Wikipedia

Marina Raguš

Marina Raguš (Serbian Cyrillic: Марина Рагуш; born 8 July 1969) is a Serbian politician. She is currently serving her fifth term in Serbia's national assembly and has been one of its vice-presidents (i.e., deputy speakers) since March 2024.

Marina Raguš
Марина Рагуш
Vice President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia
Incumbent
Assumed office
20 March 2024
Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia
Incumbent
Assumed office
3 August 2020
In office
14 February 2007 – 31 May 2012
Personal details
Born (1969-07-08) 8 July 1969 (age 55)
Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Political partySRS (1996–2012)
SNS (since 2021)
OccupationPolitician

Formerly a prominent member of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS), Raguš joined the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in 2021.

Early life and career

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Raguš was born in Belgrade, in what was then the Socialist Republic of Serbia in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. She has a bachelor's degree in political science and international relations.[1] Raguš worked part-time for Studio B after her graduation and has volunteered for a non-governmental organization called the Institute for the Research of Serbian Suffering in the Twentieth Century.[2]

Politician

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Serbian Radical Party

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Early years (1996–2007)

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Raguš began volunteering with the Radical Party in the Belgrade municipality of Voždovac in 1996 and quickly began rising in the party's ranks.[3] The SRS joined a coalition government in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in August 1999 and received six cabinet portfolios; Raguš was appointed as a deputy minister of information.[4][5]

Yugoslavian president Slobodan Milošević was defeated in the 2000 Yugoslavian presidential election and fell from power shortly thereafter. A new Yugoslavian ministry was established in November 2000 that did not include the Radicals, and Raguš's term as a deputy minister came to an end. She ran for the City Assembly of Belgrade in Voždovac's tenth division in the 2000 Serbian local elections, which were held concurrently with the presidential vote, and lost to a candidate of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS).

The Serbian government fell after Milošević's defeat in the Yugoslavian election, and a new Serbian parliamentary election was called for December 2000. Raguš appeared in the 172nd position on the Radical Party's electoral list and did not receive a mandate when the list won twenty-three seats.[6] (From 2000 to 2011, Serbian parliamentary mandates were awarded to sponsoring parties or coalitions rather than to individual candidates, and it was common practice for the mandates to be assigned out of numerical order. Raguš could have been awarded a mandate despite her low position on the list, though ultimately she was not.)[7]

In 2005, Raguš became an advisor for international relations in the Belgrade municipality of Zemun, where the Radical Party held power.[8]

Parliamentarian (2007–12)

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Raguš appeared in the sixteenth position on the SRS's list in the 2007 parliamentary election and was this time included in her party's delegation when the list won eighty-one seats.[9][10] Although the Radicals were the largest party in the parliament that followed, they fell well short of a majority and ultimately served in opposition. During her first parliamentary term, Raguš was a member of the foreign affairs committee and the committee on environmental protection.[11]

Raguš was given the twentieth position on the SRS's list In the 2008 parliamentary election and received a mandate for a second term when the list won seventy-eight seats.[12][13] The overall results of the election were inconclusive, but the For a European Serbia (ZES) alliance eventually formed a coalition government with the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), and the Radicals remained in opposition. Raguš served afterward on the foreign affairs committee and the committee for development and international economic relations.[14] She was a member of SRS leader Vojislav Šešelj's defence committee at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague during this period.

She also appeared in the lead position on the SRS's list for Voždovac in the 2008 Serbian local elections, which were held concurrently with the parliamentary vote; the ZES coalition won twenty-four seats in the municipality, as against seventeen for the Radicals, and she did not at this time take a seat in the local assembly.[15][16][17][18]

The Radical Party experienced a serious split in late 2008, with several members joining the more moderate Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) under the leadership of Tomislav Nikolić and Aleksandar Vučić. Raguš remained with the Radicals. Her public profile was unexpectedly increased in 2009, when she was the only SRS delegate who was not expelled from a particular session of the Serbian parliament. Her performance in the assembly received a favourable response in the Serbia media, including from sources not normally inclined to support the Radicals.[19]

Raguš was considered a rising star in the Radical Party in this period, but she did not remain in this role for long. The ZES-led municipal government that was formed in Voždovac after the 2008 vote was unstable, and a new municipal election was called for June 2009. Raguš again led the Radical Party's list.[20] Weakened by the previous year's split, the party fell to only three mandates.[21] This time, she took a seat in the local assembly.[22] Post-election negotiations for a municipal government were not successful, and yet another local election was held in December 2009. For this campaign, Raguš appeared in the second position on the SRS list.[23] The party continued to lose support and fell below the electoral threshold for assembly representation.[24] Raguš began withdrawing from SRS activities after this time, amid rumours that she was unhappy with the party's strategy in the local Voždovac campaigns.[25][26]

