Zdravko Krivokapić (Serbo-Croat Cyrillic: Здравко Кривокапић; born 2 September 1958) is a Montenegrin professor and former politician who served as Prime Minister of Montenegro from 2020 to 2022.
In addition to his professorship at the Universities of Montenegro and East Sarajevo, he is one of the founders of the non-governmental organization called "We won't give up Montenegro", which was founded by Montenegrin professors and intellectuals in support of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro after a controversial religion law targeted the legal status and the property of the Church. In August 2020, he was chosen as the ballot representative for the For the Future of Montenegro list which placed second in the 2020 parliamentary election. Together with Aleksa Bečić and Dritan Abazović, he agreed to form a technocratic government and in December 2020 he and his cabinet were sworn into office. Krivokapić, who headed a right-wing populist list in the election, later affiliated himself with the centrist Democratic Montenegro of the President of the Parliament Aleksa Bečić, and he himself has been ideologically described as a moderate Christian democrat.Krivokapić uskoro formira Demohrišćansku stranku?, CdM/Dnevne novine, 13 October 2020
Krivokapić was ousted in a motion of no confidence on 4 February 2022, although he continued serving in acting capacity until 28 April 2022, when he was succeeded by Dritan Abazović.
Early life and academic career Krivokapić was born to Serbian Orthodox parents Drago and Ikonija, in 1958 in Nikšić, which at the time was a part of the SR Montenegro, FPR Yugoslavia. He joined the League of Communists of Yugoslavia in 1976. He graduated in 1981 from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, in the Department of Production Engineering at the University of Montenegro. He enrolled in postgraduate studies in 1983 in the field of Production Engineering at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Belgrade. He defended his master's thesis called "Planning and Management of Spare Parts Stocks" in 1989.
He received his doctorate in 1993 at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Podgorica. The topic of the dissertation was called "Contribution to the automatic design of the technological process of cutting by means of an expert system".
After completing his internship at the "Boris Kidrič" steel manufacturing company in Nikšić in 1982, he was elected an assistant trainee at the Department of Production Engineering at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Podgorica in 1983. He was elected assistant professor 1994. He was elected associate professor at the University of Montenegro in 1999 and became a full professor in 2004, when he was elected in the subjects of Informatics and Quality Management System.
He is the president of the organizing and member of the program committee of the SQM Conference and the ICQME International Conference. He is the editor of the International Journal for Quality Research, indexed in the SCOPUS database, which has been published since 2007. He is a member of the program board of four journals and thirteen international conferences. He is a member of the American Society for Quality (ASQ) and Head of the Center for Doctoral Studies at the University of Montenegro. As part of his scientific research, he has published more than 250 papers in international journals, domestic journals, international conferences and domestic conferences. He is the author of 16 books and textbooks.
Teaching profession In 2011, six years before Montenegro joined NATO, Krivokapić was hired by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the Government of Montenegro for education on the procedures for introducing a quality system and ways to implement standards related to the NATO quality management system.
He also has taught information technology at the Theological Seminary in Cetinje since 1998.
Political career Entering politics
Krivokapić was part of 2019 anti-corruption protests and 2020 religion law protests. He decided to enter political life of Montenegro in mid-2020, at the height of the political crisis in Montenegro, and the open conflict between the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro and the DPS-led Montenegrin government, following the adoption of the disputed law on the status of religious communities in Montenegro, supporting 20192020 clerical protests and Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) rights in Montenegro. He was elected the first president of the SPC-backed "We won't give up Montenegro" (Ne damo Crnu Goru) NGO founded by Montenegrin professors and intellectuals in support of the SPC. In a short period of time, the organization organized public events in which Bishop of Budimlja and Nikšić Joanikije (Mićović) and the Rector of the Theological Seminary in Cetinje, Gojko Perović participated, among others.
On 1 August 2020 right-wing Democratic Front, Popular Movement and Socialist People's Party agreed to form a pre-election opposition alliance under the name For the Future of Montenegro (Za budućnost Crne Gore), as did some of right-wing non-parliamentary subjects. Krivokapić headed the joint electoral list for the parliamentary election in August 2020.Profesor Zdravko Krivokapić nosilac liste, KurirLitije dobile politički profil: Zdravko Krivokapić na čelu koalicije DF-a, SNP-a, Prave Crne Gore i Narodnog pokreta!, borba.me, 1 August 2020 The same day, Krivokapić resigned as executive director of the NGO, as he would head the opposition list. Krivokapić said that the primary goals of the coalition in case they form the government will be the protection of human rights as well as ensuring freedom of speech, freedom of media, freedom of thought, and the freedom of religion. Krivokapić said that the person who influenced him the most to enter politics was a Montenegrin businessman Miodrag "Daka" Davidović, de facto leader of the Popular Movement, who survived an assassination attempt in December 2019 in Belgrade.
