Montenegro, Republic of

Country in southeastern Europe, bordering Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the southeast, and with a coast on the Adriatic sea to the south. It was a constituent republic, with the far larger Serbia, of Serbia and Montenegro (1992–2006), and of Yugoslavia before that. Area 13,800 sq km/5,300 sq mi; population (2002 census) 620,147, including around 400,000 Montenegrins, 79,500 Muslims, and 39,500 Albanians. The capital is Podgorica; other towns and cities include Kotor and Cetinje. The republic is mountainous, and Mount Lovćen rises to 1,749 m/5,738 ft. There is a karst region in the southwest, and there are forests and grasslands in the east. Skadarsko Jezero (Lake Scutari) is shared with Albania. A Serbian variant of Serbo-Croat is spoken, and the religion is predominantly Serbian Orthodox Christianity.

Government

Montenegro has a multi-party parliamentary political system, with a largely figurehead president, as head of state. The president is popularly elected for a five year term and represents the country abroad and proposes to the parliament referendum the candidates for prime minister. The Montenegrin parliament comprises 74 members popularly elected for a four year term. It passes all laws, ratifies international treaties, adopts the budget, and appoints the prime minister, ministers and court justices.

History

Part of Serbia from the late 12th century, it became independent, under Venetian protection, after Serbia was defeated by the Turks in 1389. Its name, Montenegro, translates as ‘black mountain’. It was forced to accept Turkish suzerainty in the late 15th century, but was never completely subdued by Turkey. It was ruled by bishop princes of Cetinje until 1851, when a monarchy was founded, and became a sovereign principality under the Treaty of Berlin (1878). In 1910, the new monarch, Nikola I, took the title of king.

In 1912 Nikola declared war on the Ottoman Empire, precipitating the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913. Montenegro emerged from these wars with a greatly expanded territory, but was overrun by Austria in World War I.

Part of Yugoslavia

In 1918, after the deposition of King Nikola, its assembly voted to unite with Serbia and become part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes under the Serbian Peter I. The kingdom was renamed Yugoslavia in 1921. It was occupied by Italian and German Axis troops during World War II. After the war it separated from Serbia and became a separate republic from 1946 within the communist federation of Yugoslavia. The capital, Podgorica, was renamed Titograd after Yugoslavia's communist leader, Marshal Tito.

Pressure for change

From the late 1980s, in line with other parts of Yugoslavia there was popular pressure for political change and democratization. In January 1989, following mass popular protests, the entire Communist Party leadership resigned, but the League of Communists of Montenegro remained in power after the republic held its first multiparty elections, in December 1990. When Slovenia and Croatia issued declarations of independence and broke away from Yugoslavia in 2001, Montenegro sided with Serbia,and in a referendum in March 1992, voted with a 96% majority to remain part of the Yugoslav federation – as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. But turnout in the referendum was only 66% as it boycotted by Montenegro's Muslim, Albanian and Catholic communities, and by pro-independence Montenegrins.

Quasi-independence

From 1997, when Milo Djukanović, a fierce critic of Yugoslavia's Serbian leader, Slobodan Milošević, was elected president of Montenegro, it severed ties with Serbia and became quasi-independent. It adopted the German Deutsche Mark as its currency and set its own economic policy. In June 2000, threats to the anti-Milošević government took the form of the assassination of Goran Zugic, a security aide to Djukanović. Power in Montenegro was also threatened by proposals of constitutional changes, made by the Yugoslavian government. Belgrade approved and imposed the changes, but Montenegro refused to recognize them.

After Milošević fell from power in October 2000, the new Yugoslav president Vojislav Koštunica was more open to the question of Montenegro's status within the Federal Republic. Djukanović nevertheless threatened to call a referendum on independence from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia if the constitutional changes were not revoked. In April 2001, political parties seeking independence for Montenegro won the general election, but failed to secure the two-thirds majority in parliament needed to change Montenegro's constitution and declare independence.

In 2002, Montenegro and Serbia reached agreement on continues cooperation and in 2003 the Yugoslav federation was replaced by a looser state union of Serbia and Montenegro. In return, Montenegro agreed not to hold a referendum on independence until 2006.

Independence

The referendum, held in May 2006, produced a 56% majority for independence, based on a turnout of 87% of the electorate. The result was confirmed by Montenegro's parliament in June 2006 and the country became the 192nd member state of the United Nations. The national flag was changed to match the pre-1918 royal standard, leading to speculation that the exiled King Nikola II, who lived in Paris, might return to become constitutional monarch.