G17 Plus Explained

Country:Serbia
G17 Plus
Native Name:Г17 плус
Headquarters:Trg Republike 5, Belgrade
Founder:Miroljub Labus
Merged:United Regions of Serbia
European:European People's Party
Position:Centre-right
Colours:Blue and Grey
Website:g17plus.rs (archived)

G17 Plus was a centre-right[1] political party in Serbia. Founded as a non-governmental organization dealing with economic issues, in 2002 it transformed into a political party that became part of several ruling coalition governments in Serbia throughout the 2000s and early 2010s. In 2013, it merged into United Regions of Serbia.

Foundation

G17 Plus was founded in 1997 as a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Serbia, then a federal unit within FR Yugoslavia. The organization consisting of economic experts enjoyed financial support of the United States through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).[2]

The organization was registered as a political party on 15 December 2002, with Miroljub Labus as its first president.

At its first electoral showing at the 2003 parliamentary elections, G17 Plus received 11.5% of the popular vote and 34 seats in the National Assembly.

In March 2004, G17+ formed a coalition government with the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) and New Serbia (NS). In May 2006 Miroljub Labus resigned as party leader and was replaced by Mlađan Dinkić. On October 1, 2006, the party quit the governing coalition over its failure to find and extradite ICTY fugitive Ratko Mladić.

In the 2007 elections, the party received 6.82% of the popular vote and 19 seats in the parliament.

G17+ received a single seat in the Community Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija.[3]

In 2010, G17 Plus founded the United Regions of Serbia (URS), a coalition of political parties and groups emphasizing decentralization and regional development of Serbia.[4] After a few years functioning as the centerpiece of the coalition, in April 2013 G17 Plus fully merged with URS, transforming it into a political party.

In the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, G17+ was associated with the European People's Party.[5]

Presidents of the G17 Plus (2002–2013)

PresidentBorn–DiedTerm startTerm end
11947– 15 December 2002 16 May 2006
21964– 16 May 2006 21 April 2013

Electoral results

Election! width=100px
  1. of votes
width=100px% of votewidth=100px
  1. of seats
width=100px+/-width=117pxCoalitionwidth=141pxStatus
2003438,42211.46% 31with SDP
2007275,0416.82% 12
20081,590,20038.42% 5ZES
2012215,6665.51% 14URS

Presidential elections

President of Serbia! Election year! #! Candidate! 1st round votes! %! 2nd round votes! %! Notes
20022ndMiroljub Labus995,20027.961,516,69331.62Election declared invalid due to low turnout
2003
2004 4thDragan Maršićanin414,97113.31Government Coalition
2008 1stBoris Tadić1,457,03035.392,304,46750.31For a European Serbia
2012 5thZoran Stanković257,0546.58%United Regions of Serbia

Positions held

Major positions held by G17 Plus members:

Years
Predrag Marković2004–2006
Years
Mlađan Dinkić2000–2003

External links

Notes and References

  1. Stojiljković . Zoran . 2011 . Serbia in the Party Labyrinth . Institute for Political Studies . 3 . 1 . 96.
  2. News: Hearing of the Commission on Security & Cooperation in Europe . National Endowment for Democracy . 1998-12-10 . 2009-04-01 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060330035138/http://www.ned.org/publications/staffDocs/MccarthyTestimony121098.html . March 30, 2006 .
  3. News: Kosovo Serbs convene parliament; Pristina, international authorities object. Southeast European Times. 2008-06-30. 2008-07-01.
  4. http://www.naslovi.net/2010-05-16/vesti-online/osnovani-ujedinjeni-regioni-srbije/1721909 Osnovani Ujedinjeni regioni Srbije
  5. Web site: Mr Željko IVANJI (Serbia, EPP/CD) . 29 July 2023 . Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.