She did not appear on the SRS list for the 2012 Serbian parliamentary election. After the election, she said that she was no longer a member of any party. There were rumours that she would cross to the Progressives at this time along with fellow disillusioned Radical Aleksandar Martinović, but this did not occur.[27]

Return to political life (2020–present)

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After eight years out of political life, Raguš contested the 2020 Serbian parliamentary election on the electoral list of Aleksandar Šapić's Serbian Patriotic Alliance (SPAS), appearing in the second position on its list as a non-party candidate.[28][29] The list won eleven seats, and she returned to parliament for a third term. (Serbia's electoral laws had been reformed in 2011, such that all mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order.)[30] She was chosen afterward as the leader of the SPAS parliamentary group and was also a member of the administrative committee,[a] a deputy member of the education committee,[b] the chair of a subcommittee on the information society and digitalization, and a member of Serbia's delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.[31][32]

In May 2021, the Serbian Patriotic Alliance merged into the Progressive Party. Raguš became a member of the SNS and was elected to the party's presidency later in the year.[33]

Raguš received the eighty-sixth position on the SNS-led Together We Can Do Everything coalition list in the 2022 parliamentary election and was re-elected when the list won a plurality victory with 120 out of 250 mandates.[34] After the election, she was chosen as deputy leader of the Together We Can Do Everything parliamentary group.[35] She was also deputy chair of the foreign affairs committee, a deputy member of the European integration committee, and the leader of Serbia's parliamentary friendship group with China during this parliament.[36]

In May 2022, Vojislav Šešelj received a summons to appear before the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (the successor body to the ICTY) to respond to charges concerning the publication of classified information and the names of protected witnesses. The summons also included the names of seven current and former Radical Party officials, including Raguš.[37][38] She was ultimately not included in an indictment of SRS officials issued by the court on 11 August 2023.[39]

Raguš was promoted to the eighth position on the SNS's Serbia Must Not Stop list in the 2023 Serbian parliamentary election and was elected to a fifth term when the list won a majority victory with 129 seats.[40] She was again chosen as deputy leader of the SNS coalition's assembly group after the election, and on 20 March 2024 she became a deputy speaker of the assembly. She is also the chair of the foreign affairs committee, a member of the committee on the rights of the child, a deputy member of the culture and information committee, and once again the leader of Serbia's parliamentary friendship group with China.[41][42] In June 2024, she led a Serbian delegation that met with Zhao Leji, the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, in Beijing.[43]

Electoral record

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Local (City of Belgrade)

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2000 Belgrade city election: Voždovac Division 10
CandidateParty
Vojislav MiloševićSerbian Renewal Movement
Marina RagušSerbian Radical Party
Rebeka SrbinovićDemocratic Opposition of Serbia (Affiliation: New Democracy) (***WINNER***)
Milivoje TodorovićSocialist Party of Serbia–Yugoslav Left
Total
Source: [44]

Notes

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  1. ^ Formally known as the Committee on Administrative, Budgetary, Mandate, and Immunity issues.
  2. ^ Formally known as the Committee on Education, Science, Technological Development, and the Information Society.

