Nikolić ran forPresident of Yugoslavia in the2000 elections and placed third. He also ran four times for President of Serbia (in2003,2004,2008, and2012 elections). In 2003, he garnered the most votes, but the election was cancelled due to low turnout, while in 2004 and 2008 he was placed second behindBoris Tadić. In 2012, he won the run-off against Tadić to become President of Serbia.[2]
Tomislav Nikolić was born inKragujevac. His father, Radomir, was a labourer, and his mother, Živadinka (née Đoković), was a housewife. In his youth, he trained in athletics. He completed secondary technical school in Kragujevac. His first employment was as a cemetery supervisor.[3][4] In 1971 he began working with the building construction company "Žegrap", and in 1978 he worked for the company "22 December" in Kragujevac as head of the Investment and Maintenance Department. He was also the Technical Director of the Utility Services company in Kragujevac.[3] He and his wife Dragica (née Ninković) have two sons.[3]
Nikolić began his political career as vice-president of thePeople's Radical Party. Under his initiative, a fraction of the People's Radical Party merged withVojislav Šešelj'sSerbian National Renewal to form theSerbian Radical Party. Šešelj was elected president of the new party and Nikolić as vice-president.[5] The party had been described by some as aChetnik party[6] oriented towardsneo-fascism and striving for the territorial expansion ofSerbia.[7][8] The Chetniks were aWorld War II movement inYugoslavia led byDraža Mihailović. While it was anti-Axis in its long-term goals and engaged in resistance activities for limited periods, it also engaged in tactical or selectivecollaboration with Axis forces during the war.[9] In 1993, during theBosnian War, Nikolić was proclaimed as Chetnikvoivode by Šešelj in a ceremony on theRomanija Mountain.[10][11]
In 2000, he began the first of several runs for the presidency of Serbia. In the FR Yugoslaviapresidential election of 2000, he finished in third place behindVojislav Koštunica andSlobodan Milošević. He then ran in the2003 Serbian presidential election, in which garnered the most votes in the first round (46.23%), ahead ofDragoljub Mićunović, but the results were invalidated due to a low turnout of only 38.8%. Nikolić made yet another bid for the presidency in the2004 presidential election.[12] In the first round, he received 30.1% of the vote andBoris Tadić received 27.3%. In the second round held on 27 June, Nikolić lost to Tadić by 53.7% to 45.4%. On 23 February 2003, he became the party's deputy leader after Vojislav Šešelj went voluntarily to theICTY. During his leadership of the party, Nikolić favoured pushing the party towards focusing on more economic and social issues such as poverty and unemployment, rather than militantnationalism.[13]
In a remark aboutSerbian Prime MinisterZoran Đinđić's injured leg, Nikolić said on 28 February 2003: "If anyone of you, in the following month or two, sees Zoran Đinđić somewhere, tell him thatTito also had a problem with a leg beforehis death".[14] Less than two weeks laterĐinđić was assassinated inBelgrade. Nikolić later apologised for his statement by saying that he would have never said that had he known what would happen. In contrast to Đinđić, Nikolić repeatedly refused to apologise for stating "I don't regret thatSlavko Ćuruvija was murdered". (The journalist Slavko Ćuruvija was murdered on 11 April 1999 in front of the door of his building.)[15][16]
He resigned from his position as speaker on 13 May after the Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Serbia formed a preliminary alliance in preparation for a coalition government.[17][20] Nikolić told the Democratic parties that if they "peacefully accept" theindependence of Kosovo, the Radical Party "will not sit calmly and wait".[20]
