Tomislav Nikolić facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tomislav Nikolić
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Томислав Николић
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Nikolić in 2012
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| President of Serbia | |
| In office 31 May 2012 – 31 May 2017 |
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| Prime Minister | Mirko Cvetković Ivica Dačić Aleksandar Vučić |
| Preceded by | Boris Tadić Slavica Đukić Dejanović (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Aleksandar Vučić |
| President of the National Assembly | |
| In office 8 May 2007 – 13 May 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Predrag Marković Borka Vučić (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Milutin Mrkonjić (acting) Oliver Dulić |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Yugoslavia | |
| In office 12 August 1999 – 9 October 2000 |
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| Prime Minister | Momir Bulatović |
| Preceded by | Vuk Drašković |
| Succeeded by | Miroljub Labus |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia | |
| In office 24 March 1998 – 12 August 1999 |
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| Prime Minister | Mirko Marjanović |
| Preceded by | Dragan Tomić |
| Succeeded by | Nebojša Čović |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 February 1952 Kragujevac, PR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia |
| Political party | NRS (1990–1991) SRS (1991–2008) SNS (2008–present) |
| Spouse | Dragica Ninković |
| Children | 2, including Radomir |
| Signature |  |
Tomislav Nikolić (Serbian Cyrillic: Томислав Николић; born 15 February 1952) is a Serbian politician who used to be the President of Serbia from 2012 to 2017. He was once a member of the Serbian Radical Party. In 2008, he left that party and started a new one called the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), which he led until 2012.
Nikolić was born in a village near Kragujevac. He was a member of parliament for a long time. He also served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia from 1998 to 1999. Later, he was the Deputy Prime Minister of FR Yugoslavia from 1999 to 2000. From 2003, he was the deputy leader of the Serbian Radical Party. For a short time in 2007, he was the President of the National Assembly of Serbia.
In 2008, he left the Serbian Radical Party. This happened because he disagreed with the party leader about Serbia joining the European Union. Nikolić wanted Serbia to join the EU, but the party leader was strongly against it. After leaving, Nikolić formed the Serbian Progressive Party, and many other members joined him.
Nikolić ran for president several times. In 2012, he won the election and became the President of Serbia. He served one term until 2017.
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Early Life
Tomislav Nikolić was born in Kragujevac. His father worked as a laborer, and his mother was a housewife. When he was young, he trained in athletics. He finished technical school in Kragujevac. He worked in construction and for a utility services company. He and his wife, Dragica, have two sons.
Political Journey
Starting with the Serbian Radical Party
Nikolić began his political journey as a vice-president of the People's Radical Party. He helped merge parts of this party with another group to form the Serbian Radical Party. In this new party, Vojislav Šešelj became president, and Nikolić became vice-president.
Nikolić was a member of the Serbian Parliament since 1991. He was the only one elected continuously since that year. In 1998, the Serbian Radical Party joined a government coalition. Nikolić then became the vice-president of the Government of Serbia. Later, he became the vice-president of the government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
He ran for president of Serbia many times. In the 2000 election for FR Yugoslavia, he came in third place. He also ran in 2003, 2004, and 2008 for President of Serbia. In 2003, he got the most votes, but the election was canceled because not enough people voted. In 2004 and 2008, he came in second place after Boris Tadić.
In 2003, Nikolić became the deputy leader of the party. During his time leading the party, he wanted it to focus more on issues like poverty and unemployment.
On 8 May 2007, Nikolić was elected Speaker of Parliament. He resigned from this role on 13 May after other parties formed a new government.
In 2008, he ran for president again. He won the first round of votes, but lost in the second round to Boris Tadić.
Nikolić left the Radical Party leadership on 6 September 2008. This was because he had different ideas from the party leader, Vojislav Šešelj. They disagreed about whether Serbia should join the European Union. Nikolić believed Serbia should join. After leaving, Nikolić formed a new group in parliament. On 12 September 2008, he was officially removed from the Radical Party. Nikolić then announced he would start his own party.
Forming the Serbian Progressive Party
On 24 September 2008, Nikolić announced that his new party would be called the Serbian Progressive Party. The party's first meeting was held on 21 October 2008.
On 5 February 2011, Nikolić and his supporters held a protest. They asked for early parliamentary elections. On 16 April 2011, Nikolić organized a larger protest. He also started a hunger and thirst strike to try and make the government hold early elections. The then-President, Boris Tadić, visited Nikolić and asked him to stop the strike. Nikolić's health got worse, and he went to a hospital. He later ended his strike.
Nikolić led the Serbian Progressive Party in the 2012 parliamentary election. He also ran for president in the 2012 presidential election. His campaign slogan was Let's Get Serbia Moving.
On 6 May 2012, Nikolić lost the first round of the presidential election. However, in the second round on 20 May, he won against the current president, Boris Tadić. Tadić congratulated him on his victory.
After becoming president, Nikolić resigned as the leader of the Serbian Progressive Party on 24 May 2012. He also left his membership in the party. He said he wanted to be a president for all citizens of Serbia.
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In 2013, the Belgrade pride parade was canceled by the police. Nikolić later said that work on organizing next year's parade should begin right away.
Presidency (2012–2017)
Nikolić became the President of Serbia on 31 May 2012. Many important officials and ambassadors attended his inauguration.
In 2012, Nikolić stated that "there was no genocide in Srebrenica." He said that "grave war crimes were committed by some Serbs" there, and those people should be punished. He also said he would not attend the yearly event to remember the Srebrenica massacre. His predecessor, Boris Tadić, had recognized the massacre as a genocide.
On 25 April 2013, Nikolić apologized for crimes committed by anyone in the name of Serbia, especially for crimes in Srebrenica.
As President, Nikolić gave many awards to people and organizations from Serbia and other countries.
In February 2017, Nikolić announced that he would not run for president again in the upcoming elections. He supported Aleksandar Vučić to become the next president.
Awards and Recognitions
| Award or decoration | Country | Date | Place | |
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Order of Makarios III |  Cyprus |
13 January 2013 | Belgrade |
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Order of Merit |  Ukraine |
6 June 2013 | Belgrade |
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Order of the Redeemer |  Greece |
18 June 2013 | Belgrade |
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Order of Glory |  Armenia |
11 October 2014 | Yerevan |
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Order of José Martí |  Cuba |
19 May 2015 | Havana |
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National Order of Merit |  Algeria |
17 May 2016 | Algiers |
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Order of Friendship |  Kazakhstan |
24 August 2016 | Belgrade |
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Order of Prince Henry |  Portugal |
25 January 2017 | Lisbon |
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Order of the Friendship of the Peoples |  Belarus |
20 May 2017 | Minsk |
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Order of the Republika Srpska |  Bosnia and Herzegovina:
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9 January 2018 | Banja Luka |
Honorary Citizenship
| Country | City | Year |
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 Serbia |
Honorary citizen of Čačak | 2013 |
  Bosnia and Herzegovina (Republika Srpska) |
Honorary citizen of Trebinje | 2013 |
 Montenegro |
Honorary citizen of Berane | 2015 |
 China |
Honorary citizen of Beijing | 2017 |
Images for kids
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Tomislav Nikolić's signature
See also
In Spanish: Tomislav Nikolić para niños
