Simonović in 2013

Dragoljub Simonović (Serbian Cyrillic: Драгољуб Симоновић; born 8 July 1959) is a Serbian former politician. He was a member of the National Assembly of Serbia from 2004 to 2008, served three terms as mayor of the Belgrade municipality of Grocka, and was the chair of Serbian Railways from 2012 to 2014. Originally a member of the far-right Serbian Radical Party, he joined the breakaway Serbian Progressive Party on its formation in 2008. In February 2021, he was convicted of inciting an arson attack that resulted in serious damage to the home of an opposition journalist. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison in March 2023.

Early life and private career

Simonović worked for Serbian Railways for eleven years.[1] During the 2003 Serbian parliamentary election, he described himself as a mechanical technician.[2] In the 2012 parliamentary election, he was listed as a graduated economist.[3]

Politician

Parliamentarian

Simonović appeared in the sixty-sixth position on the Radical Party's electoral list in the 2003 Serbian parliamentary election.[4] On election day, he and three other Radical Party members broke a number of ballot boxes in what was described as a protest against non-compliance with the election rules. For this offense, he spent twenty-seven days in the Padinska Skela prison.[5]

The Radicals won eighty-two out of 250 seats in the 2003 election, emerging as the largest single party in the national assembly but falling well short of a majority; they ultimately served in opposition in the parliament that followed. Simonović was not initially chosen for his party's assembly delegation but was awarded a mandate as the replacement for another party member on 12 February 2004 and served for the remainder of the term.[6][7] (From 2000 to 2011, mandates in Serbian parliamentary elections were awarded to sponsoring parties or coalitions rather than individual candidates, and it was common practice for the mandates to be assigned out of numerical order. Simonović's position on the list had no bearing on whether or when he received a mandate.)[8]

He appeared in the sixty-third position on the Radical Party's list for the 2007 parliamentary election and was selected for a second mandate when the list won eighty-one seats.[9][10] The Radicals continued to serve in opposition. Simonović was given the eighty-second position on the Radical list for the 2008 parliamentary election; the list won seventy-eight seats on this occasion, and he was this time not included in the party's delegation.[11][12]

The Radical Party experienced a serious split later in 2008, with several members joining the more moderate Serbian Progressive Party under the leadership of Tomislav Nikolić and Aleksandar Vučić. Simonović sided with the Progressives.

Serbia's election system was reformed in 2011, such that parliamentary mandates were awarded in numerical order to candidates on successful lists. Simonović was given the 158th position on the Progressive Party's Let's Get Serbia Moving list for the 2012 parliamentary election and was not elected when the list won seventy-three seats.[13] He has not sought re-election to the national assembly since this time.

Local politics

Simonović ran for election to the City Assembly of Belgrade in the 2000 Serbian local elections, appearing as the Radical Party's candidate in Grocka's first division. He lost to Vesna Ivić of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia. The 2000 local elections were held via first-past-the-post voting in constituency seats; all subsequent local election cycles in Serbia have been held under proportional representation.

Simonović appeared in the lead position on the Radical Party's list for the Grocka municipal assembly in the 2004 local elections and was elected when the list won eight of out thirty-five seats.[14][15][16] There was no clear winner in the election, and the Radicals initially served in opposition. Simonović became mayor of the municipality for the first time on 23 June 2005 when a new local coalition government was formed, although he left the position on 4 November of the same year after further political re-alignment.[17][18][19]

He again appeared in the lead position on the Radical list for Grocka in the 2008 local elections and received a mandate for another term when the list won thirteen seats.[20][21][22] After this election, he left the Radicals and became the local leader of the Progressives.

Simonović led the Progressive list to a plurality victory with eleven out of thirty-five seats in Grocka in the 2012 local elections.[23][24][25] He formed a local coalition government after the election and was chosen as mayor for a second time on 15 June 2012.[26] His term in office was again relatively brief; he resigned on 28 December 2012,[27] having been appointed as general director of Serbian railways. He served in the latter position until his removal in July 2014.[28]

He returned to local politics for the 2016 Serbian local elections and once again appeared in the lead position on the Progressive list in Grocka.[29] On this occasion, the list won a majority victory with twenty seats.[30] He was selected for a third term as mayor after the election.[31]