References

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  1. ^ MARINA RAGUŠ, Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 7 January 2022.
  2. ^ Marina Raguš, istinomer.rs, accessed 7 January 2022.
  3. ^ Jasmina Lukač, "Marina Raguš: Spasiteljka", Danas, 25 February 2020, 7 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Milosevic shores up government with Serb nationalists," Agence France Press, 12 August 1999.
  5. ^ MARINA RAGUS, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia], accessed 2 May 2024.
  6. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 23. децембра 2000. године и 10. јануара 2001. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 Српска радикална странка – др Војислав Шешељ), Archived 2023-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 13 April 2024.
  7. ^ Serbia's Law on the Election of Representatives (2000) stipulated that parliamentary mandates would be awarded to electoral lists (Article 80) that crossed the electoral threshold (Article 81), that mandates would be given to candidates appearing on the relevant lists (Article 83), and that the submitters of the lists were responsible for selecting their parliamentary delegations within ten days of the final results being published (Article 84). See Law on the Election of Representatives, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 35/2000, made available via LegislationOnline, Archived 2021-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 13 April 2024.
  8. ^ MARINA RAGUS, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia], accessed 2 May 2024.
  9. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. јануара и 8. фебрауара 2007. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (4 Српска радикална странка - др Војислав Шешељ), Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.
  10. ^ 14 February 2007 legislature, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 5 March 2017.
  11. ^ ДЕТАЉИ О НАРОДНОМ ПОСЛАНИКУ: РАГУШ, МАРИНА, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-12-29. Retrieved 2022-01-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 January 2022.
  12. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 11. маја 2008. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (4 СРПСКА РАДИКАЛНА СТРАНКА - Др ВОЈИСЛАВ ШЕШЕЉ), Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.
  13. ^ 11 June 2008 legislature, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 5 March 2017.
  14. ^ ДЕТАЉИ О НАРОДНОМ ПОСЛАНИКУ: РАГУШ, МАРИНА, "Narodna skupstina Republike Srbije". Archived from the original on 2008-09-15. Retrieved 2022-01-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 January 2022.
  15. ^ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 52 Number 13 (30 April 2008), p. 3.
  16. ^ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 52 Number 15 (12 May 2008), pp 1–2.
  17. ^ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 52 Number 25 (23 July 2008), pp. 2-3.
  18. ^ For the 2008 local elections, all mandates were assigned to candidates on successful lists at the discretion of the sponsoring parties or coalitions. See Law on Local Elections (2007), Archived 2021-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 35/2000; made available via LegislationOnline, Archived 2021-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 7 April 2024.
  19. ^ Jasmina Lukač, "Marina Raguš: Spasiteljka", Danas, 25 February 2020, 7 January 2022.
  20. ^ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 52 Number 26 (28 May 2009), p. 3.
  21. ^ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 53 Number 31 (15 June 2009), p. 2.
  22. ^ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 53 Number 40 (26 August 2009), p. 29.
  23. ^ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 53 Number 52 (25 November 2009), p. 5.
  24. ^ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 53 Number 54 (7 December 2009), pp. 1-2.
  25. ^ "Marina Raguš napušta radikale", Novosti, 18 October 2010, accessed 7 January 2022. The specific report referenced in the title of this article turned out to be untrue, at the time.
  26. ^ "Marina Raguš zaboravila da je poslanik", Novosti, 4 May 2010, accessed 7 January 2022.
  27. ^ "Marina Raguš: Ni SNS, ni SRS", Radio Television of Vojvodina, 5 July 2013, accessed 7 January 2022.
  28. ^ Ivana Mastilović Jasnić, "POSLE OSAM GODINA OPET U POLITICI, A MOŽDA I U VLADI", Blic, 2 August 2020, accessed 7 January 2022.
  29. ^ Miloš D. Miljković, "Prvih 10 kandidata na listi 'Aleksandar Šapić – Pobeda za Srbiju'", Danas, 15 March 2020, accessed 7 January 2022.
  30. ^ Law on the Election of Members of the Parliament (2000, as amended 2011) (Articles 88 & 92) made available via LegislationOnline, Archived 2021-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 6 June 2021.
  31. ^ "U Skupštini 11 poslanika bez poslaničke grupe", Radio Television of Serbia, 24 August 2020, accessed 7 January 2022.
  32. ^ MARINA RAGUŠ, Archived 2022-01-23 at the Wayback Machine, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 14 August 2022.
  33. ^ Српска напредна странка: Председништво, Archived 2021-12-22 at the Wayback Machine, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 14 August 2022.
  34. ^ "Ko su kandidati SNS za narodne poslanike?", Danas, 17 February 2022, accessed 17 April 2022.
  35. ^ "SNS nakon konstitutivne sednice: Milenko Jovanov novi šef poslaničke grupe", Danas, 1 August 2022, accessed 14 August 2022.
  36. ^ MARINA RAGUS, Archived 2023-12-11 at the Wayback Machine, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 2 May 2024.
  37. ^ S. Rajković and M. Stanojković, "IDEM U HAG, NISAM DUGO BIO: Vojislav Šešelj i još sedmoro njegovih saboraca dobili pozive za saslušanje zbog objavljivanja tajnih podataka", Novosti, 24 May 2022, accessed 5 June 2022.
  38. ^ Aleksandra Popović, "Od Karića do Milana Radoičića – Vučićevi saradnici na udaru sankcija EU i SAD", Danas, 6 June 2022, accessed 14 August 2022.
  39. ^ PROSECUTOR v. VOJISLAV ŠEŠELJ MILJAN DAMJANOVIĆ MIROLJUB IGNJATOVIĆ LJILJANA MIHAJLOVIĆ OGNJEN MIHAJLOVIĆ – Decision on Referral of the Case to the Republic of Serbia, International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, 29 February 2024, accessed 11 April 2024.
  40. ^ "Pogledajte ko su kandidati na Vučićevoj listi Srbija ne sme da stane", Danas, 3 November 2023, accessed 29 March 2024.
  41. ^ MARINA RAGUS, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia], accessed 2 May 2024.
  42. ^ Multi-party National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia (1991-2024), National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 10 August 2024.
  43. ^ "China's top legislator meets Serbian parliamentary delegation", Xinhua, 5 June 2024, accessed 10 August 2024.
  44. ^ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 46 Number 13 (15 September 2000), p. 421; Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 46 Number 15 (20 October 2000), p. 469.
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