Tadic, Boris (1958– )

Serbian centre-left politician, president from 2004. He joined the Democratic Party opposition in 1990 which helped overthrow Slobodan Milošević in 2000. After serving as defence minister in Serbia and Montenegro from 2003, he was elected president in 2004 and was re-elected in February 2008. As president, he pursued a pro-Western foreign policy and accepted the breakaway of Montenegro, after its referendum for independence in 2006. In 2007, he apologized to Croatia for crimes committed by Serbia during the war in Croatia when Yugoslavia broke up. He advocates Serbia's integration into the European Union (EU) but stated that Serbia would never recognize the independence of Kosovo.

Born in Sarajevo, now in Bosnia and Herzegovina, his father (from Montenegro) was a philosopher and his mother a psychologist. He was brought up in Belgrade, studying psychology at the University of Belgrade, and later worked as a clinical psychologist. In 1990, he joined the Democratic Party after it was re-established and he was an advocate of democratic reform and Westernization in Yugoslavia and the Balkans. The Democratic Party formed part of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia coalition which overthrew Slobodan Milosevic in 2000 and Tadic then served as minister of telecommunications 2000–03 and defence minister 2003–04 in the government of Serbia and Montenegro.