Director of Serbian Railways

Simonović was appointed as director of Serbian Railways in December 2012.[32] Shortly after his appointment, he said that Serbian trains and lines would be modernized in the next five years thanks to a planned Russian loan of $800 million dollars.[33] In early 2014, he announced the launch of electric train service from Kraljevo to the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, in the disputed territory of Kosovo.[34]

His tenure as director was controversial. In late 2013, the Union of Railways Workers of Serbia called for his removal, citing poor labour-management relations and a series of problems affecting the company.[35] In February 2014, workers from the union reiterated their demands in a protest outside the administrative building of Serbian Railways, citing what they described as significant company losses due to corruption.[36]

Simonović was one of several public directors dismissed by the government in July 2014, on the grounds of achieving poor results.[37]

Arrest and conviction

On 12 December 2018, the house of Grocka journalist Milan Jovanović was set on fire after a Molotov cocktail was thrown through a window in his garage. Jovanović and his wife escaped without serious injury. Jovanović was an editor of the information portal Žig Info and had frequently accused Simonović of nepotism and corruption. In the aftermath of the attack, one of Jovanović's colleagues said that he and Jovanović had repeatedly reported threats against them to the Belgrade prosecutor's office, without receiving a response.[38] Simonović was arrested on suspicion of inciting the attack on 25 January 2019; his arrest was announced by Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić in an extraordinary press conference.[39] Simonović formally resigned as mayor of Grocka on 20 March 2019.[40]

On 23 February 2021, the Second Basic Court in Belgrade found Simonović guilty of inciting the arson attack. The verdict issued by Judge Slavko Žugić found that Simonović had encouraged police officer Vladimir Mihailović to send a warning to Jovanović by burning the latter's car; Mihailović, in turn, incited Igor Novaković to commit the crime, and Novaković hired Aleksandar Marinković to actually carry out the arson attack. When Marinković threw a Molotov cocktail into the garage, the fire quickly spread to the rest of Jovanović's house. For his role in the attack, Simonović was sentenced to four years and three months in prison. He maintains his innocence in the matter.[41]

On 20 March 2023, Simonović was sentenced to five years in prison.[42]

Electoral record

Local (City Assembly of Belgrade)

2000 City of Belgrade election
Grocka Division I[43]
Radomir Đurđević Serbian Party
Vesna Ivić Democratic Opposition of Serbia Elected
Slobodan Jeremić Serbia Together
Bojan Ljubenović Serbian Renewal Movement
Dragoljub Simonović Serbian Radical Party
Radovan Todorović Socialist Party of Serbia–Yugoslav Left

