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Zoran Ðindic (1 August 1952 – 12 March 2003) was a Serbian prime minister, mayor of Belgrade, long-time opposition politician and a philosopher by profession.
Biography
Ðindic was born in Bosanski ,,amac, a town on the Sava river in the Cefur region of northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, then Yugoslavia, but he completed his secondary education in the IX gymnasium in Belgrade, where his father Dragomir was sent as an officer in the Yugoslavian army. His mother Mila was a homemaker. Ðindic had one older sister — Gordana. Ðindic took an interest in politics as a student of philosophy at the University of Belgrade.
A pro-reform socialist, he continued his studies in Germany under professor Jürgen Habermas in Frankfurt. Ðindic went to Germany after being attacked by the communist regime and media for trying to organize an independent political movement of Yugoslav students. It is said that during his days as a student in Germany, Ðindic often visited the largest left-wing bookstore in the town, the "Libresso" at Opera Square where Joschka Fischer was working at the time. The relevance of this became a subject of speculation in the context of Fischer's earlier pacifism and his later unpopular decision to contribute to NATO attacks on Serbia. However, neither a political nor a personal friendship of the men can be proven.
In 1979 Ðindic obtained a Ph.D. in philosophy from the university of Konstanz. He spoke German fluently. His ability in English was at a moderate level, so he took English classes every day while he was Serbian prime-minister.
In 1989 Ðindic returned to Yugoslavia to take a teaching post at Novi Sad University, and together with other Serb dissidents he founded the Democratic Party. He became Chairman of the Executive Board of the party in 1990, and was elected to the Parliament of Serbia in the same year. In 1993 he became the President of the Democratic Party.
After a massive series of public protests over elections annulled by the central government under Slobodan Milo,,evic during the winter 1996/97, Ðindic became Mayor of Belgrade, the first non-communist mayor to hold that post after the Second World War. United only by their political enemy, the coalition "Zajedno" (Together) with Vuk Dra,,kovic's SPO and Vesna Pe,,ic's GSS collapsed only four months after their victory. Ðindic was voted out of his position as Belgrade mayor by the SPO, SPS and SRS.
After anti-regime publisher and journalist Slavko Curuvija was murdered on Orthodox Easter during NATO bombings attacking Serbia, Ðindic sought safety and fled to temporary exile in Montenegro, allegedly because of information that he was next on the assassination list of then-President Slobodan Milo,,evic's secret service. Before long, he left for Western countries, being regarded as a political friend by western leaders such as Gerhard Schröder and Bill Clinton. In September 1999, Ðindic was named by Time magazine as one of the most important politicians at the beginning of the 21st century.
Photos of his handshake with Clinton at time of the bombings have been used by Milo,,evic's propaganda to portray him as a traitor, as well as by the opposition to show his and accordingly Belgrade's possible international recognition. Upon his return to the country in July 1999, Ðindic was charged with endangering state security in a trial that was closed to the public and subsequently said to be rigged. Zoran Ðindic competing in Serbian edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? quiz show, December, 2002 Zoran Ðindic competing in Serbian edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? quiz show, December, 2002
Ðindic played a prominent role in the presidential elections of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in September 2000 and in the October 5 uprising that overthrew the Milo,,evic regime, and then led the broad-based 18-party Democratic Opposition of Serbia coalition to victory in the Serbian elections of December 2000. He became Premier of Serbia on 25 January 2001.
In 2001, Ðindic played a key role in sending Milo,,evic to the UN War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague[1]. Later, he said that he became disillusioned with the protracted trial of Milo,,evic, and even condemned it as an expensive "circus". Ðindic said the court in The Hague was "allowing Milo,,evic to behave like a demagogue and to control the trial".
Ðindic was received favorably by Western nations. His meetings with Western leaders George Bush, Tony Blair, Jacques Chirac and others strongly indicated that the West supported his politics. Ðindic had constant disagreements with his ex-coalition partner and then-Yugoslav federal president Vojislav Ko,,tunica, who was his biggest political rival in Serbia itself. His earlier close relationship with Montenegrin president Milo Ðukanovic had also cooled because of Ðukanovic's aspiration for an independent Montenegro state.
Assassination
Ðindic was assassinated in Belgrade in the stairway of the main Serbian government building on 12 March 2003, at 12:23pm. Shot once in the chest, a high-power bullet penetrated his heart and killed him almost instantly. He was rushed to the emergency hospital where he was treated, but pronounced dead one hour later.
According to the official government statement, Ðindic was not conscious and did not have a pulse upon arriving at the emergency ward.[citation needed] His bodyguard Milan Veruovic was also seriously wounded in the stomach by another shot.
Ðindic's assassin, allegedly police specialist Zvezdan Jovanovic, called Zveki, had fired the bullets by sniper scope from the window of a nearby building. Jovanovic was born in 1965 in Pec, Kosovo. He had been a member of the JSO, or the Red Berets, as people called them, and held the police rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Jovanovic was active in the series of Yugoslav wars in the 1990s and stated he killed Ðindic because he saw him as a traitor to Serbia.
The assassination of Ðindic was preceded by several unsuccessful attempts at his life. Most notable was an attempt several days before 12 March 2003, in which a truck driven by Dejan Milenkovic, a known member of the criminal Zemun Clan, tried to force the Prime Minister's car off the highway in New Belgrade. Ðindic escaped injury only due to the outstanding reaction of his driver and his security detail.
Ðindic had made many enemies for his pro-Western stance, reformist economic policies, arresting Milo,,evic and relinquishing him to the ICTY, and for clamping down on organized crime. The murder was allegedly organized by Milorad Ulemek, also known as Legija. Ulemek is an ex-Commander of the special police unit founded by Milosevic's secret service during the nineties, who ordered Jovanovic to carry out the assassination. Legija was connected to the powerful Zemun clan of the Serbian mafia, and had been recently sentenced to 40 years in jail for other offences that included murder and attempted murder.
Nata,,a Micic, then acting President of Serbia, declared a state of emergency immediately following the shooting. Zoran ,,ivkovic was elected by the Serbian Democratic Party as Ðindic's successor. However, after new parliamentary elections Boris Tadic was appointed president of the Democratic Party and Vojislav Ko,,tunica became the new Serbian Prime Minister.
Aleksandar Simovic, an alleged co-conspirator, has been arrested in Belgrade on November 23, 2006.
Ðindic was married to Ru,,ica. They had two children — a daughter, Jovana, born in 1990, and a son, Luka, born in 1993.
His solemn state procession and funeral, held on 15 March 2003, was attended by hundreds of thousands of citizens and by foreign delegations. Ðindic's death represents a political and moral tragedy to many Serbs who saw in him a statesman of hope who guaranteed peaceful coexistence with neighboring nations, integration to Europe and the rest of the world, economic prosperity and a brighter future.
His political opponent and critic during his premiership Vojislav Ko,,tunica acknowledged his work two years later with these words:
Zoran Ðindic was the first to take this difficult task to lead government in very unstable times. Probably his energy and commitment made it possible for things to move forward. It is one thing to watch it from the sidelines and it is completely different to be a part of it. I understand that now when I am Prime Minister and watch things a bit differently. He was very important for the whole process.
Quotes
“If someone believes they can stop the implementation of the law by eliminating me, they are seriously deluding themselves, because I am not the system. The system will continue to function, and no-one will receive amnesty for their crimes by eliminating one or two government officials.”?Politika (21 February 2003) and Glas Javnosti (24 February 2003).

Text from wikipedia.org