BIOGRAPHY
Ana Brnabić (Serbian Cyrillic: Ана Брнабић, [âna bř̩nabitɕ]; born 28 September 1975) is a Serbian politician who has been the 12th and current Prime Minister of Serbia since 2017. She is the first woman and first openly gay person to hold the office. She entered government as the Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government of Serbia from 11 August 2016 until 29 June 2017, under Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić and Acting Prime Minister Ivica Dačić. In this role, Brnabić initiated reforms of central government services in Serbia. After Vučić was inaugurated as the President of Serbia on 31 May 2017, he proposed Brnabić as his successor in June 2017. Prime Minister Brnabić and her Cabinet were voted into office on 29 June 2017 by a majority of 157 out of 250 Members of the National Assembly of Serbia. Elected as a non-partisan politician, she joined the ruling Serbian Progressive Party in 2019. In 2019, Brnabić was ranked by Forbes magazine as the 88th most powerful woman in the world and as the 19th most powerful female political and policy leader. Some observers have described that she has no political power in line with the constitutional role of chief of the executive, claiming that Aleksandar Vučić, the leader of the governing party, had accumulated power in his position of the president.
EARLY AND PERSONAL LIFE
Brnabić was born in Belgrade. Her paternal grandfather Anton Brnabić, an ethnic Croat Yugoslav military officer, was born in Stara Baška on the Croatian island of Krk, in the present-day Republic of Croatia. He fought with the Yugoslav Partisans during World War II and was ranked lieutenant colonel after the war. Her paternal grandmother Mica was born in Gorobilje near Požega. Her maternal grandparents are from Babušnica, southeastern Serbia. Her father Zoran was born in Užice in 1950 and finished his studies in Belgrade, where the family lived. Brnabić is a lesbian, the second female LGBT head of government in the world following Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir (Iceland 2009–13), and fifth openly LGBT head of government overall following Jóhanna, Elio Di Rupo (Belgium 2011–14), Xavier Bettel (Luxembourg 2013–present), and Leo Varadkar (Ireland 2017–20). In 2017, she became the first head of government of any Balkan country to attend a gay pride march when she attended one in Belgrade. In 2019 her partner Milica Đurđić gave birth to a boy; Brnabić is the first openly gay prime minister whose partner gave birth while the prime minister was in office.
EDUCATION AND BUSINESS CAREER
Brnabić holds an BBA diploma of the Northwood University and MBA of the University of Hull, and worked for over a decade with international organizations, foreign investors, local self-government units, and the public sector in Serbia. Prior to Brnabić's appointment to the Government of Serbia, she was director of Continental Wind Serbia, where she worked on the implementation of the investment of €300 million into a windpark in Kovin. She was a member of the managing board of the non-profit foundation Peksim. She has been engaged in different US consulting companies that implemented USAID-financed projects in Serbia. She was deputy manager of the Serbia's Competitiveness Project, the expert on the Local self-government Reform Program in Serbia and the senior coordinator of the Program of Economic Development of Municipalities. She actively participated in the foundation of the National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED) in 2006. During that engagement, she participated in the introduction of the concept of local economic development in Serbia and building of potentials of municipalities to improve the business environment at the local level with active promotion of investments. She became a member, and thereafter the President of the Managing Board of NALED.
