Andrija Mandić

Andrija Mandić
Андрија Мандић
Mandić in 2026
President of the Parliament of Montenegro
Incumbent
Assumed office
30 October 2023
Preceded byDanijela Đurović
Member of the Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office
24 April 2022
In office
22 April 2001 – 30 August 2020
Deputy Minister of Economy of FR Yugoslavia
In office
1999–2000
Prime MinisterMomir Bulatović
Zoran Žižić
MinisterMilan Beko
Personal details
Born (1965-01-19) 19 January 1965
Šavnik, SR Montenegro, SFR Yugoslavia
PartyNSD (from 2009)
Other political
affiliations
SNS (1997–2009)
NS (1990–1997)
Alma materUniversity of Montenegro
ProfessionPolitician
Awards
Military service
Allegiance FR Yugoslavia
Branch/service Yugoslav Army
Years of service
1998 – 1999
Unit5th Motorized Brigade
Battles/warsKosovo War

Andrija Mandić (Serbian Cyrillic: Андрија Мандић; born 19 January 1965) is a Montenegrin politician who has served as president of the Parliament of Montenegro since 30 October 2023 and is an eight-term member of the Parliament. He is the president of the right-wing New Serb Democracy (NSD/NOVA). Mandic was the head of the Democratic Front parliamentary club in the parliament until 2020.[1]

Political career

Mandić fought in the Yugoslav Army's 5th Motorized Brigade during the Kosovo War.[2] From 1999 to 2000, he was the deputy minister of economy of FR Yugoslavia.[3]

During the 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, Mandić called for minorities to be banned from voting. After the referendum ended in favor of independence, he initially refused to accept the event and declared that Albanians should never be allowed to vote.[4]

In 2008, Mandić became the first president of the Serb List transformed into New Serb Democracy (NOVA).[5] In the 2009 parliamentary election, NOVA ran independently and won 9,2% of the votes as well as eight seats.[6] In the next parliamentary election held in 2012, the party ran within the Democratic Front coalition.[7]

During the 2019–2020 clerical protests in Montenegro, Mandić and all other MPs were arrested without their MP immunity being revoked.[8] He has been declared as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Front coalition for the 2023 Montenegrin presidential election.[9][10] He ranked third with 19.32% of the vote.[11] After the 2023 parliamentary election, Mandić was elected the Speaker of the parliament.[12]

Diplomatic activity as President of the Parliament

After assuming office as President of the Parliament of Montenegro on 30 October 2023, Andrija Mandić pursued a program of parliamentary diplomacy focused on Montenegro’s European integration, bilateral parliamentary cooperation and regional connectivity. He participated in European[13] and regional parliamentary forums,[14] including European Parliamentary Week in Brussels and meetings with senior EU and European Parliament officials, while also hosting or conducting official exchanges with parliamentary counterparts from the European Parliament, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Israel, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Morocco, Sweden, Finland, Monaco, Saudi Arabia, Malta and many other partner countries. During his tenure, the Parliament of Montenegro also hosted major multilateral parliamentary events in Budva, including the fifth OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Silk Road Group conference in 2025 and the first Summit of Speakers and Presidents of Parliament of Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean members and partners in 2026. These activities were presented as part of efforts to strengthen Montenegro’s international parliamentary relations and support its EU-accession process.

"New Serb Answer" platform

During his tenure as President of the Parliament, Mandić promoted a political approach he described as a “New Serb answer for new times”, presenting it as a shift from earlier mainstream confrontational models toward reconciliation, dialogue and institutional cooperation[15]. He framed this approach around the idea that the Serb community in Montenegro should pursue issues it considers central to its national identity through compromise, alliance-building and participation in the country’s political institutions, while maintaining constructive relations with Montenegrins, Bosniaks, Albanians and other communities. Mandić has linked this position to broader calls for equal rights, social stability and Montenegro’s European path.

Innocence in the show trial over alleged coup

On 15 February 2017, Mandić was stripped of his parliamentary immunity in connection with an ongoing criminal prosecution against him.[16] On 8 June, the High Court in Podgorica confirmed the indictment of Mandić, along with thirteen other persons, including two Russian nationals and Milan Knežević, on charges that included "preparing a conspiracy against the constitutional order and the security of Montenegro" and an "attempted terrorist act".[17] In February 2021, the Montenegrin appellate court overturned the first-instance verdict against Mandić and the other defendants and ordered a retrial.[18] In July 2024, the High Court in Podgorica acquitted Mandić along with all other persons charged with organizing and preparing the alleged 2016 coup d'état.[19]The Court of Appeal of Montenegro has rejected the appeal filed by the Special State Prosecutor’s Office in the so-called “coup attempt” case. By doing so, the court confirmed the previous acquittal issued by the High Court in Podgorica in July 2024. This means that all defendants in the case have been officially acquitted.[20]

