Milo Đukanović

Đukanović's paternal ancestors, members of the Ozrinići tribe who hailed from the village of Čevo, had settled in the Nikšić area following the Battle of Vučji Do in 1876.

Prior to the birth of Đukanović's older sister Ana in 1960, Đukanović's father had worked as a judge in Bosnia and Herzegovina, before relocating to Nikšić with his family and taking up residence in the Đukanović family's ancestral village, Rastovac.

Đukanović's mother was a nurse.

Milo Đukanović (, ; born 15 February 1962) is a Montenegrin politician who served as the President of Montenegro from 2018 to 2023, previously serving in the role from 1998 to 2002.

Đukanović was born in Nikšić on 15 February 1962, to Radovan and Stana Đukanović (Maksimović).

His given name is derived from that of a paternal relative who had fought alongside Đukanović's grandfather Blažo during World War I; the name was selected by Đukanović's paternal grandmother.

His younger brother Aleksandar Đukanović (Aco) was born in 1965.

Đukanović completed his primary and secondary education in Nikšić, before relocating to Titograd to attend Veljko Vlahović University's Faculty of Economics.

In 1979, while still in high school, Đukanović joined the Yugoslav Communist League (SKJ), the only political party allowed by law in the Yugoslavian one-party political system.

His father Radovan was already an influential member within the party's Montenegrin branch, which initially opened many doors for him.

He graduated in 1986 with a diploma in tourism studies.

Đukanović was an avid basketball player in his youth.

By 1986, he was a presidency member of Socialist Youth Alliance's (SSO) Montenegrin branch as well as the presidency member of its federal-level parent organization.

As a member of the party's various youth bodies he quickly stood out from the pack, earning a nickname Britva ('Straight razor') for his direct and forceful rhetoric.

When Đukanović first emerged on the political scene, he was a close ally of Slobodan Milošević during the anti-bureaucratic revolution (1988–1989) and the dissolution of SFR Yugoslavia (1991–1992).

Progressing steadily up the party ladder, by 1988 Đukanović became a member of the League's highest decision-making body, the Central Committee of the 13th Congress (CK SKJ).

It turned out to be the committee's last sitting and he became its youngest member ever.

Within days in January 1989, the trio ousted Miljan Radović, the chairman of the Montenegrin Communist League and Božina Ivanović, the Presidents of the Presidency of Montenegro, replacing them with politically obedient confidants Veselin Vukotić and Branko Kostić, respectively.

President of the Executive Council Vuko Vukadinović initially survived the coup d'etat, but within months he was on his way out as well, to be replaced with Radoje Kontić.

Đukanović and the others galvanized public opinion within the republic by organizing workers and bussing them to the capital Titograd to protest in front of the Assembly.

The 1990 Montenegrin parliamentary election in early December resulted in a remarkable victory for the League of Communists of Montenegro, who won 83 parliament seats out of the total 125.

He also served as the Prime Minister of Montenegro (1991–1998, 2003–2006, 2008–2010 and 2012–2016) 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.

His cabinet actively participated in the siege of Dubrovnik (1991–1992).

On 15 February 1991, Đukanović was, somewhat surprisingly, appointed Prime Minister of the first democratically elected government by President Momir Bulatović and with the blessing of Serbian President Slobodan Milošević.

Later in 1991, the Montenegrin Communist League finished its transformation into the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro (DPS).

Đukanović supported Momir Bulatović's agreement on Lord Carrington's terms, which resulted in the 1992 Montenegrin independence referendum, where voters decided to remain in FR Yugoslavia.

In 1996, however, Đukanović distanced himself from Milošević and the federal government, abandoning the traditional joint Serbian and Montenegrin vision in favour of Montenegrin nationalism, which supported the state independence and a separate Montenegrin identity.

That led to the division of the party and the split of the Bulatović's pro-unionist faction.

Shortly afterward, Đukanović defeated Bulatović in the 1997 presidential election by a thin margin.

In 1999, he negotiated with Western countries in an attempt to limit airstrikes in Montenegro during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, while later Đukanović oversaw the implementation of the Deutsche Mark as the new currency in Montenegro, replacing the Yugoslav dinar.

Following the overthrow of Milošević (2000), he signed an agreement with the new Serbian government that led to the Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro (2003), which allowed for Montenegrin independence.

Three years later, the 2006 independence referendum led to a formal separation from the state union and the proclamation of the new Constitution of Montenegro (2007).

Đukanović has pursued NATO and EU accession policy, resulting in Montenegro's NATO membership in 2017.

Over the course of his premiership and presidency, he oversaw the privatization of public companies to foreign investors and firms.

Several corruption scandals of the ruling party triggered 2019 anti-government protests, while a controversial religion law sparked another wave of protests.

For the first time in three decades, in the 2020 parliamentary election, the opposition won more votes than Đukanović's ruling party and its partners.

Some observers have described Đukanović's rule as authoritarian or autocratic, as well as a kleptocracy.

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