Branislav Jovanović (politician)

He served as general director of the company from 2000 to 2003, after having been selected for this role by its workers during the upheavals that took place after the fall of Slobodan Milošević's administration.

[1][2] Jovanović led the local organization of the Serbian Renewal Movement (Srpski pokret obnove, SPO) in Niš during the 1990s and was a prominent opponent of Milošević.

Jovanović was a leader of the protests in Niš and urged opposition supporters to remain peaceful, charging that the Milošević government was seeking a pretext for a crackdown.

[10] Jovanović described social and economic conditions in Niš as catastrophic during this time, saying, "Before the war, there were 40,000 unemployed and 30,000 on paid leave.

[12] The 2000 Yugoslavian general election was a watershed moment in Serbian political history, bringing about the fall of the Milošević administration and a victory for the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) alliance.

Jovanović again ran for a seat in the Chamber of Citizens and was defeated when the SPO failed to cross the electoral threshold in Niš.

[16][17] Zoran Živković resigned his city council seat in late 2000 to accept a cabinet position in the Yugoslavian government.

Serbia's electoral system was reformed in 2011, such that parliamentary mandates were awarded in numerical order to candidates on successful lists.

The URS withdrew from the coalition government in September 2013, and Jovanović resigned his seat in the same month to permit former cabinet minister Verica Kalanović to re-enter the assembly.

[27] The URS subsequently dissolved, and Jovanović became a founding member of a successor party called the People's Movement of Serbia, led by Miroslav Aleksić.