Serbian politician who is currently serving as the President of Serbia since 2017. After leaving the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party in 2008, he became one of the founders of the populist conservative Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and he has been the party’s president since 2012.
Vu?i? served as the prime minister of Serbia in two terms from 2014 to 2016 and from 2016 until 2017, as well as the deputy prime minister from 2012 until 2014. Furthermore, Vu?i? served as a member of the Serbian parliament, Minister of Information from 1998 to 2000 and later as Minister of Defence from 2012 to 2013. In April 2017, Vu?i? was elected president with over 55% of the vote in the first round, thus avoiding a second round. He formally assumed office on 31 May 2017, succeeding Tomislav Nikoli?. His ceremonial inauguration ceremony was held on 23 June 2017.
As Minister of Information under the Slobodan Miloševi? administration, he introduced restrictive measures against journalists, especially during the Kosovo War. In the period after the Bulldozer Revolution, Vu?i? was one of the most prominent figures of the opposition. Since the establishment of the new party in 2008, he shifted away from his original far-right and hard Eurosceptic platform toward pro-European, conservative and populist political positions. The SNS-led coalition won the 2012 election and the Serbian Progressive Party became part of the government for the first time, leading to the establishment of the dominant-party system.
After Vu?i? became the head of government in 2014, he promised to continue to follow the accession process to the European Union (EU) by privatizing state businesses and liberalizing the economy. In December 2015, the EU opened first chapters during the accession conference with Serbian delegation led by Vu?i?. He is one of the crucial figures in cooperation and dialogue between the governments of Kosovo and Serbia, advocating the implementation of the Brussels Agreement on the normalization of their relations. Observers have described Vu?i?’s rule as an authoritarian, autocratic or illiberal democratic regime, citing curtailed press freedom.
At 1.99 m (6 ft 6 1?2 in) tall, Vu?i? is one of the tallest world leaders.
Link to Wikipedia biography