Svetozar Marović

On September 10, 2003, during Croatian president Stjepan Mesić's state visit to Belgrade, Marović delivered a public apology for "all evils done by any citizen of Montenegro and Serbia to anyone in Croatia.[8] Mesić followed suit, delivering a counter-apology to "anyone whom citizens of Croatia caused any pain or damage, anytime, anyplace.“[8]

This was particularly significant because it was in contrast to his views from the beginning of the 1990s when he was the author of an infamous phrase: "war for peace," which is how he described and justified the Montenegrin reservists' assault on Dubrovnik and Konavle in 1991.

On November 13, 2003, he visited Sarajevo and issued another apology, this time to the citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina on the behalf of Serbia-Montenegro, for "any evil or calamity that anyone in Bosnia-Herzegovina suffered at the hands of anyone from Serbia-Montenegro".[9] Unlike Stipe Mesić few months prior, Marović's Sarajevo hosts, members of Bosnia's 3-man rotating Presidency weren't moved to reciprocate with any kind of an apology.

On September 1, 2005, Serbian Minister of Finance Mlađan Dinkić called a press conference to publicly show a military contract signed by Svetozar Marović. It was a 5-year arrangement between Serbia-Montenegro's Council of Ministers and Mile Dragić Company of Zrenjanin, stipulating terms of equipment supply to the Army of Serbia-Montenegro (VSCG) for the period between 2006 and 2011. Dinkić revealed: "Among other things, 69,000 helmets were ordered as well as more than 60,000 body armour suits for an Army that numbers 28,000 people!? Also 500 fighter pilot jackets for a fleet of barely 30 planes!"[10]

While the brunt of the responsibility was leveled at Minister of Defense Prvoslav Davinić, Marović was called out for signing and thus legitimizing such an obviously inflated contract that would end up costing the taxpayers of Serbia €296 million.

After budget commission confirmed Dinkić's allegations he went further on September 15, 2005, saying "it's completely clear Marović and Davinić were fully in the know about everything that went on" and also implicated several more defense ministry and army officials.[11]

Davinić eventually resigned, the damaging contract was revoked, but Marović fought back in a written release accusing Dinkić of "libel and destroying state union's institutions". The statement continued: "As state union's president I'm responsible for everything. They should not blame anybody, they should not sue anybody, and they should not judge anybody - but me. Because of that, they should submit everything they have against me. But neither to their party investigators, nor to domestic courts they're squeezing with their temporary ministerial careers. Let them submit everything they have and more to the best, most experienced, most competent, highest paid and best regarded European and world investigators and courts and they will get an answer - that Svetozar Marović is a clean and honest man."

Over the next few days, members of Marović's cabinet, Montenegrin regime officials, as well as PM Milo Đukanović himself were all threatening with pulling all Montenegrin staff from Belgrade.[12][13]

When the dust somewhat settled, Dinkić announced that "budget inspection met many obstructions within Ministry of Defense during the investigation" but that it's determined "to close the issue and put on trial those who are responsible". Whether those include Davinić and Marović, Dinkić was less clear but agreed that "prosecutor's office should go as high up the chain of command as necessary".[14]

Marović's political party, the DPS, backed full independence for Montenegro, and Marović campaigned for a "yes" vote in the 2006 referendum on Montenegrin independence. This put him in the unique position of supporting the breakup of the state in which he was the head. In the wake of the referendum passing, Marović said that on June 1, 2006, he would "hold the last session of the Council of Ministers and resign...from the post of the president of the state union."[15]

In 2016, Svetozar Marović, then Deputy President of ruling Democratic Party of Socialists was arrested in connection to a long-running corruption case concerning his hometown of Budva. The Montenegrin prosecutor's office labeled him as "head of Budva criminal group," which he later admitted in court.[16] He eventually fled to neighboring Serbia for alleged psychiatric treatment in Belgrade, where he currently resides. Montenegro has repeatedly requested his extradition from Serbia.[17]