Nikola Selakovic, General Secretary of the President of Serbia

Nikola Selakovic: Vucic’s Right Hand Man

The secretary general of the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Nikola Selakovic, who rarely appears in public, found himself at the center of attention for a reckless remark on Montenegro carried by the Serbian public service RTS.

In a show that was not themed on Montenegro but the 1999 Kumanovo agreement, he said that Montenegro is a “classic Serb state” which, “since its inception as a state has been proud of its Serb identity.”

His statement on Montenegro has led his boss into a tight spot, and he had to play it down by saying that he had sent a “plea” to the Montenegrin authorities to not adopt the announced bill which the Serbian Orthodox Church claims is an attack on its property.

Relations between Serbia and Montenegro have become strained after the Montenegrin authorities announced the adoption of a new law that would regulate the position of the churches and religious communities, which the Serbian Orthodox Church said was a preparation for a seizure of its property.

The Orthodox Church in Montenegro is part of the Serbian Orthodox Church, but a Montenegrin Orthodox Church also exists there, which is not canonically recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in Istanbul.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate had previously shown leniency toward the idea of separating the Orthodox Church in Ukraine from the Russian Orthodox Church which provoked Moscow’s rage, while the debate is shaking the Orthodox Christian world.

The Moscow Patriarchate has accused the Ecumenical Patriarchate of an “incursion” into its canonical area so as to make an autocephalous church organization there, outside the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Serbian Orthodox Church shares this opinion and it fears a similar scenario in Montenegro and Northern Macedonia.

Selakovic, who is known as a rigid nationalist, was in the public limelight before his comment on Montenegro being a Serb state, for a meeting between Serbian President Vucic and members of the Serbian Orthodox Church’s Assembly with whom he discussed the Kosovo problem and where Selakovic actually took notes.

He blasted media reports claiming that Vucic had clashed with some of the bishops as lies that were being propagated by the Serbian opposition, and especially Dragan Djilas. Yet, later statements by several bishops confirmed that there had truly been serious disagreements.

Interestingly, Selakovic is close to Patrarch Irinej, who speaks very positively of Vucic. The patriarch also conducted the service at Selakovic’s wedding two years ago.

During the time that he was the minister of justice a proposal for reviewing the Brussels agreement signed with the authorities in Pristina was sent to the Constitutional Court. A public debate was organized in which Selakovic claimed that the agreement was a political act and, therefore, could not be checked for its constitutionality.

The Constitutional Court took the same stance and rejected the proposal for checking the constitutionality of the Brussels Agreement, which provoked a fierce reaction from members of the Court who though differently. They claimed that the decision was the result of loyalty to the authorities and not to the Constitution.

In the debate, Selakovic said that he, as the majority of Serbian citizens, was hurt by the reality in Kosovo but that this did not mean that one should bury their head in the sand and ignore the reality of the situation.

During the time that he was minister of justice, he faced the sharp resistance of attorneys, who were unhappy with the adoption of broad jurisdictions for public notaries, and went on strike that lasted several months.

Selakovic accused what he called a duet consisting of “quasi politicians and tycoons” of blocking the justice system and linked it to the opposition Democratic Party and Delta company owner Miroslav Miskovic, who has been charged with fraud.

Miskovic’s trial began six years ago, not long after Selakovic became minister of justice, but has yet to be wrapped up. The central part of the indictment has seen a binding end, i.e. the charges of malversation with road companies. He is still being tried for tax evasion.

Commenting on Miskovic’s partial acquittal, Selakovic said that he had to accept the court’s decision, as someone who respected and supported the rule of law “no matter if I privately think that the decision is shameful.”

Not long after entering the Serbian government Selakovic visited Serbian politicians and military commanders in the Hague tribunal’s detention unit. As minister, he escorted Gen. Vladimir Lazarevic to his native city of Nis, after the general served his sentence for war crimes in Kosovo.

Selakovic wished that Gen. Lazarevic’s actions as the former commander of the Pristina Corps, and later the Third Yugoslav Army, be upheld “as an example for future generations.”

Selakovic is also interested in the more distant past and relativizes the role of Serbian nationalists in WW2. He said that Gen. Milan Nedic, who headed the quisling Serbian government during the German occupation, offered “refuge to many Serbs fleeing the Ustashe massacres,” but did not defend his other activities.

“He was a great warrior and great soldier in WWI. Unfortunately, his role in WWII in many aspects does not deserve merit, but is shameful,” Selakovic said in the Serbian parliament during the adoption of a bill on removing the consequences of property confiscations of Holocaust victims without descendants.

He will also be remembered for an incident at the time when, according to a law student, he threw away her water bottle which was made in Croatia. He confirmed this, but later denied the incident adding that in his lecture on genocide against the Serbs he said that the water was from the area in which there were no Serbs left.

Three years ago Selakovic was not included in the cabinet, and his party colleagues thought that this was part of a maneuver before giving him a new office, either as the mayor of Belgrade or the director of the Security and Information Agency.

After leaving the position of minister Selakovic said that “I do not want to impose myself, but I would be honored to work with Vucic.” His wish was granted and he was handed the job of Vucic’s general secretary.

The job of the general secretary is to ensure that the General Secretariat operates timely and accurately and cooperates with other state bodies, autonomous provinces, municipalities, cities and the city of Belgrade. The general secretary has the same prerogatives as a minister in leading ministries and issues orders for spending funds for the operation of the President of the Republic and General Secretariat. The general secretary adopts a rulebook on the internal organization and systematization of work positions in the General Secretariat of the President of the Republic, who gives his consent before the document becomes effective.

Selakovic was born in Uzice in 1983. He spent his first six years in Nova Varos, and then moved with his family to Belgrade. He completed the Sixth Belgrade Classical High School.

After his undergraduate and master studies at the School of Law in Belgrade he entered a PhD program in 2010. During his studies he won three School of Law debating contests. He was a member of a team at an international contest in international public law, Philip C. Jessup International LawMoot Court Competition, and in 2007 he received the Alan Watson Foundation’s first prize for a project called, Dusan’s Code and Legal Transcripts.

He founded and headed from 2011 to 2012 the Serbian Despot Stefan Lazarevic Cultural Circle. Since 2010 he has been president of the Oratoria – Center for Rhetoric. In 2003 he became a member and in 2005 the secretary of Forum Romanum, the club of lovers of ancient and Roman law of the School of Law.

At the School of Law in 2009, he became an expert associate on the Comparative Law Tradition and National History of the State and Law courses, where he was chosen as an assistant teacher in 2010.

He has been a member of the Serbian Progressive Party since its inception in 2008. Before that, he was a member of the Serbian Radical Party, which he joined in 2001 at the age of 18.

Since its founding, he has been a member of the Serbian Progressive Party’s Presidency, Main Committee and Executive Committee and in January 2014 he was elected vice-president of the party. He left the post on May 28, 2016, when he was re-elected to the party’s Presidency.

He speaks English, French and Italian. He is married.