Executive branch:
chief of state: President Boris TADIC (since 11 July 2004); Kosovo
- President Fatmir SEJDIU (since 10 February 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Vojislav KOSTUNICA (since 3 March
2004) - in an acting capacity pending formation of new government
following January 2007 elections; Kosovo - Prime Minister Agim CEKU
(since 10 March 2006)
cabinet: Federal Ministries act as cabinet; Kosovo - ministry heads
act as cabinet; some ministry functions are controlled by the UNMIK
elections: president elected by direct vote for a five-year term
(eligible for a second term); election last held 27 June 2004 (next
to be held in 2007 due to constitutional changes); prime minister
elected by the Assembly; Kosovo - president is elected by the
Assembly for a three-year term; prime minister and proposed cabinet
are elected by the Assembly
election results: Boris TADIC elected president in the second round
of voting; Boris TADIC received 53% of the vote
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly (250 deputies elected by direct vote
for a four-year term); Kosovo - unicameral Assembly (120 deputies -
100 deputies elected by direct vote and 20 deputies from minority
community members; elected for a three-year term)
elections: last held 21 January 2007 (next to be held 2017); Kosovo
- last held 23 October 2004 (next to be held in 2007)
election results: SRS 81, DSS 64, DSS-NS 47, G17 Plus 19, SPS 16,
LDP Coaliton 15, SVM 3, KZS 2, URS 1, KAPD 1, RP 1; Kosovo - LDK 46,
PDK 30, AAK 9, SLKM 8, Ora 7, Bosniak Vakat coalition 4, KDTP 3,
other 13
Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court, Supreme Court (to become court of cassation
under new constitution), appellate courts, district courts,
municipal courts; Kosovo: Supreme Court, district courts, municipal
courts, minor offense courts; note - Ministry of Justice was created
on 20 December 2004; UNMIK appoints all judges and prosecutors;
UNMIK is working on transferring competencies
Political parties and leaders:
Coalition of Albanians of the Presevo Valley or KAPD [Riza HALIMI];
Coalition for Sandzak or KZS [Sulejman UGLJANIN]; Democratic Party
of Serbia or DSS [Vojislav KOSTUNICA]; Democratic Party or DS [Boris
TADIC]; G17 Plus [Mladjan DINKIC]; League of Vojvodina Hungarians or
SVM [Jozsef KASZA]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Cedomir
JOVANOVIC]; New Serbia or NS [Velimir ILIC]; Roma Party or RP
[Srdjan SAJN]; Serbian Radical Party or SRS [Vojislav SESELJ
(currently on trial at The Hague), but Tomislav NIKOLIC is acting
leader]; Socialist Party of Serbia or SPS [Ivica DACIC]; Union of
Roma of Serbia or URS [Rajko DJURIC]; Kosovo Albanian Christian
Democatic Party or PShDK [Mark KRASNIQI]; Alliance for the Future of
Kosovo or AAK [Rmuch HARADINAJ]; Citizens' Initiative of Gora or GIG
[Rustem IBISI]; Democratic Ashkali Party of Kosovo or PDAK [Sabit
RRAHMANI]; Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Fatmir SEJDIU];
Democratic Party of Kosovo or PDK [Hashim THACI]; Justice Party or
PD [Sylejman CERKEZI]; Kosovo Democratic Turkish Party of KDTP
[Mahir YAGCILAR]; Liberal Party of Kosovo or PLK [Gjergi DEDAJ]; New
Democratic Initiative of Kosovo or IRDK [Xhevdet NEZIRAJ]; Ora
Citizens' List or Ora [Veton SURROI]; Party of Democratic Action or
SDA [Numan BALIC]; Popular Movement of Kosovo or LPK [Emrush
XHEMAJLI]; Serb List for Kosovo and Metohija or SLKM [Oliver
IVANOVIC]; Serb Democratic Party or SDS KiM [Slavisa PETKOVIC];
United Roma Partty of Kosovo or PREBK [Zylfi MERXHA]
International organization participation:
ABEDA, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, EBRD, FAO, G-9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD (suspended), IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM
(observer), OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP,
SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU,
WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ivan VUJACIC chancery: 2134 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-0333 FAX: [1] (202) 332-3933 consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Michael C. POLT embassy: Kneza Milosa 50, 11000 Belgrade mailing address: 5070 Belgrade Place, Washington, DC 20521-5070 telephone: [381] (11) 361-9344 FAX: [381] (11) 361-8230 note: there is a branch office in Pristina at 30 Nazim Hikmet 38000 Prstina, Kososvo; telephone: [381] (38) 549-516; FAX:[381] (38) 549-890
Flag description:
three equal horizontal stripes of red (top), blue, and white;
charged with the coat of arms of Serbia shifted slightly to the
hoist side
Economy Serbia
Economy - overview:
MILOSEVIC-era mismanagement of the economy, an extended period of
economic sanctions, and the damage to Yugoslavia's infrastructure
and industry during the NATO airstrikes in 1999 left the economy
only half the size it was in 1990. After the ousting of former
Federal Yugoslav President MILOSEVIC in October 2000, the Democratic
Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition government implemented
stabilization measures and embarked on a market reform program.
After renewing its membership in the IMF in December 2000, a
down-sized Yugoslavia continued to reintegrate into the
international community by rejoining the World Bank (IBRD) and the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). A World
Bank-European Commission sponsored Donors' Conference held in June
2001 raised $1.3 billion for economic restructuring. In November
2001, the Paris Club agreed to reschedule the country's $4.5 billion
public debt and wrote off 66% of the debt. In July 2004, the London
Club of private creditors forgave $1.7 billion of debt, just over
half the total owed. Belgrade has made only minimal progress in
restructuring and privatizing its holdings in major sectors of the
economy, including energy and telecommunications. It has made
halting progress towards EU membership and is currently pursuing a
Stabilization and Association Agreement with Brussels. Serbia is
also pursuing membership in the World Trade Organization.
Unemployment remains an ongoing political and economic problem. The
Republic of Montenegro severed its economy from Serbia during the
MILOSEVIC era; therefore, the formal separation of Serbia and
Montenegro in June 2006 had little real impact on either economy.
Kosovo's economy continues to transition to a market-based system
and is largely dependent on the international community and the
diaspora for financial and technical assistance. The euro and the
Serbian dinar are both accepted currencies in Kosovo. While
maintaining ultimate oversight, UNMIK continues to work with the EU
and Kosovo's local provisional government to accelerate economic
growth, lower unemployment, and attract foreign investment to help
Kosovo integrate into regional economic structures. The complexity
of Serbia and Kosovo's political and legal relationships has created
uncertainty over property rights and hindered the privatization of
state-owned assets in Kosovo. Most of Kosovo's population lives in
rural towns outside of the largest city, Pristina. Inefficient,
near-subsistence farming is common.
note: economic data for Serbia currently reflects information for
the former Serbia and Montenegro, unless otherwise noted; data for
Serbia alone will be added when available