in January 1989.[3] When Yugoslavia began to break up, she supported Montenegro remaining in Yugoslavia in 1992.[3]

Split in DPS
Pejanović-Đurišić with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, Pentagon, 6 September 2012

In 1997, when the Democratic Party of Socialists began to split between Đukanović and Bulatović, she initially was closer to Bulatović.[3] However, she abruptly cut herself off from Bulatović after one of the DPS committee meetings, after which she was chosen to be the new president by the DPS.[3] In addition to consolidating power with Đukanović, her split from Bulatović resulted in an explosive feud, as Bulatović called her "Mata Hari in a nightgown",[3] and accused her of "selling her soul" for "shares in Crnogorski Telekom".[4] Pejanović-Đurišić responded to the accusations with a statement saying that "Bulatović is a given contradiction, he's Robin Hood and Pol Pot, Šćepan Mali and Vojislav Šešelj, and in fact their miserable surrogate...his political end will be sad."[4]

Crnogorski Telekom
Pejanović-Đurišić during an official visit to Slovenia in 2015

Pejanović-Đurišić became the president of the board of Crnogorski Telekom while retaining her position in DPS. Opposition parties accused her of using an illegal loophole for privatizing Telekom, although a court case ruled that she did not break the law.[3] She participated in the formulation of the 2001 tender for Telekom, the state's first attempt of privatizing the telecommunications operator.[3] She advocated for a "phased" privatization of Telekom, arguing that a privatization in phases would guarantee the state would have a certain amount of company shares "in any variant".[3]

Ambassador of Serbia and Montenegro

From February 2004 to July 2006, she served as the Ambassador of Serbia and Montenegro to Belgium and Luxembourg. After Montenegro's independence in 2006, she served as Montenegro's ambassador to France, Monaco (Pejanović-Đurišić being fluent in French) and UNESCO from February 2007 to 2010.

References
  1. "Milica Pejanović-Đurišić nova ministarka odbrane Crne Gore". Blic. 13 March 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-09-11. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  2. Janković, Srđan (March 13, 2012). "Milica Pejanović Đurišić - prva žena na čelu Ministarstva odbrane". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  3. Jovanović, Vladimir (March 16, 2012). "Mica ratnica". Monitor (in Serbian). Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  4. Ivanović 2005, p. 136.

Bibliography
Ivanović, Željko (2005). Crnogorski Diznilend. Podgorica: Daily Press - Vijesti. ISBN 86-7706-123-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
Morrison, Kenneth (2009). Nationalism, Identity and Statehood in Post-Yugoslav Montenegro. London: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84511-710-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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