Dragoljub Micunovic dies at 95, First President of the Democratic Party

According to the party’s statement, Micunovic led the Democratic Party after its reestablishment in 1990 and "belonged to a generation of people who understood the price of freedom".

"For the Democratic Party, his name remains part of our identity, our renewal, and our obligation to continue the struggle for a Serbia of free citizens, strong institutions, and democratic values", the statement said.

Micunovic was one of the most prominent figures on Serbia’s opposition scene during the 1990s and played an important role in the democratic changes of 2000.

Beginning of His Political Career

Micunovic was born on July 14, 1930, in the Toplica region of southern Serbia. He spent his early childhood in Skopje, where his father was stationed for work.

He began his political career at the Faculty of Philosophy, where in 1968 he became one of the leaders of the student movement and played a key role during the demonstrations as president of the Action Committee.

Because of these activities, he was arrested, had his passport confiscated, and was banned from teaching at universities and publishing academic work in Yugoslavia.

Restoration of the Democratic Party

Together with a group of dissidents, Micunovic initiated the restoration of the Democratic Party in 1989, the first opposition party in Serbia.

At the party’s founding assembly in 1990, he was elected president of the Democratic Party and was re-elected in 1992. He resigned from the position in 1994.

In 1994, together with a group of prominent intellectuals, he established the Foundation "Center for Democracy" a non-governmental organization dedicated to the development of civil society and NGOs, civic education, and the preparation of political and social reforms.

Foto: Srđan Ilić

In 1996, he founded a new political party, the Democratic Center, and was elected its president. In early 1999, he initiated the formation of the DAN coalition, composed of the Democratic Center, Democratic Alternative, and New Democracy.

In September 1999, Micunovic called on all opposition parties in Serbia to unite by organizing the "Round Table of Opposition Parties in Serbia,"which resulted in the creation of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition.

In Serbia’s first multiparty elections, he was elected a member of the Serbian Parliament. As a republican representative, he also served as a delegate in the Chamber of Republics of the Federal Assembly of the former Yugoslavia from 1991 to 1992.

In the 1992 federal elections, he was elected as a federal representative on the Democratic Party ticket. As a member of the opposition coalition "Together", he was again elected to the Chamber of Citizens of the Federal Assembly in 1996.

He was the first recipient of the Tolerance Award, presented by the Ministry for Human Rights, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and B92. For his contribution to the inclusion of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the Council of Europe, he received an award from the European Movement in Serbia.

In 2001, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia awarded him for his active contribution to the work of the Community for Democratic Change in Yugoslavia, which during 1999 brought together representatives of political parties, civil society, and international organizations.

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