Persona non grata declaration

On 25 July 2024, Mandić, along with deputy prime minister Aleksa Bečić and MP Milan Knežević were declared persona non grata by Croatia following the passage of a resolution in the Parliament of Montenegro recognising a genocide in the Jasenovac concentration camp committed by the pro-Axis Independent State of Croatia during World War II.[21]

Honours

Orders

Award or decoration Country / Entity Date Place
Order of the Serbian Flag[22] Serbia 29 June 2021 Belgrade
Order of the White Angel[23] Serbian Orthodox Church 10 May 2022 Pljevlja
Order of Honor[24] Srpska 30 May 2023 Banja Luka

References

  1. ↑ "Poslanice i Poslanici" (in Montenegrin). Parliament of Montenegro. Archived from the original on 29 January 2015.
  2. ↑ "Pogledajte: Andrija Mandić i Danilo Leković u vojnim uniformama (Foto)". Novosti (in Serbian). 12 January 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  3. ↑ Dragaš, Nikola (25 April 2023). "Mandić i od MUP-a krije od kad je državljanin Srbije". Vijesti (in Montenegrin). Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  4. ↑ Heffner, Krystian; Sobczyński, Marek (2007). Regions in the Process of European Integration: Multicultural regions and cities in the context of European integration. University of Łódź. p. 120. ISBN 8371262310.
  5. ↑ "U Crnoj Gori osnovana nova politička partija". Vesti (in Serbian). 26 January 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2009 – via Southeast European Times.
  6. ↑ "Izbori 2009". Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  7. ↑ "U Podgorici formiran Demokratski front". Al Jazeera (in Bosnian). 24 July 2012. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016.
  8. ↑ Ozturk, Talha (28 December 2019). "Montenegro: Police arrest 18 MPs after parliament clash". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  9. ↑ "Vučurović: Mandić će biti kandidat na predsjedničkim izborima". Vijesti (in Montenegrin). 28 January 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  10. ↑ ДФ предао председничку кандидатуру Андрије Мандића. Politika (in Serbian). 3 February 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  11. ↑ "Konačne Rezultate Izbora Za Predsjednika Crne Gore 2023" (PDF) (in Montenegrin). Montenegrin Statistical Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 April 2023.
  12. ↑ "Andrija Mandić izabran za predsednika Skupštine Crne Gore: Moramo biti ujedinjeni" (in Bosnian). N1. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023 – via Vijesti.
  13. ↑ "Mandic to take part in the European Parliamentary Week in Brussels". CDM. 11 February 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  14. ↑ "President Mandić takes part in the 11th Conference of Speakers of Southeast Europe Parliaments". [[Skupština Crne Gore}}. 17 November 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  15. ↑ Aljoša, Turović (3 July 2026). "BLOG Mandić: Novi srpski odgovor na novo vrijeme, ko će starim putem nek mu je srećan". [[Vijesti}}. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  16. ↑ Murić, Darvin (15 February 2017). "Skupština ukinula imunitet Mandiću i Kneževiću". Vijesti (in Montenegrin). Archived from the original on 17 February 2017.
  17. ↑ "Montenegrin Court Confirms Charges Against Alleged Coup Plotters". Radio Liberty. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  18. ↑ "Ukinuta presuda za 'državni udar' u Crnoj Gori, DPS tvrdi rezultat pritiska na sud". Slobodna Evropa (in Montenegrin). 5 February 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  19. ↑ "Oslobađajuća presuda za sve optužene u slučaju "državni udar"". Radio and Television of Montenegro. 12 July 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  20. ↑ V, M (20 February 2026). "Apelacioni sud odbio žalbu SDT-a, oslobođeni svi u predmetu tzv. "državni udar"". RTCG - Radio televizija Crne Gore. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  21. ↑ "Croatia declares 3 Montenegrin officials persona non grata over WWII camp genocide statement". Associated Press. 25 July 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  22. ↑ "Vučić odlikovao i Sijarta, Mandića, umetnike preminule od korone..." N1 (in Serbian). 29 June 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  23. ↑ Vuković, Bećir (11 May 2022). "Orden Belog Anđela Andriji Mandiću". Borba (in Montenegrin). Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  24. ↑ Kremenović, Mladen. "Dodik odlikovao Andriju Mandića". Politika Online (in Serbian). Retrieved 30 October 2023.
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