In 2008, he ran again for the presidency in the2008 presidential election. His slogan wasWith All Heart (Serbian:Свим срцем;Svim srcem). On 20 January 2008, Nikolić again won the first round with 39.99% of the vote. Nikolić and incumbent Boris Tadić, who garnered 35.39% of the vote, faced off against each other in a runoff election on 3 February. Nikolić lost, receiving 2,197,155 or 47.97% of the vote.[21]
Nikolić abruptly resigned from the Radical Party leadership on 6 September 2008. Serb media cited differences between Nikolić and other members of the Radical Party hierarchy, especially party leader Vojislav Šešelj, about how the party should react to the proposedEuropean Union membership for Serbia.[22] In the following days, Nikolić formed a parliamentary group with a number of other Radical Party representatives called "Napred Srbijo" (Forward, Serbia).[23] Nikolić told the press that the "old Serbian Radical Party no longer exists".[24] On 11 September 2008, Šešelj addressed all Radical Party members in a letter. He named Nikolić and his group as "traitors, Western puppets and agents". He also called upon all SRS members to remain loyal to the ideology of "Serbian nationalism,anti-globalism andpro-Russian politics".[25] On 12 September 2008, Nikolić and his group were officially ejected from the Radical Party.[26] Nikolić announced that he would form his own party.[27]
On 24 September 2008, Nikolić announced that his new party's name would be theSerbian Progressive Party and that the first convention would be held on 21 October.[28] The founding congress of the new party was held on 21 October 2008.[29]
On 5 February 2011, in front of the National Assembly, Nikolić and his political supporters –Milanka Karić (Strength of Serbia Movement),Velimir Ilić (New Serbia),Aleksandar Vulin (Movement of Socialists) andAleksandar Vučić organised a protest demanding early parliamentary elections. According to an officialSerbian police report there were around 55,000 people present. On 16 April 2011, Nikolić organised a larger protest with the same request. He also started a thirst andhunger strike that morning and later moved to the national parliament. He stated that his goal was to force the then-Serbian government (led by Boris Tadić) to hold early parliamentary elections.[30] On 17 April, Tadić came to visit Nikolić in the latter's parliamentary chambers. Tadić advised Nikolić to stop striking. Nikolić's condition worsened, and he was taken to a private hospital. Serbia's media regularly reported on his condition. That same night his arterial tension was high (150/100 mmHg)[31] but he refused to seekintravenous therapy ormedication.[31] When he realised that his hunger strike would not bring about the desired outcome, Nikolić stepped down, citingEaster.[citation needed]
Nikolić led the party in the2012 parliamentary election, and he ran for president in the2012 presidential election. His slogan wasLet's Get Serbia Moving (Serbian:Покренимо Србију,Pokrenimo Srbiju). During the campaign, the issue of his education was raised, as the opposition claimed that Nikolić obtained hismaster's degree under dubious circumstances in a private school. Nikolić responded by suing the daily newspapersBlic andKurir, demanding 4 million euros as compensation.[32]
On 6 May 2012, Nikolić lost the first round with 25.05% of the vote. Nikolić and incumbent Boris Tadić, who garnered 25.31% of the vote, faced off against each other in a runoff election on 20 May. Nikolić won, receiving 49.4% of the vote in a tally of 70% of the polling stations. Boris Tadić, his rival in the elections, congratulated him on the victory, and stated that he hoped that Serbia would continue its progress under Nikolić.[33]
Nikolić with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security PolicyCatherine Ashton at inBrussels, 7 February 2013.
Nikolić resigned as leader of the Serbian Progressive Party on 24 May 2012,[34] and simultaneously quit his membership in the party, citing the desire to be a president of all citizens of Serbia.[35][36]
Nikolić meeting Russian PresidentVladimir Putin in Moscow, 10 March 2016.
