Serbian
strongman Aleksandar Vucic has named his public administration minister, Ana
Brnabic, as the new head of government. Brnabic is the first woman and the
first openly gay politician on the job in the Balkan nation.
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| Ana Brnabic in her office |
The
41-year-old minister would replace Vucic at the head of the government, after
Vucic himself took over the office of president two weeks ago.
"I
believe Ana Brnabic has all the personal and professional qualities" to do
a good job as prime minister, Vucic said on Thursday.
"Much
remains to be done in different areas, from public health to education, in
order to implement reforms," said Vucic.
While
Vucic's nomination still needs to be confirmed in Serbia's parliament, the vote
itself is expected to be a formality because the coalition gathered around the
president commands an overwhelming majority.
Brnabic is
set to become the first woman and the first openly gay state official to head
the government in Serbia. This marks a significant leap for the conservative
country and the entire Balkan region, where members of LGBT groups still face
the threat of violence in their daily lives.
Vucic to
'mentor' new head of government
The public
administration minister studied at the US Northwood University and holds an MBA
in marketing from the University of Hull in England. She has worked for USAID
for several years, and served as an executive in several companies and NGOs in
Serbia. Notably, she was appointed minister as an independent candidate and not
a member of Vucic's Progressive Party.
Responding
to the news of her nomination, Brnabic said it was "an honor to serve
one's country."
"I
will be personally committed to working on goals that are bigger and more
important than any of us individually," she added in the statement cited
by the Serbian Danas newspaper.
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| Brnabic took part in the Belgrade Pride Parade in 2016 |
Despite
Brnabic's formal distance from Vucic, analysts believe that the new president
would maintain his grip on the cabinet even from his new and largely ceremonial
posting. While the Serbian constitution grants wide powers to the office of
prime minister, Vucic controls the ruling coalition and is widely seen as the
highest political authority in the country.
Brnabic
herself seemed to confirm this perspective last week, during an appearance on
state-controlled RTV broadcaster.
"Vucic
should mentor the prime minister for the first several months," she said,
commenting on then-unconfirmed reports that Vucic would nominate her.
She also
slammed statements from some coalition partners, who publicly stated that the
prime minister should be "a family man with children."
"I
don't like when being gay is used as an indicator of personality. Why is that
important? Should we not focus on that person's honesty, their love for their
country, hard work?" she asked.
Vucic's
nomination comes only a day after 38-year-old Leo Varadkar was officially
elected as the prime minister of Ireland, becoming the first openly gay man to
hold this position.
dj/msh (AFP, dpa, AP, Beta)
dj/msh (AFP, dpa, AP, Beta)
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