Andrija Mandić


Andrija Mandić is a Montenegrin politician who has served as president of the Parliament of Montenegro since 30 October 2023 and is an eight-term member of the Parliament. He is the president of the right-wing New Serb Democracy. Mandic was the head of the Democratic Front parliamentary club in the parliament until 2020.

Political career

Mandić fought in the Yugoslav Army's 5th Motorized Brigade during the Kosovo War. From 1999 to 2000, he was the deputy minister of economy of FR Yugoslavia.
During the Montenegrin independence referendum, Mandić called for minorities to be banned from voting. After the referendum ended in favor of independence, he initially refused to accept the event and declared that Albanians should never be allowed to vote.
In 2008, Mandić became the first president of the Serb List transformed into New Serb Democracy. In the 2009 parliamentary election, NOVA ran independently and won 9,2% of the votes as well as eight seats. In the next parliamentary election held in 2012, the party ran within the Democratic Front coalition.
During the 2019–2020 clerical protests in Montenegro, Mandić and all other MPs were arrested without their MP immunity being revoked. He has been declared as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Front coalition for the 2023 Montenegrin presidential election. He ranked third with 19.32% of the vote. After the 2023 parliamentary election, Mandić was elected the Speaker of the parliament.

Trial over alleged coup

On 15 February 2017, Mandić was stripped of his parliamentary immunity in connection with an ongoing criminal prosecution against him. On 8 June, the High Court in Podgorica confirmed the indictment of Mandić, along with thirteen other persons, including two Russian nationals and Milan Knežević, on charges that included "preparing a conspiracy against the constitutional order and the security of Montenegro" and an "attempted terrorist act". In February 2021, the Montenegrin appellate court overturned the first-instance verdict against Mandić and the other defendants and ordered a retrial. In July 2024, the High Court in Podgorica acquitted Mandić along with all other persons charged with organizing and preparing the alleged 2016 coup d'état.

Persona non grata declaration

On 25 July 2024, Mandić, along with deputy prime minister Aleksa Bečić and MP Milan Knežević were declared persona non grata by Croatia following the passage of a resolution in the Parliament of Montenegro recognising a genocide in the Jasenovac concentration camp committed by the pro-Axis Independent State of Croatia during World War II.