References

  1. ↑ Katarina Živanović, "Dragoljub Simonović – uhapšeni naprednjak", Danas, 28 January 2019, accessed 14 May 2021.
  2. ↑ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 28. децембра 2003. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (СРПСКА РАДИКАЛНА СТРАНКА - др ВОЈИСЛАВ ШЕШЕЉ), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 14 May 2021.
  3. ↑ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине, 6. мај 2012. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (POKRENIMO SRBIJU - TOMISLAV NIKOLIĆ), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 14 May 2021.
  4. ↑ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 28. децембра 2003. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (СРПСКА РАДИКАЛНА СТРАНКА - др ВОЈИСЛАВ ШЕШЕЉ), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 14 May 2021.
  5. ↑ Katarina Živanović, "Dragoljub Simonović – uhapšeni naprednjak", Danas, 28 January 2019, accessed 14 May 2021.
  6. ↑ DRUGO VANREDNO ZASEDANJE, 12.02.2004., Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 14 May 2021.
  7. ↑ СПИСАК НАРОДНИХ ПОСЛАНИКА "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-01-07. Retrieved 2021-05-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 14 May 2021.
  8. ↑ Serbia's Law on the Election of Representatives (2000) Archived 2021-06-03 at the Wayback Machine 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 28 February 2017.
  9. ↑ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. јануара и 8. фебрауара 2007. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (Српска радикална странка - др Војислав Шешељ), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 14 May 2021.
  10. ↑ 14 February 2007 legislature, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 14 May 2021.
  11. ↑ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 11. маја 2008. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (СРПСКА РАДИКАЛНА СТРАНКА - Др ВОЈИСЛАВ ШЕШЕЉ), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 14 April 2021.
  12. ↑ 11 June 2008 legislature, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 14 May 2021.
  13. ↑ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине, 6. мај 2012. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (POKRENIMO SRBIJU - TOMISLAV NIKOLIĆ), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 14 May 2021.
  14. ↑ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 48 Number 24 (8 September 2004), p. 94.
  15. ↑ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 48 Number 36 (21 December 2004), p. 46.
  16. ↑ In the 2004 local elections, the first one-third of mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order. See Law on Local Elections Archived 2021-06-02 at the Wayback Machine, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 33/2002; made available via LegislationOnline, accessed 29 May 2021.
  17. ↑ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 49 Number 16 (11 July 2005), p. 39.
  18. ↑ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 49 Number 27 (24 November 2005), p. 30.
  19. ↑ M.T. Kovačević, "Grocka: Za 15 godina 11 predsednika opštine", Novosti, 19 February 2016, accessed 28 May 2021.
  20. ↑ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 52 Number 13 (30 April 2008), p. 30.
  21. ↑ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 52 Number 20 (16 June 2008), pp. 3-4.
  22. ↑ For the 2008 local elections, all mandates were assigned to candidates on successful lists at the discretion of the sponsoring parties or coalitions. See Law on Local Elections (2007) Archived 2022-03-17 at the Wayback Machine, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 129/2007); made available via LegislationOnline, accessed 29 May 2021. Simonović did not automatically receive a mandate by virtue of leading the list.
  23. ↑ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 56 Number 21 (25 April 2012), p. 96.
  24. ↑ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 56 Number 25 (7 May 2012), p. 5.
  25. ↑ As with parliamentary mandates, local mandates were also assigned to candidates in numerical order after 2011; Simonović was automatically elected by virtue of his list position. See Law on Local Elections (2007, amended 2011) Archived 2021-06-02 at the Wayback Machine, made available via LegislationOnline, accessed 29 May 2021.
  26. ↑ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 56 Number 40 (2 July 2012), p. 30.
  27. ↑ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 56 Number 72 (31 December 2012), p. 23.
  28. ↑ Katarina Živanović, "Dragoljub Simonović – uhapšeni naprednjak", Danas, 28 January 2019, accessed 14 May 2021.
  29. ↑ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 60 Number 28 (13 April 2016), p. 70.
  30. ↑ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 60 Number 34 (25 April 2016), p. 40.
  31. ↑ Katarina Živanović, "Dragoljub Simonović – uhapšeni naprednjak", Danas, 28 January 2019, accessed 14 May 2021.
  32. ↑ "Simonović imenovan za generalnog direktora Železnica Srbije", Blic (Source: Tanjug), 21 December 2012, accessed 16 May 2021.
  33. ↑ "Železnice Srbije: Sa ruskim kreditom dobijamo brže vozove i obnovljene pruge", Blic (Source: Tanjug), 11 January 2013, accessed 16 May 2021.
  34. ↑ "Vozovi na struju od danas saobraćaju prema Kosovskoj Mitrovici", Blic (Source: Tanjug), 13 March 2014, accessed 16 May 2021.
  35. ↑ "Sindikat traži smenu direktora Železnica Srbije", Blic (Source: Beta), 11 December 2013, accessed 16 May 2021.
  36. ↑ "Radnici traže smenu Simonovića", Blic (Source: Beta), 6 February 2014, accessed 16 May 2021.
  37. ↑ "Serbia Purges Chiefs of Public Companies", Balkan Insight, 29 July 2014, accessed 16 May 2021.
  38. ↑ "Novinar: Tužilaštvo obavešteno o pretnjama, nikada nismo dobili odgovor", Danas, 12 December 2018, accessed 14 May 2021.
  39. ↑ "Novinarstvo i Srbija: Bivši predsednik opštine Grocka osuđen zbog paljenja kuće novinara", Danas (Source: British Broadcasting Corporation News in Serbian), 23 February 2021, accessed 14 May 2021.
  40. ↑ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 63 Number 19 (20 March 2019), p. 5.
  41. ↑ V. Jeremić, "Simonović osuđen zbog paljenja kuće Milanu Jovanoviću", Danas, 23 February 2021, accessed 14 May 2021.
  42. ↑ Savatović, Mladen (2023-03-20). "Dragoljub Simonović osuđen na pet godina zatvora za paljenje kuće novinara". N1 (in Serbian). Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  43. ↑ Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 46 Number 13 (15 September 2000), p. 423; Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 46 Number 15 (20 October 2000), p. 469-470.
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