Milo Đukanović (, ; born 15 February 1962) is a Montenegrin politician who served as the president of Montenegro from 1998 to 2002 and from 2018 to 2023. 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.
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)."The Smartest Man In The Balkans", Radio Free Europe, 17 October 2008. His cabinet actively participated in the siege of Dubrovnik (1991–1992). 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 state independence and a separate Montenegrin identity. That led to the division of the party and the split of 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 a 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.Blishen. Central European May 1996. Vol. 6, Issue 5. 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.
Several domestic and foreign observers have described Đukanović's rule as either authoritarian, autocratic, or kleptocratic, with some international organizations and research institutions, such as Freedom House, Economist Intelligence Unit, and V-Dem Institute, warning that Montenegro has experienced democratic backsliding under his government.* His brother Aco Đukanović, the owner of Montenegro's first private bank, had the upper hand in the privatization process that took place in the country after the fall of communism. Additionally, his sister, the lawyer Ana Kolarevic, controlled the judiciary for a long time. DPS clientelist networks dominated all segments of social life, making party membership necessary to start a business or obtain a position in the administration. In 2020, Freedom House classified Montenegro as a hybrid regime rather than a democracy, mentioning the years of increasing state capture, abuse of power, and strongman tactics employed by Đukanović. He is often described as having strong links to the Montenegrin mafia. Đukanović was listed among the twenty richest world leaders according to the British newspaper The Independent in May 2010, which described the source of his estimated £10 million wealth as "mysterious". In October 2021, Đukanović and his son Blažo were mentioned in the Pandora Papers, linking them to two trusts on the British Virgin Islands.
Early life Đukanović was born in Nikšić on 15 February 1962, to Radovan and Stana Đukanović (). 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. 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. 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. He graduated in 1986 with a diploma in tourism studies. Đukanović was an avid basketball player in his youth.
Political career Early activism In 1979, while still in high school, Đukanović joined the Yugoslav Communist League (SKJ), the only officially allowed political party in communist Yugoslavia's 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. By 1986, he was a member of the presidency of the League of Socialist Youth of Yugoslavia, Montenegrin branch, as well as a member of the presidency 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. 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 of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (CK SKJ). Eventually, it turned out that this was the committee's last sitting, with Đukanović becoming its youngest member ever.Мило Ђукановић – Мали маршал из Никшића града ;NSPM (Miodrag Zarkovic), 16 December 2009.
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'état; however, within several months he was on his way out as well, to be replaced by Radoje Kontić. Consequently, Đukanović and the others galvanized public opinion within the republic by organizing workers and busing them to the capital, Titograd (later renamed to Podgorica), to protest in front of the country's National Assembly.
First three terms as Prime Minister of Montenegro (1991–1998) The 1990 Montenegrin parliamentary election in early December resulted in a remarkable victory for the League of Communists of Montenegro, which won 83 parliamentary seats out of the total 125. 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's office was secured after the 1992 parliamentary election. Held in December, they were called early due to the disintegration of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the formation of a new state entity, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In the elections, the DPS won an absolute majority, 46 seats out of the total 85.
Đukanović's government sent troops to fight seceding Croatia, as he opposed the fallout of Yugoslavia caused by Slovenia's declaration of independence and the subsequent Ten-Day War (Slovenian War of Independence), as well as armed rebellions and full-scale wars in other areas of the country, including several Croatian regions (Slavonija and Krajina), large swaths of Bosnia, and the majority of Kosovo. Đukanović's cabinet actively participated in the siege of Dubrovnik from the autumn of 1991 until spring 1992, which resulted in the city suffering heavy structural damage. The surrounding area of Konavle also suffered due to looting raids. During this period, Đukanović was one of the most vociferous hawks in the Montenegrin government. Some of his notable statements from this period include a proclamation about "starting to hate chess because of the šahovnica (the chequerboard Croatian coat-of-arms)."
Đukanović campaigned for the modification of the internal borders of the ex-Yugoslav republics saying: "it's time to once and for all establish the firmest border possible with Croatia, but it will be a border a lot more just and realistic than the existing one that was drawn-up by Bolshevik map makers."Fleksibilna britva, Vreme.com, 14 November 2002.
On the domestic political front in 1992, Đukanović became involved in a fierce political clash with Montenegrin artist and antiwar activist Jevrem Brković, which resulted in Brković's exile to Croatia, which lasted until 1998. On this occasion, Đukanović stated: "Every smart Montenegrin and every honest man in this land mentions the name of the traitor Jevrem Brković with hatred, who in pure vanity betrayed his people and knowingly spreads anti-Yugoslav speeches across Zagreb, while the Ustašas, again like in 1941, bleed the defenseless Serbian civilians."
Carrington's proposal and crises in 1992 The siege of Dubrovnik had enormous consequences for Yugoslavia's international standing. The European Economic Community invited Lord Carrington and representatives from Yugoslavia to negotiate the Carrington plan on 19 October 1991, in The Hague. Milošević rejected the proposal of a "loose federation of independent states", and preferred a centralized Yugoslavia with institutional powers in Belgrade. However, in open defiance to Milošević, Đukanović supported Momir Bulatović's agreement on Carrington's terms. Yet in a sharp turn, the Narodna Stranka (People's Party) called for an emergency session in the Montenegrin parliament, during which Bulatović was accused of treason. Đukanović defended Bulatović in the parliamentary hearing. As Bulatović's deputy, Đukanović was invited to negotiations with Milošević and Borisav Jović, after which a clause was added to the Carrington proposal such that a republic could decide to stay in Yugoslavia through a referendum. This resulted in the referendum on 1 March 1992, where voters in Montenegro decided to remain in Yugoslavia.