On 24 July 2020 after an opposition rally, criminal charges were filed against Krivokapić and five Eastern Orthodox priests due to the "existence of a well-founded suspicion that they committed the criminal offense of non-compliance with health regulations for the suppression of a dangerous infectious disease."
Zdravko Krivokapić also sent letters to foreign ambassadors in Montenegro and In his address to the ambassadors, he said that the coalition wanted to draw the ambassadors' attention to a case of drastic human rights violations, "which we believe could be a worrying introduction to the upcoming abuse of Interior Ministry members to escalate the political crisis and intimidate the population ahead of the upcoming elections." He has been rated as the most popular political leader ahead of the 30 August 2020 parliamentary and local elections in Montenegro.
2020 elections
The 2020 elections had the highest voter turnout ever recorded in Montenegro at 75.90%. Shortly after the polls were closed, before the final results were published, Krivokapić announced the coalition's victory stating that "freedom has happened in Montenegro". In his speech he also stated that there won't be revanchism and he also offered ethnic minority parties to enter the new government. The coalition won 32.55% of the popular vote which equals 27 seats in the parliament. This is the first time that the ruling coalition lost the majority in the parliament. He said that Montenegro cannot and won't be under influence of Serbia or Russia, but that his government will establish better diplomatic relations with both countries, also naming accession of Montenegro to the European Union, as the main priority of the new ruling coalition.Krivokapić: Evropski put je prioritet, za tri sedmice dogovor opozicije, Vijesti, 1 September 2020 Krivokapić and the leaders of the coalitions Peace is Our Nation and Black on White, Aleksa Bečić and Dritan Abazović, agreed during meeting on several principles on which the future government will rest, including the formation of an expert government, continuing to work on the European Union accession process, fight against corruption, overcoming society polarization and economic crisis, as well as amending and revising discriminatory laws and bylaws, including the controversial Freedom of Religion Law. He said that the new government in Montenegro would help make the lives of Serbs in Kosovo dignified and preserve monasteries there.
Massive celebrations were held all over Montenegro the day after the elections. In Podgorica, opposition supporters clashed with the ruling DPS supporters. Condemning ethnic hatred and unrest, for which he accuses the DPS-led government, Krivokapić said that no one in Montenegro should be endangered, especially national minorities, which he called "our relatives and neighbors". Krivokapić also called on supporters to stay at home, as well as demanding to authorities to investigate incidents and prosecute delinquents and perpetrators of the unrest, as soon as possible. He also welcomed minority parties of Bosniaks and Albanians of Montenegro, and wished to form government with them.Krivokapić: Neredi nikom ne služe na čast, Crna Gora ne može biti pod Srbijom ili Rusijom, Pobijeda On 2 September, glass was broken on the door of the Islamic Community of Pljevlja and a threatening message was left. Krivokapić condemned the incidents and also expressed suspicion that it was done by the outgoing DPS-led regime. He also protested with the Serbian Orthodox Church priests in front of the Husein-paša's Mosque, with the message that they are ready to defend the places of worship of all religious communities. Krivokapić stated that it is not his priority to have an official position in the new government, but that, as Prime Minister, he would like to visit Germany first, which he perceives as the most influential country in the EU. However, one day later, he said that he won't be the Prime Minister designate. Krivokapić stated that he would not go through the streets of Podgorica in a Mercedes and with numerous security guards. He said that Serbia and Montenegro are the two closest countries, geographically, culturally and historically, and their relations must be normalized, and that that is the wish of the vast majority of Montenegrin citizens but that the de-recognition of Kosovo is not going to be a priority for the new government. On 9 September 2020, Krivokapić along with the leaders of the coalitions Peace is Our Nation and Black on White, Aleksa Bečić and Dritan Abazović signed an agreement pledging that the new government would not launch any initiatives or procedures aimed at changing the national flag, coat of arms and anthem and the de-recognition of Kosovo. The agreement also states that the new democratic government in Montenegro will responsibly implement all international obligations undertaken by the state, strengthen and improve cooperation with NATO and quickly, fully and committedly implement all reforms necessary for Montenegro's full membership in the EU. Krivokapic said that the new government is preparing for the worst-case scenario when it comes to the economy. The same day, he also stated that he is worried because no other countries in the region congratulated him. In response to the allegations that his coalition has close ties to the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vučić, he said that he never even met Vučić. In an interview to Die Welt, Krivokapić said that when he was in West Germany in 1988, he saw Helmut Kohl being followed by only one bodyguard car and that he was chatting with gathered people and that this was his first meeting with democracy; explaining that this is exactly the kind of head of government he wants to be like: "someone who can be talked to and criticized".