POLITICS
In August 2016, she was appointed as the Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government. In addition, she is the president of the Council for Innovative Entrepreneurship and Information Technologies of the Government of Serbia, as well as of the Republic Council for National Minorities and the vice president of the Republic Council for Public Administration Reform. Brnabić described herself as a pro-European and technocratic prime minister. She explained that the priorities for her government are modernization, education reform and digitization. On the other hand, she has been criticised because she is the head of a conservative and nationalist government which also includes openly anti-Western and pro-Russian ministers. In May 2018, Brnabić took over the Ministry of Finance until the new Minister was appointed, following the resignation of Dušan Vujović. On 29 May 2018, she appointed Siniša Mali as Vujović's successor on that position. On 26 July 2018, Brnabić hosted a ceremony at the United States Congress in Washington, which was held to mark the 100th anniversary of raising the Serbian flag in front of the White House. In October 2019, the Prime Minister confirmed she had joined the ruling Serbian Progressive Party. On 25 October 2019, Brnabić signed a Free Trade Agreement between Serbia and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), extending the list of Serbian products that can be exported to the EAEU territory. After the COVID-19 pandemic spread to Serbia in March 2020, Brnabić was appointed for the head of the Health Crisis Committee. After president Vučić declared a state of emergency on 15 March, the government issued regulations on measures during a state of emergency with the aim of suppressing the consequences of the outbreak. A curfew was introduced for the first time in Serbia since World War II.
Debate on constitutional roles
Political scientists Krzysztof Zuba listed Brnabić as an example of the head of government with extensive political dependence on a leader of the governing party. He defined situations in which the Prime Minister does not have their own political position as the chief of the executive as a “surrogate governments”, explaining that the distribution of power that is contrary to constitutional determinants is a characteristic of non-democratic systems. In February 2019, Freedom House report that Serbia's status declined from Free to Partly Free due to deterioration in the conduct of elections, continued attempts by the government and allied media outlets to undermine independent journalists through legal harassment and smear campaigns, and Vučić's accumulation of executive powers that conflict with his constitutional role. Opposition leaders and some observes describe her as a mere puppet of Vučić, whose presidency according to the Constitution is largely ceremonial with no significant executive power. Brnabić never denied this, and even said that Vučić should act as a "mentor" of prime minister.
Kosovo
In December 2018, Commenting on the announced transformation of the Kosovo Security Force into the Kosovo Armed Forces, Brnabić said: "I hope we won’t have to use our military, but at the moment, that’s one of the options on the table because one cannot witness a new ethnic cleansing of the Serbs and new Storms - although Edi Rama is calling for them. When someone knows you have a strong army, then they have to sit down and talk to you." In addition, in May 2019, Foreign Minister of Kosovo Behgjet Pacolli said that he would not allow Brnabić to enter Kosovo because of, what he said is, her racist ideology. Brnabić, during the handover of a European Commission 2019 progress report, said: "Haradinaj, Thaçi and Veseli are competing to see who the biggest nationalist and chauvinist is. What scares me most is that we are dealing with irrational people, the worst kind of populist, people who literally walked out of the woods." This was met with strong criticism, particularly by Twitter users, who campaigned with the hashtag #literallyjustemergedfromthewoods in order to mock the Prime Minister. On 20 January 2020, the governments of Serbia and Kosovo agreed to restore flights between their capitals for the first time in more than two decades. The deal came after months of diplomatic talks by Richard Grenell, the United States ambassador to Germany, who was named special envoy for Serbian-Kosovar relations by President Donald Trump the year before.
Srebrenica genocide remarks
In an interview on 14 November 2018 with the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle, Brnabić denied that the July 1995 massacres of Bosniaks by Bosnian Serb forces in Srebrenica had been an act of genocide. Two weeks later, the European Parliament adopted a resolution saying that the parliament regretted the continuing denial of the Srebrenica genocide by parts of the Serbian authorities and recalled that full cooperation with the ICTY and its successor mechanism included accepting its judgements. The Hague Court criticised Brnabić for denial of the Srebenica genocide.
After she was appointed prime minister, Brnabić said that she did not want to be branded Serbia's gay prime minister and that she did not plan "to push LGBT legal reforms at this stage" because she wanted to prioritise other policy reforms. In September 2017, Brnabić took part in the pride parade in Belgrade and became the first Serbian prime minister to attend a pride parade. At the event, Brnabić said: The government is here for all citizens and will secure the respect of rights for all citizens. Brnabić says that she advocates inheritance rights of same-sex couples. In February 2019, Milica Đurđić, Brnabić's partner, gave birth to a son named Igor, but same-sex marriage is constitutionally banned and LGBT parenting is not regulated in Serbia. According to Agence France-Presse, "Ana Brnabić is one of the first prime ministers whose partner has given birth while in office... and the first in the world in a same-sex couple". Some journalists and LGBT activists have concluded that Brnabić has failed to advocate for LGBT equality in Serbia.
