Nenad Konstantinović () is a Serbian politician. He was a prominent member of the student movement Otpor! and has served several terms in the National Assembly of Serbia.
Early life and activism Konstantinović was born in Belgrade, in what was then the Socialist Republic of Serbia in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Trained as a lawyer, he emerged as a prominent opponent of Slobodan Milošević's authoritarian rule as a student in the 1990s. He was vice-president of the main board of the student protest during the 1996–97 street protests in Serbia and vice-president of Serbia's student parliament in 1997–98.NENAD KONSTANTINOVIĆ, Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 30 September 2017.
Konstantinović became a founding member of the opposition group Otpor! (Resistance!) in 1998. The following year, he issued the group's "Declaration for Serbia's future," which called for Milošević's resignation and for "free and democratic elections for a constitutive assembly, under the rules and complete control of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).""Anti-Milosevic students adopt "declaration for Serbia's future"," Agence France-Presse, 28 September 1999. He also called for an alliance of "all Serbian democratic forces" around the manifesto's goals."Students present "Declaration for Serbia's future"," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European - Political, 29 September 1999 (Source: Beta news agency, Belgrade, in Serbo-Croat 1450 gmt 28 Sep 99). Konstantinović was later an organizer of Otpor!'s daily protests against Milošević in May 2000; during this time, he said that the Milošević regime would need to fall as a precondition for democratic change."Resistance activist explains organization's goals, strategy," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European - Political, 11 May 2000 (Source: SRNA news agency, Bijeljina, in Serbo-Croat 1448 gmt 11 May 00).
Milošević and his allies fell from power in October 2000, and an alliance of opposition parties formed new administrations in both Serbia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In the aftermath of these changes, Konstantinović helped organize a volunteer group called the Service for Enforcement of Truth, which documented abuses of power by Milošević-era officials with the aim of initiating criminal prosecutions in Serbia.Olivia Ward, "Milosevic to face arrest in Serbia --- Domestic trial, not extradition, likely for former dictator: Officials" Toronto Star, 26 December 2000, p. 1. He urged Serbia's leaders to arrest Milošević, although he acknowledged the difficulties prosecutors would face in achieving a conviction. "We don't have any documents with a signature," he said. "[Milošević] used to give orders by telephone to his cronies so you can only arrest people like Rade Marković and (former customs chief) Mihalj Kertes and press them to talk."Andrew Gray, "Students pressure reformers to arrest Milosevic," Reuters News, 10 March 2001.Joseph Kucera, "Milosevic faces arrest this week," South China Morning Post, 5 March 2001. After the arrest of Milošević in June 2001, he urged the Serbian government to extradite him to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague."Analysis: Extradition of Slobodan Milosevic plays major role in whether Yugoslavia will receive foreign monetary aid," NPR Morning Edition, 21 June 2001.
Politician Democratic Party Early years Konstantinović joined the Democratic Party (DS) in 1998.NENAD KONSTANTINOVIĆ, Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 30 September 2017. He briefly left the party in 2003, when Otpor! became a registered political party in its own right. Konstantinović appeared in the 103rd position on Otpor!'s electoral list in the 2003 Serbian parliamentary election; the list failed to cross the electoral threshold to win assembly representation."Resistance movement to become political party before next Serbian election," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 10 September 2003 (Source: Beta news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 0906 gmt 10 Sep 03).Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 28. децембра 2003. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (7. ОТПОР), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024. After the election, he criticized Serbian prime minister Vojislav Koštunica's administration for including Milošević-era officials in its ranks.Jovana Gec, "Questions arise about government ministers days after taking office," Associated Press Newswires, 5 March 2004.
Otpor! merged into the Democratic Party in September 2004, and Konstantinović signed an accord with DS official Slobodan Gavrilović to formalize the merger."Serbia: Popular Resistance Movement to join Democratic Party," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 7 September 2004; Katarina Kratovac, "Rebel group that fought Milosevic joins pro-Western Democratic Party," Associated Press Newswires, 8 September 2004. He was a member of the DS executive from 2004 to 2008.NENAD KONSTANTINOVIĆ, Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 30 September 2017.
