Dragoljub Živković (; born 26 March 1955) is a Serbian engineer and politician. He was the mayor of Leskovac from 2000 to 2003 and served in the Serbian parliament from 2004 to 2007. Živković was at different times a member of the Democratic Party (DS) and the Social Democratic Party (SDS).
Early life and academic career Živković was born in Leskovac, in what was then the People's Republic of Serbia in the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. Raised in the city, he later graduated from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (1980), majoring in thermoenergetics. He received his master's degree in 1985 and his Ph.D in 1993.
Živković became an assistant professor at the University of Niš Department of Mechanical Engineering in 1993, an associate professor in 1998, and a full professor in 2003. He has published widely in his field. He was awarded the Silver Badge of the University of Niš in 2018, and in 2021 he was awarded the Charter of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.Dragoljub Živković, Hidromehanika Mešavina, University of Niš Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, (Niš, 2003), p. 8.
Politician Mayor of Leskovac In 2000, the Democratic Party joined the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS), a broad and ideologically diverse coalition of parties opposed to Slobodan Milošević's administration. DOS candidate Vojislav Koštunica defeated Milošević in the 2000 Yugoslavian presidential election, and Milošević subsequently fell from power on 5 October 2000. In the 2000 Serbian local elections, which took place concurrently with the Yugoslavian vote, the DOS won majority victories in several major cities.
In Leskovac, the alliance around Milošević's Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) actually won a narrow majority victory,Izbori, 2000. Za Odbornike Skupština Opština i Gradova, Bureau of Statistics – Republic of Serbia, p. 73. but the party's local leadership realized they would not be able to govern effectively after Milošević's defeat. After repeat voting and some changes in party affiliation among the elected representatives, the DOS gained a narrow majority in the assembly."Nebojša Cakić: Peti oktobar nekad i sad", JugPress, 5 October 2021, accessed 28 April 2026. Živković, who had been elected as a DOS candidate, was chosen on 7 November 2000 as the assembly's president, a position that was then equivalent to mayor. His administration is remembered primarily for paying down the previous government's debt of 1.5 million dinars and achieving a balanced budget."Gde su i šta rade funkcioneri prve demokratske vlasti u Leskovcu?", JugMedia, 13 March 2017, accessed 28 April 2026.
Živković's assembly majority was never stable, and his administration fell in April 2002; he was subsequently appointed by the Serbian government to lead an interim administration pending a new election.Milica Ivanović, "Kada kažeš bivša vlast, na koga misliš?", JugMedia, 25 June 2021, accessed 28 April 2026."Lokalni izbori u nekim opštinama u Srbiji", B92, 6 January 2003, accessed 28 April 2026. By this time, Serbia's municipal election laws had been reformed such that mayors were directly elected and the offices of mayor and assembly president were separated. In the December 2002 mayoral election, Živković unexpectedly finished in third place and did not make it to the second round of voting. His term as interim mayor ended in early 2003.
Parliamentarian Živković later appeared in the ninety-fifth position on the Democratic Party's electoral list for the 2003 Serbian parliamentary election and was awarded a mandate after the list won thirty-seven seats.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 28. децембра 2003. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (5. ДЕМОКРАТСКА СТРАНКА – БОРИС ТАДИЋ), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024."Podrška neoročenoj vladi", , Glas javnosti, 15 January 2004, accessed 13 March 2024. (From 2000 to 2011, all mandates in Serbian parliamentary elections were awarded to candidates on successful lists at the discretion of the sponsoring parties or coalitions, irrespective of numerical order.)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 6 June 2021. He took his seat when the assembly convened in January 2004; the DS served in opposition for the term that followed. In the assembly, Živković was a member of the committee on industry, the committee on education, and the committee on science and technological development.Детаљи о народном посланику: ЖИВКОВИЋ, ДРАГОЉУБ, , National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, 21 October 2006, accessed 28 April 2026.
He appeared in the sixty-ninth position on the Democratic Party's list in the 2007 Serbian parliamentary election.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. The list won sixty-four seats, and on this occasion he did not receive a new mandate."НОВИ ПАРЛАМЕНТ ОД СРЕДЕ", Novosti, 10 February 2007, accessed 10 September 2022.
Later years The Democratic Party split in 2014, with former leader Boris Tadić establishing a breakaway group that ultimately became known as the Social Democratic Party. Živković joined the party, appeared in the fourth position on its electoral list for Leskovac in the 2016 Serbian local elections, and was re-elected to the local assembly when the list won six seats.Službeni glasnik (Grada Leskovca), Volume 27 Number 10 (13 April 2016), p. 340.Službeni glasnik (Grada Leskovca), Volume 27 Number 15 (5 May 2016), p. 457.
He later appeared in the third position on an independent list led by Nenad Zdravković in the 2020 local elections and was elected again when the list won six seats.Službeni glasnik (Grada Leskovca), Volume 31 Number 17 (10 June 2020), p. 500.Službeni glasnik (Grada Leskovca), Volume 31 Number 21 (4 July 2020), p. 606. He did not seek re-election in 2023.
Živković supported the Moramo (We Must) coalition in the 2022 Serbian parliamentary election."Pismo profesora Dragoljuba Zivkovica gradjanima: Zašto moramo", JugPress, 31 March 2022, accessed 28 April 2026. He did not support a specific list in the 2023 parliamentary election but called for a change in government."Pismo Leskovčanima od profesora Dragoljuba Živkovića: Glasajte za promene, Leskovac i Srbiju", JugMedia, 29 November 2023, accessed 28 April 2026.
Electoral record Local (Leskovac)
References