AWARDS
She has been awarded numerous plaudits for the development projects on which she worked, for the promotion of socially accountable business operation and tolerance. She has been awarded the Order of the Republika Srpska.
National Digital Transformation: A Conversation With Serbia’s Prime Minister Ana Brnabic
We can learn a lot from small countries where big things happen. Ireland attracts some of the world’s largest corporations via far more than just low corporate taxes. New Zealand’s KEA (Kiwi Expat Association) mobilizes their diaspora better than anyone. Estonia boasts the world’s highest per capita of tech unicorns— six for a population of 1.3 million. Upstaging everyone, the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan— population 760,000—vaccinated 93% of their adult population against Covid-19 in two weeks. Having visited three times with one of my portfolio companies, www.abroad.io, I’m familiar with the challenge this presented, as well as the spirit and commitment that enabled their accomplishment. Recently, I’ve become interested in the case of Serbia. Through the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, the country experienced regional war, human rights issues, international sanctions, economic mismanagement and significant damage to infrastructure. Slowly emerging from these challenges, the country’s GDP in 2015 was 27.5% below its level in 1989. Since 2017, Serbia’s government, led by President Aleksandar Vučić, has focused on economic growth, attracting foreign investment and stronger overseas relationships, aspiring to eventually join the EU. While critics and political adversaries remain skeptical—which is always the case— we should judge governments by their actions and results. So far, the progress in four years has been impressive. The World Bank reports the country, “continues to implement programs that address structural weaknesses, increase public sector efficiency, and eliminate bottlenecks to private sector growth.” I’ve been most intrigued by the role of Ana Brnabić, Vučić’s hand-selected Prime Minister, who also happens to be the first woman and LGBTQ individual to hold this role. In a wide-ranging conversation in April, 2021, Brnabić and I explored her vision for Serbia’s creative, digital future, the challenges of public service and her unusual career trajectory
Private Sector to Public Service
Brnabić never expected to serve in government. She accepted her first government role as Minister of Public Administration in August, 2016, as part of the first Vučić government. Her career to that point had been entirely private sector, affording her strong appreciation for the realities of business leaders and investors. Self-described as a technocrat, she prides herself on pragmatic efficiency. But Brnabić’s contributions transcend capable implementation. She explains her sense of mission to, “do everything that I dreamed of as a citizen.” Reforming public administration, rolling out e-government, making government services available to citizens 24/7. Since becoming Prime Minister in 2017, she argued the country needed to, “catch up on the missed times of Serbia,” referring to prior years of conflict and international sanctions. She has become a tireless advocate for two priorities: Digitization and Education. When she announced digitization as her top priority during her inaugural speech, “95% of Serbia laughed. They were skeptical. It did not fit with the common vision of Serbia, even for our citizens.”
With Vučić’s strong support, Brnabić and her colleagues got to work. Four years later, “everyone is talking about digitization.” Global corporations have begun to invest in the tech sector in Serbia in ways highly unlikely a few years ago. Most Serbians now believe their future is digital.
Digitalization & Resilience
While the country has a long way to go— a challenge Vučić and Brnabić accept— momentum is on their side. A global study of “digital progress” by researchers at Tufts University’s Fletcher School, led by Bhaskar Chakravorti, assessed 90 economies across 160 indicators. As reported in the Harvard Business Review, Serbia ranked as a “Break Out” economy, characterized as having “limited existing digital infrastructure, but which are rapidly digitalizing.” Serbia’s moving fast. When Covid-19 hit, digital transformation paid off. Thanks to e-government services, Serbia was able to continue most services in ways that would have been impossible just two years prior. Remarkably, through the pandemic the IT sector expanded as a percentage of Serbia’s economy. Today it accounts for almost the same level as agriculture, “which is almost unbelievable… and making us more resilient.”
