Dejan Mikavica (Serbian Cyrillic: Дејан Микавица; 12 August 1964 – 2 November 2022)[1] was a Serbian politician and historian. He served in the National Assembly of Serbia from 2004 to 2007 as a member of the Democratic Party of Serbia (Demokratska stranka Srbije, DSS).

Early life and career

Mikavica attended primary school in the Detelinara area of Novi Sad and finished high school in Sremski Karlovci. He received a bachelor's degree from the Department of History at the University of Novi Sad's Faculty of Philosophy, earned a master's degree at the University of Belgrade, and completed his Ph.D. at the University of Novi Sad, where he later worked as a professor.[2] He was the chair of the university's History Department from 2004 to 2015 and later chaired the Board of Directors of the Museum of Vojvodina from 2016 until his death. Much of his academic work was focused on the activities of the Serbian political elite in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.[3]

Politician

Early years

In 2000, the DSS became part of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (Demokratska opozicija Srbije, DOS), a broad and ideologically diverse coalition of parties opposed to the authoritarian rule of Slobodan Milošević. DOS candidate Vojislav Koštunica defeated Milošević in the 2000 Yugoslavian presidential election, a watershed moment in Serbian politics. The DOS also won several landslide victories in the concurrent 2000 Serbian local elections, including in Novi Sad. The DSS was initially part of the city's government after the election, but it broke with the DOS and moved into opposition in mid-2001. Shortly thereafter, Mikavica became chair of the party's board in the city. In this role, he aligned himself with national-conservative groups and was a vocal opponent of the remaining parties in the DOS administration. Some DSS members, including Dragan Maršićanin, were critical of his leadership.[4]

Parliamentarian

Mikavica appeared in the twenty-third position on the DSS's electoral list in the 2003 Serbian parliamentary election and was awarded a mandate when the list won fifty-three seats.[5][6] (From 2000 to 2011, mandates in Serbian parliamentary elections were awarded to sponsoring parties or coalitions rather than individual candidates, and it was common practice for the mandates to be assigned out of numerical order. Mikavica's list position had no formal bearing on his chances of election.)[7] He took his seat when the new assembly met in January 2004.

The DSS became the dominant party in Serbia's coalition government after the election, and Mikavica served as a supporter of the administration. He was a member of the committee on constitutional affairs and the committee on European integration.[8] He also chaired the management board of Srbijagas and was an advisor to the general director of SPC Vojvodina during this time.[9]

2004 elections

Mikavica appeared in the second position on the DSS's list for the Assembly of Vojvodina in the 2004 provincial election; the list won four mandates, and he was not afterward included in its assembly delegation.[10][11] He was also the DSS's candidate for mayor of Novi Sad in the concurrent 2004 Serbian local elections and finished fifth against Serbian Radical Party (Srpska radikalna stranka, SRS) candidate Maja Gojković in the first round of voting. Over the objections of the DSS leadership, he endorsed Gojković in the second round. Following her narrow victory, he brought the DSS into a coalition with the SRS at the city level. The DSS leadership responded by dissolving the party's board in the city; notwithstanding this, the DSS delegates in the city assembly maintained their alliance with the Radicals for the term that followed.[12][13]

Accident and departure from politics

On 3 September 2006, Mikavica was involved in a traffic accident that caused serious injuries to a pedestrian. He was later found guilty of causing the accident by running a red light, a verdict that was upheld on appeal. Mikavica denied the charge. During the legal proceedings of the case, it was discovered that Mikavica had received free use of SPC Vojvodina cars for private purposes and was driving such a car when the accident occurred.[14] He resigned from his position as advisor to the general director of SPC Vojvodina in November 2006.[15]

Mikavica was not a candidate in the 2007 parliamentary election and was expelled from the DSS later in the year.[16] In 2009, he joined the Serbian Progressive Party (Srpska napredna stranka, SNS).[17]

Death

Mikavica died on 2 November 2022. Maja Gojković, who was by then a SNS cabinet minister in Serbia's government, sent a telegram of condolence.[18]

Electoral record

Local (Novi Sad)

