Aleksandar Tijanić | |
|---|---|
 Tijanić in 2012 | |
| Minister of Information ofSerbia | |
| In office 28 May 1996 – 17 December 1996 | |
| Succeeded by | Radmila Milentijević |
| Advisor to the President of FR Yugoslavia | |
| In office 2001–2004 | |
| General Director of the Radio Television of Serbia | |
| In office 18 March 2004 – 28 October 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Aleksandar Crkvenjakov |
| Succeeded by | Nikola Mirkov |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1949-12-13)13 December 1949 |
| Died | 28 October 2013(2013-10-28) (aged 63) Belgrade, Serbia |
| Alma mater | University of Belgrade (no degree) |
| Occupation | Journalist, columnist |
Aleksandar Tijanić (Serbian Cyrillic:Александар Тијанић; 13 December 1949 – 28 October 2013) was aSerbian journalist and director-general of the country's public broadcasterRadio-Television of Serbia from 2004 to 2013. During his career he was a star columnist for leading newspapers and magazines published inSFR Yugoslavia andSerbia, editor in chief of several prominent television stations, political advisor to prominent Serbian politicians, andMinister of Information for four months in 1996 in the government headed byMirko Marjanović during the rule ofSlobodan Milošević.
A polarising figure in Serbian society, Tijanić gathered a great deal of admirers as well as enemies throughout the years.
Tijanić was born inĐakovica,FPR Yugoslavia.[1] After finishing high school in his home town, he moved to Belgrade to study journalism atUniversity of Belgrade'sFaculty of Political Sciences. He did not complete his studies.[2]
After working his way up during the late 1970s and early 1980s inPolitika publications such asAuto Svet, he got a sought-after job atNIN magazine, where he first wrote for the supplement on vehicles and eventually advanced to a position on the editorial board. His job inNIN was a springboard for other top editorial positions. In the mid-1980s he was editor-in-chief ofIntervju.[3] In parallel, he wrote for periodical publications inCroatia,Slovenia, andBosnia and Herzegovina.[3]
Following the8th session of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Serbia in September 1987, which was essentially the official date ofSlobodan Milošević's ascent to power in Serbia, Tijanić lost all of his writing engagements in the Belgrade publications and was thus reduced to mostly writing in Croatian papers.
He became particularly well known as a political columnist writing for theSplit-based weekly newspaperNedjeljna Dalmacija, which soon earned him the moniker of "the giant of Croatian journalism".[2] In his column titledEn Passant he often expressed views critical of the Yugoslav government and Communism in general.[2] His column effectively ended in 1990, following the shift in the newspaper's editorial policy as his column was deemed too critical of the new Croatian vice-presidentAntun Vrdoljak, although Tijanić was allowed to write one last entry in late March 1991. Simultaneous to hisNedjeljna Dalmacija engagement, Tijanić also wrote for the Croatian newsmagazinesDanas andStart.[3]
In the meantime, during the first part of 1991, he co-hosted the popularThe Art of Living Together talk-show along alongsideMirjana Bobić-Mojsilović andDragan Babić.[3] Conceptualized as a free format taped in front of live theater audience atSarajevo's Teatar Obala, the programme quickly gained country-wide recognition and notability. Tijanić conducted memorable interviews with, among others,Milovan Đilas, notable communist dissident, andStjepan Mesić, at the time high-ranking official ofFranjo Tuđman'sCroatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and soon to become last president of SFR Yugoslavia's presidency. The show abruptly ended in May 1991.
Coming back to Belgrade, Tijanić began an editing stint atSportski žurnal sports daily in June 1991.[2]
In 1993, Tijanić became the head of programming at the recently launchedTV Politika.[1] In June 1996, he was selected asMinister of Information in the government headed byMirko Marjanović but resigned after five months.[1]
In February 1997, he founded the daily newspaperGrađanin, which lasted a few months. In October 1997, he resumed his journalistic career inDnevni Telegraf and the weeklyEvropljanin (1998-1999). Afterwards, he became a columnist for the Bosnian daily "Nezavisne novine".[2]
In March 2004, he was appointed director ofRadio Television of Serbia (RTS) during the time of Prime MinisterVojislav Koštunica. Tijanić served as an advisor to Koštunica from 2001 to 2004 when he was President.[3]
Milorad Ulemek was arrested on 1 May 2004 for theassassination of Prime Minister of SerbiaZoran Đinđić. Before Ulemek was transferred to a state prison, he had an unofficial meeting with several political opponents of Zoran Đinđić, including Aleksandar Tijanić.[4]
In March 2005, an entire 200 plus page pamphlet-typebook namedSlučaj službenika Tijanića solely devoted to denouncing Tijanić as a person and a professional was published inBelgrade by non-governmental organization Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM). The book's cover features a political cartoon-type drawing byPredrag Koraksić Corax, showing Tijanic as achameleon wearing various political party logos and flags of various countries. The book's author is never mentioned explicitly although it thanksVladimir Beba Popović, former Serbian government official, for "providing the material so that this publication remains a factual portrayal of an individual's career instead of revenge".[5]
Tijanić sued the publishers ofSlučaj službenika Tijanića book for the amount of RSD8.5 million (~€100,000).[6][7] Following a prolonged, incident-filled process[8] and several appeals, in September 2009, Supreme Court of Serbia ruled in Tijanić's favour ordering YUCOM to pay him RSD200,000 (~€2,200) as well as to cease distribution of the book and to issue a public proclamation about the verdict on the pages ofPolitika daily.[9]
He was married and had son Stefan and daughter Zara.[10]
Tijanić died on 28 October 2013 from an apparent heart attack.[11][12]
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