Not Brain Drain— Circular Flow
Throughout our conversation, Brnabić emphasized her commitment to supporting the development of Serbia’s people. At home, this manifests as education designed for the future. Referring to Serbia’s next generation, Brnabić argues, “We don’t really know what jobs they will be doing…. So the only thing we know is that we need to teach them how to think.” It’s about building the country’s talent, but also access to the world. Brnabić espouses the “circular flow of talent.” While many countries fight “brain drain”— where educated, prosperous citizens leave their home country— Brnabić sees this as an opportunity. Brain drain, “can work to the advantage of a country.” Leaving home for new opportunities enables new knowledge, relationships and access to markets. “People leaving Serbia is not that much of a problem. People not coming back is a problem. What we need to do as a country is turn it into circular migration.” People returning to hire, invest and live, while connecting the country to the world. To help, the government created an organization called “Returning Point,” a concierge service for Serbians interested in returning. Brnabić’s government also leverages the country’s diaspora organization in Silicon Valley, Serbian Entrepreneurs. “They help us so much. Not just by investing in Serbia, but also teaching us, my team, myself included, about what we need to do to make our vision into reality.”
Tech industry Serbians meet in Silicon Valley, California at a meeting of Serbian Entrepreneurs, an ... [+] SERBIAN ENTREPRENEURS Powering Our Renewable Energy Future On the economic horizon, Serbia faces a pivotal resource opportunity— and threat. By some estimates, the country has perhaps 10% of world lithium reserves, essential for electric vehicles and energy storage in general. An enormous opportunity for Serbia, though with a caution. Countries with significant natural resources risk the resources curse: becoming dependent on easy money from digging and drilling.
Because Serbia has been building a digitally-enabled society with a more diverse, value-added economic base, these resources can become an accelerant rather than a curse. That is if Serbia remains committed to nurturing the broad-based capabilities, education and innovation necessary to thrive in the 21st Century.
Empowered To Change
So far, so good. As Serbians rally to the future, I asked Brnabić what she wishes for her young son. She aspires for all Serbians to believe in their country’s ability not just to change, but to thrive long term. “When people feel that they are empowered… then they can do whatever they want to do. It’s their country to change.” That’s a spirit countries of all sizes need to prosper.
Ana Brnabic: A female leader who is unlikely to change history
Ana Brnabic's appointment as Serbia's first female and openly gay prime minister in 2017 came as a surprise. Back then, it seemed like she was the perfect candidate for the job. Serbia gets its first female — and gay — prime minister," was just one of the headlines in the foreign press, published right after President Aleksandar Vucic confirmed Brnabic's appointment. A well-educated, hard-working, pro-European technocrat with close ties to some Western countries. In other words, nothing like a typical Balkan politician. Serbia's image was about to change, it seemed. The Conservative Balkan nation was changing course, distancing itself from intolerance, right-wing politicians and their supporters, breaking a long tradition of close-knit relations with Russia and instead following its path to modern society and integration into the EU. "The time ahead of us will show how brave we are as a society and individuals to push boundaries together, stepping into the future for the sake of all of us," said Ana Brnabic in her inauguration speech in Serbia's parliament, presenting the government's program. Nevertheless, it took her barely a full mandate to turn into a loyal party soldier. From hard-working bureaucrat to government head Ana Brnabic was born in 1975 in Belgrade. She obtained degrees in the US and the UK before returning to Serbia in 2002. She began working for US consultancy firms involved with USAID. Brnabic's business degrees suggests expertise in local governance, and that was her ticket to join the government in 2016. Serbia's Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic made her minister of public administration and local self-government. Brnabic pushed to modernize the country by introducing e-governance systems and mandatory IT classes for students. However, it took less than a year for her to take on a far greater challenge — a mandate to form a new government. "I am a technocratic prime minister," Brnabic said in one of her first interviews as head of the government. Shortly afterwards, this statement raised an obvious question. Does "technocratic" in her case mean, her only role was to implement policies and decisions already shaped by her predecessor, Aleksandar Vucic? Political scientists in Serbia believe so, suggesting Brnabic was actually appointed as a head of "surrogate government." Moreover, the opposition leaders described her as a mere puppet of newly appointed president of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic.
