Branislav "Bane" Ivković (; 7 August 1952 – 20 November 2025) was a Serbian engineer, academic and politician. He was a cabinet minister in the government of Serbia from 1994 to 2000 and served in the parliaments of Serbia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and Serbia and Montenegro. At one time a prominent figure in the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), he later led the breakaway Socialist People's Party (SNS) in the early 2000s.
Early life and academic career Ivković was born in Bijeljina, in what was then the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. Raised in the community, he graduated from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Civil Engineering in 1979, earned a master's degree in 1983, and received a PhD in 1988 with the thesis, "Optimization of reliability of production systems in construction." He became an assistant at the university in 1981, was promoted to assistant professor in 1989, and became an associate professor in 1994. Ivković participated in engineering projects in Israel, Kuwait, and Russia, as well as in Serbia.Dragoslav Grujin, "Branislav Ivković", Vreme, 18 April 2002, accessed 14 December 2022.
Politician Ivković's political career began in the 1990s, when the political culture of Serbia and Yugoslavia was dominated by the authoritarian rule of Socialist Party leader Slobodan Milošević.
He received the twenty-fifth position on the Socialist Party's electoral list for the Belgrade division in the 1993 Serbian parliamentary election. The list won sixteen seats, and he was not awarded a mandate.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 19. и 26. децембра 1993. године и 5. јануара 1994. године – ЗБИРНЕ ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 Београд) and Извештај о укупним резултатима избора за народне посланике у Народну скупштину Републике Србије, одржаних 19. и 26. децембра 1993. године и 5. јануара 1994. године, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 30 July 2021.Službeni Glasnik (Republike Srbije), Volume 50 Number 11 (25 January 1994), pp. 193-194. (From 1992 to 2000, Serbia's electoral law stipulated that one-third of parliamentary mandates would be assigned to candidates on successful lists in numerical order, while the remaining two-thirds would be distributed amongst other candidates at the discretion of sponsoring parties or coalitions. Ivković could have been given a mandate despite his list position, though he was not.)Guide to the Early Election , Ministry of Information of the Republic of Serbia, December 1992, made available by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, accessed 14 July 2017. The SPS won the election and afterward formed a new government. Ivković became vice-president of the party's city board in Belgrade.Filip Svarm, Dejan Anastasijević & Jelena Grujić, "Men Hunt", Vreme, 20 June 1995, accessed 14 December 2022.
Minister of Urban Development and Housing (1994–1998) Ivković was appointed minister of urban development and housing in the first government of Mirko Marjanović on 18 March 1994. One of his responsibilities was finding accommodations for the large numbers of refugees who arrived in Serbia during the Yugoslav Wars of the mid-1990s. In September 1995, he described a $41.5 million pledge for refugee aid from the United Nations and related organizations as "very meagre as compared to our needs.""Rump Yugoslavia gets new aid for refugees," Reuters News, 14 September 1995. In February 1996, he said that refugees living in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia should be permitted to return safely to their former homes."Newsline - February 27, 1996", Radio Free Europe, 27 February 1996, accessed 14 December 2022.
He announced a fifteen-year plan for a cable television network in Serbia in 1996, noting the possibility of concessions to international investors."Serbia announces early plans for cable TV network," Reuters News, 4 October 1996.
In April 1997, Ivković introduced a legislative package that, among other things, gave legal standing to several housing units that had been illegally constructed in the period up to and including November 1995. The stated purpose of this reform was to remove the threat of eviction from low-income households residing in these units."Sirotinji onemoguceno da trazi pravdu?", Naša borba, 17 April 1997, accessed 14 December 2022. In response to Serbia's chronic financial issues, he also oversaw the passing of a controversial law that permitted international concessions for Serbia's roads, power plants, airports, and other state property; he later introduced complementary regional development legislation allowing international mining concessions."Serbian assembly passes law on concessions," Associated Press Newswire, 13 May 1997.Gordana Kukić, "Serbia presents international investment plan to woo investors," Reuters News, 2 July 1997. In September 1997, he announced the creation of a state agency to co-ordinate activities related to international investments in Serbia.Gordana Kukić, "Serbia to set up agency to help foreign investors," Reuters News, 25 September 1997. In the same period, he introduced "tax holidays" in a bid to persuade construction firms that had left Serbia due to international sanctions in the Yugoslav wars to return to the country.Gordana Kukić, "Serbia calls its construction firms to return home," Reuters News, 25 September 1997.Gordana Kukić, "Minister urges Yugo builders' offensive abroad," Reuters News, 20 March 1998.
In October 1997, Ivković signed an agreement to restructure Serbia's debts with Russian energy firm Gazprom, allowing for half of the total debt to be paid via construction projects over the next two years.Gordana Kukić, "Yugoslavia agrees gas debt deal with Russia," Reuters News, 16 October 1997.
Leader of the Belgrade SPS (1995–1997) Ivković's political profile rose significantly in November 1995, when he was appointed president of the SPS's Belgrade board. This occurred against the backdrop of major personnel shifts in the party at the conclusion of the Bosnian War, when Milošević removed a number of figures considered too "hardline" in their views.Dragoslav Grujin, "Branislav Ivković", Vreme, 18 April 2002, accessed 14 December 2022.Ivan Radovanović, "Hung-up Phone", Vreme, 11 December 1995, accessed 14 December 2022.