The following day Nikolić's office issued a statement saying that Nikolić never made any such statement and called it a ″treacherous lie″.[39] However, Michael Martens, a journalist atFrankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung subsequently published the audio recording showing that Nikolić had indeed made that statement.[40]
In late September 2013, the Belgradepride parade was banned by the Serbian police for the third consecutive year following violent threats issued byright-wing groups and requests by theSerbian Orthodox Church.[41] Prior to the parade, Dačić released a statement in which he said thathomosexual behaviour was "abnormal" and thathomosexuals in Serbia needed to "respect the wishes of the majority of the population" if the "majority's wish was for the parade to not take place."[42] Nikolić subsequently issued a statement calling for "work on the organisation of next year's parade to begin immediately."[43]
On 2 June 2012, Nikolić stated onMontenegrin television that "there was no genocide in Srebrenica. In Srebrenica, gravewar crimes were committed by someSerbs who should be found, prosecuted and punished. [...] It is very difficult to indict someone and prove before a court that an event qualifies as genocide." Nikolić stated that he would not attend the annual commemoration of the Srebrenica massacre: "Don't always ask the Serbian president if he is going to Srebrenica, my predecessor was there and paid tribute. Why should every president do the same?"[48] His predecessor, Tadić, had previously acknowledged the massacre as a genocide.[49]
On 25 April 2013, Nikolić apologised for crimes committed by any individual in the name of Serbia, and, in particular, for crimes committed in Srebrenica.[49][52][53] The apology was not well received by some media and politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina who were disappointed that Nikolić did not recognise the massacre as a genocide.[49][52]
During the 1990s and until 2008, Nikolić repeatedly called for the creation of aGreater Serbia.[57][58] Nikolić toldVečernje novosti in 2004 that the boundaries of Greater Serbia along theVirovitica-Karlovac-Karlobag line were not part of any imperialistic politics, but would always remain a "dream" for him and other Radical leaders.[59] He also said that he would not have diplomatic relations with Croatia because they are "occupying Serbian land".[60] In 2007, Nikolić stated that the basis of political action in the Serbian Radical Party was the unification ofRepublika Srpska,Montenegro, and theRepublic of Serbian Krajina with Serbia in a single Balkan state.[61] But a few days before the2012 elections, Nikolić told theFrankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview that the territorial integrity of neighbouring countries cannot be questioned and that his former opinions were no longer valid.[62] When asked about this change of position, he quoted a French philosopher that said "only a fool does not change his opinion."[63] In 2018, Nikolić stated that he has supported theindependence of Republika Srpska and unification with Serbia.[64]
In 2012, Nikolić was accused of buying a master's degree from the Faculty of Management in Novi Sad without attending a single class or exam. The allegation was based on the fact that his diploma had no stamp and that no other students recalled having seen him attend classes or exams.[65][66]
On 25 January 2016, Nikolić laid the cornerstone for "the Centre of Excellence" of theUniversity of Kragujevac, his hometown; the institution will include a stem cell research unit. Nikolić said The Stem Cell Bank will "preserve what's most important, and the most beautiful characteristics of theSerb people" and also: "Children should be born here, with the Serb genetic material, with the Serb code, Serb past and Serb future. That has guided me to support this".[67][68]Ombudsman of Serbia,Saša Janković, reacted to this onTwitter by saying he "regretted this statement," and adding that the first article of theConstitution states "the Republic of Serbia is the state of the Serb people and all citizens who live in it." TheLeague of Social Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV) also reacted, saying that the president made "aNazi statement" that "violated the Constitution," and urged him to resign.[67]
In September 2016, At the opening ceremony of the Symposium of the Association of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians Serbia, Montenegro and Republika Srpska, Nikolić said: "Gynaecology is knowledge about women, if anyone should dare to say that they have that knowledge".[69]Maja Sedlarević, member of League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV), said Nikolić had offended women and also he is ignorant, uneducated and superficial.[70]
^Gergana NoutchevaEuropean foreign policy and the challenges of Balkan accession 2012 Page 175 "... EU interfered very strongly before the presidential elections in Serbia in June 2004, openly lending its support to the pro-reform Democratic Party leader Boris Tadić, against the ultra-nationalist Tomislav Nikolić of the Serbian Radical Party.
^Ostojić, Mladen (2016).Between Justice and Stability: The Politics of War Crimes Prosecutions in Post-Miloševic Serbia. Routledge. p. 12.ISBN9781317175001.
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