Lesbian 'only at home'?
Despite being homosexual, LGBT+ rights have had no priority in her political agenda. Serbia's LGBT+ took Vucic's decision to appoint a lesbian politician as prime minister as a positive message. However, Brnabic was never accepted as a human rights defender and LGBT+ advocate in Serbian society. Brnabic lives with her partner Milica Djurdjic. Last year, Djurdjic gave birth to a boy, and the couple was showered with congratulations by many officials and media outlets. Brnabic and her partner cannot legally marry, as the 2006 constitution defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Sidelining the subject, Brnabic said in an interview with Pride magazine that "at the moment, our country has other critical issues that we must resolve as soon as possible for the benefit of all citizens of Serbia." Brnabic has been criticized for enjoying privileges inaccessible to other gay people and for not fighting for the LGBT+ community's access to them. Although her attendance at the Pride events in Belgrade was always welcomed, Brnabic's restrained position towards the LGBT+ community is unacceptable to many human rights activists.
Political metamorphosis
Ana Brnabic has appeared on Serbia's political scene as a non-partisan with a well-behaved student attitude. Friendly and well-balanced in her statements, reduced to a strictly bureaucratic language. She was also reserved in her criticism of political opponents — but again, not for long. Brnabic increasingly sounded like her mentor Vucic. In October 2019, the once subtle non-partisan expert officially became an obedient party soldier as she joined the leading Serbian Progressive Party.
Affairs, scandals, criticism
Shortly afterwards, her government got hit by several affairs. What was initially promoted as a significant modernization project of public governance turned out to be a possible corruption scandal, Serbia's opposition leaders claimed. A company managed by Igor Brnabic, the prime minister's brother, was accused of receiving millions of dollars from state agencies and companies through public tenders. As the criticism and pressure on the Serbian government grew, Brnabic's rhetoric got more defensive and confrontational. While speaking about negotiations with Kosovo's leaders, she said Serbia is dealing with "people who came out of the woods." Journalists and media were next in line, as she denied their objectivity. She blamed political opponents in Serbia for "attempts to destabilize the state." Brnabic was no longer just some loyal student. She evolved into a party leader with the same mindset as her close ally, Aleksandar Vucic. In 2020, Brnabic won another mandate to form Serbia's 16th government.
Still powerless?
Although she outgrew her technocratic position, Brnabic appears to be just another team player in Aleksandar Vucic's well-trained squad with no actual power. Every time she calls him "Mr. President," and he replies with "Ana," they seem to perform the master-and-apprentice positions in their political roleplay. Outside of Serbia, however, Brnabic is still perceived as a gender equality role model. In 2019, her name appeared on the Forbes list of the most powerful women in the world. In January 2021, well-known Hollywood actor Jennifer Aniston paid tribute to women who hold significant leadership positions in their respective countries. Next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, US Vice President Kamala Harris and other female world leaders, Brnabic's photo was also used in Aniston's Instagram story, followed by a comment: "Empower women and change the world." "This is a good thing for Serbia," said Brnabic as she heard about Aniston's Instagram post. "I hope we are the country that is changing the world."