Konstantinović appeared in the ninth position on the DS's list for the City Assembly of Belgrade in the 2004 local elections and was elected when list won thirty-four seats.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 48, Number 24 (8 September 2004), p. 2.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 48 Number 27 (20 September 2004), p. 2.In the 2004 local elections, the first one-third of mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order while the remaining two-thirds were distributed amongst other candidates at the discretion of the sponsoring parties or coalitions. See Law on Local Elections (June 2002) , Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 33/2002; made available via LegislationOnline, , accessed 7 April 2024. The DS formed a local coalition government after the election, and he served for the next four years as a supporter of the city administration.Одборници Скупштине града, , City of Belgrade, accessed 20 September 2022.
Parliamentarian Konstantinović appeared in the 103rd position on the DS's electoral list in the 2007 parliamentary election and was given a mandate when the list won sixty-four seats.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. јануара и 8. фебрауара 2007. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 Демократска странка - Борис Тадић), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.14 February 2007 legislature, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 30 September 2017. (From 2000 to 2011, parliamentary mandates were awarded to sponsoring parties or coalitions rather than to individual candidates, and it was common practice for the mandates to be distributed out of numerical order. Konstantinović's position on the list – which was in any event mostly alphabetical – had no specific bearing on his chances of election.)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, , accessed 7 April 2024. After the election, the DS formed an unstable coalition government with the rival Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and G17 Plus, and Konstantinović served as a supporter of the administration. He was a member of the administrative committee and the committee for the judiciary and state administration.ДЕТАЉИ О НАРОДНОМ ПОСЛАНИКУ: КОНСТАНТИНОВИЋ, НЕНАД, , National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 20 September 2022.
The DS–DSS alliance broke down in early 2008, and a new parliamentary election was called for May 2008. The DS contested the election at the head of the For a European Serbia (ZES) alliance. Konstantinović appeared in the eighty-ninth position on its list (which was again mostly alphabetical) and was given a mandate when the list won a plurality victory with 102 out of 250 seats.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 11. маја 2008. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 ЗА ЕВРОПСКУ СРБИЈУ - БОРИС ТАДИЋ), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.11 June 2008 legislature, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 10 July 2021. The overall result of the election was inconclusive, but the ZES alliance ultimately formed a coalition government with the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), and Konstantinović again supported the administration. He was a member of the committee for justice and state administration and the committee for urban planning and construction; a deputy member of the committee on constitutional affairs, the committee on foreign affairs, and the committee for European integration; and a member of the parliamentary friendship group with the United States of America.НЕНАД КОНСТАНТИНОВИЋ, , National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 20 September 2022. In January 2009, he replaced Tomislav Nikolić as chair of the administrative committee."Serbian opposition leader dismissed as parliament committee head," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 16 January 2009. In this capacity, he initiated the launch of an "e-parliament" for the assembly. In the same period, he led a working group reviewing the assembly's code of conduct.NENAD KONSTANTINOVIĆ, Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 30 September 2017.
Serbia's electoral system was reformed in 2011, such that parliamentary mandates were awarded in numerical order to candidates on successful lists.Law on the Election of Members of the Parliament (2000, as amended 2011) (Articles 88 & 92) made available via LegislationOnline, , accessed 6 June 2021. Konstantinović was given the sixty-fourth position on the Democratic Party's Choice for a Better Life coalition list in the 2012 parliamentary election and was narrowly re-elected when the list won sixty-seven mandates.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине, 6. мај 2012. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 ИЗБОР ЗА БОЉИ ЖИВОТ- БОРИС ТАДИЋ), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024. The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) formed a new coalition government with the SPS and other parties after the election, and the DS moved into opposition. During his third term, Konstantinović was a member of the judiciary committee, a deputy member of the administrative committee and the security services control board, a deputy member of Serbia's delegation to the OSCE parliamentary assembly, and a member of the friendship groups with Croatia, Germany, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.НЕНАД КОНСТАНТИНОВИЋ, , National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 20 September 2022.