Zoran Jolevski

Zoran Jolevski (Зоран Јолевски; born 16 July 1959) is a Macedonian diplomat and the former Minister of Defense of the Republic of Macedonia.

Prior to his appointment as Minister of Defense, he served as Macedonia's Ambassador to the United States of America.

After graduating in 1978, he studied at the Faculty of Economics at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje.

He graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in economics.

While in high school and university, he taught and tutored mathematics.

From 1983 to 1988, Jolevski owned and operated a travel agency, where he also served as a Freelance Tour Director.

While he was preparing his Masters, he was a Member of the Presidency of Tourist Association of Skopje and Member of the Presidency of Swimming Club "Vardar.".

He is married to Suzana Jolevska, and together they have two sons, Pero (1988) and Filip (1992).

Jolevski was born in Skopje, Yugoslavia.

He attended Orce Nikolov High School in Skopje, Macedonia, along with his best friends - opera singer Boris Trajanov and movie director Milcho Manchevski.

While in high school, he was the captain of the swimming team and junior champion in Macedonia.

Jolevski married Suzana Jolevska and they have two sons: Pero (1988), a Director at Blue Star Strategies, and Filip (1992), an economist at the World Bank Group.

He began his professional diplomatic career in 1988, joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Macedonia.

From 1988 to 1992, Jolevski served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Macedonia as the responsible officer for preparing all necessary documents for observer status of Macedonia in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

In addition, he served as the Desk Officer for the United Kingdom and Germany.

In 1990, Zoran Jolevski received a Master of Science in Law from the Faculty of Law Justinian I at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, Macedonia and defended the thesis "Business Strategies of Multinational Companies."

Upon completing his graduate degree, he continued his studies at the International Institute of Social Studies, which is part of Erasmus University Rotterdam in The Hague, the Netherlands.

At the Institute of Social Studies, he earned a postgraduate degree.

From 1992 to 1994, Jolevski was the Secretary to the Delegation of Macedonia to the International Conference on Succession of the Former Yugoslavia, where he played an important role in the negotiations.

While working at the Ministry, Jolevski became a Member of the Presidency of Macedonia-Japanese Friendship Association.

In 1994, he attended the Trade Policy Course of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

He holds a Ph.D. in International Economy from the Faculty of Economy at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, Macedonia on the thesis "Foreign Trade Regime of Macedonia and the WTO Agreements".

He speaks English, French, Serbo-Croatian, Bulgarian and his native language Macedonian.

In October 1994, Jolevski became the First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Macedonia to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations office at Geneva, Switzerland.

While there he was the Vice-chairman of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Expert Meeting on Existing Regional and Multilateral Investment Treaties and their Development Dimensions.

He was there until 1998, and after that he returned at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

After returning from Switzerland, Jolevski was the Secretary for WTO accession and other international trade and financial affairs.

When the Kosovo War broke out, he served as the Deputy National Coordinator on Humanitarian Issues for the Kosovo refugee crises, where he worked with then-Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Boris Trajkovski, with whom he established a friendly and professional relationship.

While in the Ministry, Jolevski continued his International involvement as a Member of Bureau of the Commission of UNCTAD on Investment, Technology and Related Financial Issues.

After the Kosovo refugee crisis ended, Jolevski served as the adviser to Boris Trajkovski, who was a candidate for the Macedonian Presidential elections in 1999.

Jolevski prepared the Presidential Program, including writing speeches and serving in other capacities.

Following the election, which Trajkovski won, Jolevski served as the Secretary General, which replaced the former position of Chief of Staff.

Jolevski was in this position from 1999 to 2004, and also served as the Deputy negotiator and Chief Consultant to the Minister of Economy for accession to the WTO.

He served as Secretary General of the late Macedonian president Boris Trajkovski from 2000–2004.

He holds a Ph.D. in International Economy from Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje.

In 2000, Jolevski was the Chief negotiator in the successful negotiations on the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Macedonia and the People's Republic of China.

Jolevski was also a member of the Committee "E-Macedonia for All" under the auspices of Macedonia.

When Macedonia faced insurgency in 2001, and while Zoran Jolevski was Secretary General of the President, Macedonia faced a number of political challenges.

During this period, for example, there were several attempts to assassinate the President and his closest team, which was led by Jolevski.

In November 2008, he was appointed chief negotiator to the Macedonia naming dispute, and in 2011 he was appointed Ambassador to the United Mexican States and as Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States.