Željko Veselinović (Serbian Cyrillic: Жељко Веселиновић; born 1974) is a Serbian union leader and politician who is currently the president of the United Trade Unions of Serbia "Sloga". He was one of the founders of the Alliance for Serbia which dissolved in 2020 and transformed into the United Opposition of Serbia.
Željko Veselinović | |
|---|---|
| Жељко Веселиновић | |
 Veselinović in 2019 | |
| Member of the National Assembly | |
| Assumed office 1 August 2022 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1974 (age 49–50) Smederevo, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia |
| Political party | United Trade Unions of Serbia "Sloga" |
| Other political affiliations | United Opposition of Serbia |
| Occupation | Union leader, politician |
Early life and career
editVeselinović was born in 1974 in Smederevo. He has a degree in economics.[1]
He started working as a trade unionist at the end of 2000 in the then Smederevo Sartid. In 2003, he was elected the youngest union president in the history of the factory. Five years later, he founded "Sloga" and became its second president.[1]
He served as Bojan Pajtić's advisor for labor relations and socio-economic issues, at the time when Pajtić was leading the Government of AP Vojvodina. As it is pointed out in his official biography: "One of the few people who in his career went through all instances from the shift commissioner in the factory to the president of the national union." He led and organized several strikes and protests, and is a member of the network of trade unionists at the European Left and the European Social Forum.[1] It was speculated that he would run for the presidency of Serbia in 2017 elections, but he did not do that as he decided to endorse Vuk Jeremić.[1]
In 2018, a new opposition Alliance for Serbia was formed and Veselinović's "Sloga" was one of the founding members. Veselinović was also the first chairman of the alliance.[2] He is a member of the City Assembly of Belgrade.[1] The alliance was dissolved in August 2020 and transformed into the United Opposition of Serbia.[3]
In an interview to Danas, he said that he thinks that unions should be more involved in politics.[4]
Personal life
editHe speaks English. He is married and has two sons.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Stojanović, Piše: Marija (4 September 2018). "Željko Veselinović: Đilasov sindikalac". Dnevni list Danas (in Serbian). Retrieved 2020-09-05.
- ^ Tanjug (2 September 2018). "Osnovan Savez za Srbiju, Đilas: Gradićemo Srbiju kao prosperitetnu kuću (VIDEO)". Blic.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 2020-09-05.
- ^ Beta, Piše (2020-08-10). "Formirana Udružena opozicija Srbije, cilj smena bahatog režima". Dnevni list Danas (in Serbian). Retrieved 2020-09-05.
- ^ P, Piše: M. (2020-08-22). "Veselinović (Sloga): Sindikati treba da budu deo politike (VIDEO)". Dnevni list Danas (in Serbian). Retrieved 2020-09-05.