1996 local elections Ivković led the SPS's campaign in Belgrade in the 1996 Serbian local elections. The local party organization was divided during this time, with Ivković and incumbent Belgrade mayor Nebojša Čović leading rival factions."Leftist Studio B", Vreme, 13 October 1996, accessed 14 December 2022. Rumours circulated that Ivković and Čović would be rivals for the mayor's office in the event of a SPS victory.Nenad Stefanović, "Belgrade Must not Fall", Vreme, 3 November 1996, accessed 14 December 2022. In the event, the opposition Zajedno (English: Together) coalition won a majority victory in the Belgrade election. State authorities did not initially accept the opposition's victories in Belgrade and other major cities, leading to an extended series of protests; the state's response to the protests was often violent.
Ivković was rebuked for the SPS's poor performance in Belgrade.Nenad Lj. Stefanović, "Riots in Serbia", Vreme, 24 November 1996, accessed 14 December 2022. After initial reports of the SPS's defeat, he told party officials that "legal possibilities" existed for annulling a number of opposition mandates and giving the Socialists victory in a repeat vote.Nenad Lj. Stevanović, "Waiting to be recycled," Vreme, 14 December 1996, accessed 14 December 2022. Opposition victories in several constituencies were indeed annulled by the city's election commission, and repeat elections were called for 27 November. Ivković was a vocal advocate of the repeat election process, at one time telling the Belgrade election commission, "If the results are what we expect and which we feel are right, we’ll quickly organize a city assembly because we have to continue living normally in this city."Roksanda Ninčić, "Down by law", Vreme, 14 December 1996, accessed 14 December 2022. The opposition boycotted the repeat vote, describing the process as fraudulent, and several SPS and aligned candidates were accordingly declared elected by default.
The opposition protests continued after the repeat elections in Belgrade. Ivković helped to organize a "counter-protest" rally of Milošević's allies that was meant to end the controversy but instead resulted in increased protests from the administration's opponents.Nenad Lj. Stefanović, "Real Power", Vreme, 11 January 1997, accessed 14 December 2022. In January 1997, the Belgrade election commission annulled the repeat elections and reinstated the victory of Zajedno. Ivković said that the SPS would appeal the decision, but before this could happen he was replaced as the party's Belgrade leader by Dragan Tomić.Jovan Kovačić, "Turmoil reigns in Serbian political scene," Reuters News, 15 January 1997. In the aftermath of these events, Čović described Ivković as "the man most responsible" for the party's defeat in the city and accused him of election fraud.Nenad Lj. Stefanović, "The Covic Case", Vreme, 18 January 1997, accessed 14 December 2022.Milan Milošević, "The Blue Cordon Disco", Vreme, 25 January 1997, accessed 14 December 2022.Nenad Lj. Stefanović, "'I'm Still Standing'", Vreme, 8 February 1997, accessed 14 December 2022. Ivković later remarked that he voted for his own dismissal as local SPS leader, having by this time lost any desire the continue in the role.Dragoslav Grujin, "Branislav Ivković", Vreme, 18 April 2002, accessed 14 December 2022.
The Belgrade election commission's recognition of the opposition's victory did not bring a final end to the election controversy, and the state authorities ultimately recognized the victory of Zajedno in Belgrade and other jurisdictions via a "lex specialis" in February 1997. Notwithstanding the broader controversy, Ivković was personally elected for New Belgrade's fourth division.Nenad Lj. Stefanović, "Pobuna demokratske Srbije", Vreme, 23 November 1996, accessed 14 December 2022.
Ivković later sought to initiate a dialogue with student leaders over the 1996–97 protests in his capacity as a University of Belgrade professor. The students responded, "Your hands are bloody, blood was spilled because of your counter rally. You are too late.""Branislav Ivković", Glas javnosti, 3 April 2000, accessed 14 December 2022.
Federal parliamentarian (1996–2000) Ivković led the SPS's electoral list for New Belgrade in the 1996 Yugoslavian parliamentary election, which was held concurrently with the local elections, and was elected when the list won two seats in the division for the Yugoslavian assembly's Chamber of Citizens.ИЗБОРИ '96: ВЕЋЕ ГРАЂАНА САВЕЗНЕ СКУПШТИНЕ, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Department of Statistics (1996), p. 37. The SPS alliance won the election, and Ivković served in the federal parliament for the term that followed.Dušan Bogdanović and Biljana Kovačević Vučo, Institutions Abused: Who Was Who in Serbia, 1987–2000, (Belgrade: Biljana Kovačević Vučo Fund), 2011, p. 108. In May 1998, he supported the removal of Radoje Kontić as Yugoslavian prime minister and the election of Momir Bulatović as his successor."'Uzdrzani' premijer ne moze da resava jugoslovenske probleme", Naša borba, 19 May 1998, accessed 14 December 2022."Momir Bulatovic izabran za saveznog premijera", Naša borba, 21 May 1998, accessed 14 December 2022.
Minister of Science and Technology (1998–2000)