Outstanding Achievements
Appointment of a competent pro-Western openly gay female PM is a good thing, even though Serbia’s democracy is sliding back oday, after a long unwarranted delay Serbia’s president/PM Aleksandar Vučić decided to appoint Ana Brnabić as his successor who is to from the new Serbian government. This function will be almost ceremonial, as Vučić clearly showed intention to keep all the reigns in his hands. Ana Brnabić was a good choice, in large part because who the other alternatives were. One was Ivica Dačić, the current minister of foreign affairs, who was Milošević’s spokesperson and has a string of affairs and public embarrassments to his name. The others were Vučić’s part apparatchiks, the current police minister or the mayor of Novi Sad, who, with no work experience outside of politics (like Vučič) who would have also debased this (nominally) most powerful job in Serbia. Unlike them Ana Brnabić is a UK educated business woman with a string of private successes to her name. She is still (nominally) outside of Vučić’s party. Although I do not support expert-ministers as they either diminish the point of democracy and/or act as cover for pervasive clientelism, it is good to have someone who has accomplishments beside swimming in the cesspool of Serbian party politics at the top spot. The additional plus is that Ana Brnabić is openly gay, a big thing for Serbia. The choice of Ana Brnabić shows that Aleksandar Vučić has learnt how to play with the West’s tick-box approach to liberalism. As I am writing this there is certainly going to be a saccharine AJ+ or Independent article what an achievement that is in a country where the Pride parade is still heavily guarded by the police and only a few years ago meant that there would be heavy destruction of property in Belgrade. No matter how much the opposition commentariat in Serbia might scoff this is a big achievement and maybe a sign we are going in a less bad direction. We need to bear in mind that Serbia is still a country where church and ultra-nationalist parties, some of which are in coalition with Vučić’s party, can openly say that being lesbian disqualifies someone from a job. It is also dubitable whether any of the opposition parties would have gone with someone openly gay for the top spot. The sign that things are not deteriorating as much is that this might have been Vučić’s first non-populist move in a while and a sign that his flirtation with nationalism has, at least temporarily, waned. The fact that Branbić was also allegedly supported by Western countries this is also a move towards the EU and, maybe even, the NATO. There is certainly going to be a chorus of opposition pundits who will moan that the westward orientation in Serbia is no longer a guarantee of increased civil rights and that this way Vučić is ensuring he has leeway to strengthen his power. Nevertheless, the opposition in Serbia should finally learn to grow up and not rely too much on outside powers to fight their fight on this most internal of all fronts front. One thing is certain: Ana Brnabić was the best choice on offer and as a supporter of LGBT rights in Serbia, as well as someone who thinks merit should still figure in political appointments, it is difficult not to be happy about it. Even if it is in these scarily undemocratic times.
Brnabić: ‘More US investments for Serbian young talent on the way’
Serbia’s Prime Minister Ana Brnabić said yesterday that three or four new investments would be made in Serbia as a result of the first day of talks she had in New York with representatives of under-45 American companies. “I am very satisfied. I will return from New York with promises of at least three or four new investments for our companies and young talent,” Brnabić told reporters. At the meeting with an elite global organisation that brings together presidents, owners and members of the top management of highly successful companies under the age of 45, Brnabić informed those present about Serbia’s achievements in the IT sector. “People want to come to Serbia, and redirect the investments they had planned in other parts of the world, such as India, to Serbia,” Brnabić said and added that the American companies were mostly interested in investing in the IT sector, start-ups, biotechnology and biomedicine. She added that those investments are not classic investments but are rather made by investment funds. “They will provide money for our talented and smart people who have companies, which will help them to continue growing and developing,” she added. According to the PM, after returning to Serbia, there is still a lot of work to be done to confirm everything. Brnabic also expressed satisfaction with the fact that the executives from the blockchain company, Gilded, with whom she spoke earlier, expressed interest in Serbia and in the fact that Serbia provides high level of data protection and guarantees transactions without the possibility of abuse. “In the years to come, Gilded will be one of the biggest and most advanced companies. If we bring them to Serbia, we will be able to position ourselves on the global fin-tech market, and in trading in gold,” she concluded.