2004 City of Novi Sad local election: Mayor of Novi Sad
CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Maja GojkovićSerbian Radical Party44,01342.6560,23550.29
Borislav Novaković (incumbent)Democratic Party34,30033.2459,54049.71
Branislav PomoriškiTogether for Vojvodina8,4508.19
Đorđe BašićStrength of Serbia Movement5,2435.08
Dejan MikavicaDemocratic Party of Serbia3,9423.82
Miodrag IsakovSerbian Renewal Movement–Reformists of Vojvodina3,5563.45
Miloš TomićG17 Plus2,1712.10
Branislav ŠvonjaCommunity of Serbs of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina8940.87
Zoran StojanovićNew Serbia6280.61
Total103,197100.00119,775100.00
Source: [19]

References

  1. ↑ Preminuo Dejan Mikavica, novosadski istoričar i političar (in Serbian)
  2. ↑ Pregled predloga kandidata za gradonačelnika Novog Sada, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 September 2004. Retrieved 19 October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), City Electoral Commission of Novi Sad, 16 September 2004, accessed 18 July 2021.
  3. ↑ "Preminuo profesor Filozofskog fakulteta u Novom Sadu Dejan Mikavica", Danas, 2 November 2022, accessed 3 November 2022.
  4. ↑ Dragan Gmizić, "Toma Zlo, Rade Tenkista i ostali...", Vreme, 15 February 2007, accessed 20 July 2021.
  5. ↑ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 28. децембра 2003. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (ДЕМОКРАТСКА СТРАНКА СРБИЈЕ - ВОЈИСЛАВ КОШТУНИЦА), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 15 February 2021.
  6. ↑ "Skupština čeka demokrate", Glas javnosti, 13 January 2004, accessed 26 October 2022.
  7. ↑ Serbia's Law on the Election of Representatives (2000) stipulated that parliamentary mandates would be awarded to electoral lists (Article 80) that crossed the electoral threshold (Article 81), that mandates would be given to candidates appearing on the relevant lists (Article 83), and that the submitters of the lists were responsible for selecting their parliamentary delegations within ten days of the final results being published (Article 84). See Law on the Election of Representatives, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 35/2000, made available via LegislationOnline, accessed 28 February 2017.
  8. ↑ МИКАВИЦА, ДЕЈАН, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 January 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, 7 January 2007, accessed 20 July 2021.
  9. ↑ Dragan Gmizić, "Toma Zlo, Rade Tenkista i ostali...", Vreme, 15 February 2007, accessed 20 July 2021.
  10. ↑ РЕШЕЊЕ О УТВРЂИВАЊУ ЗБИРНЕ ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ ЗА ИЗБОРЕ ЗА ПОСЛАНИКЕ У СКУПШТИНУ АУТОНОМНЕ ПОКРАЈИНЕ ВОЈВОДИНЕ, 19. СЕПТЕМБРА 2004. ГОДИНЕ, Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.
  11. ↑ Convocation 2004 - 2008, Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, accessed 20 July 2021.
  12. ↑ "Bliski mu radikali, ljut na Kasu i Čanka", Glas javnosti, 24 September 2004, accessed 20 July 2021.
  13. ↑ Dragan Gmizić, "Toma Zlo, Rade Tenkista i ostali...", Vreme, 15 February 2007, accessed 20 July 2021.
  14. ↑ "Mikavica ipak skrivio sudar", Danas, 8 August 2007, accessed 20 July 2021.
  15. ↑ "DSS lawmaker resigns from job", B92, 3 November 2006, accessed 20 July 2021.
  16. ↑ "Mikavica izbačen iz DSS", Blic, 7 December 2007, accessed 20 July 2021.
  17. ↑ "Mikavica prešao u 'naprednjake'", Radio Television of Vojvodina, 17 March 2009, accessed 20 July 2021.
  18. ↑ "Preminuo profesor Filozofskog fakulteta u Novom Sadu Dejan Mikavica", Danas, 2 November 2022, accessed 3 November 2022.
  19. ↑ Nužda demokratskog zagrljaja, Vreme, 23 September 2004, accessed 17 July 2021; ЛОКАЛНИ ИЗБОРИ: Председници општина и градова, изабрани на локалним изборима, 2004., "REPUBLICKI ZAVOD ZA STATISTIKU - Republike Srbije". Archived from the original on 3 October 2010. Retrieved 25 May 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, 3 October 2010, accessed 12 July 2021.
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