His father was a Croatian Serb from the village of Bojna, near Glina, in the region of Banija.

[1] Mrkonjić graduated from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Civil Engineering in 1968.

[3] He was the head of the Reconstruction Agency after NATO bombing of FR Yugoslavia in 1999.

[3] He ran for president in the 2008 election under slogans "Achievements speak for themselves" (Serbian: Дела говоре, Dela govore) and "Our Comrade!"

On 8 May 2007, Mrkonjić became vice-president of the National Assembly of Serbia, and on 7 July 2008 he became Minister for Infrastructure in the Serbian government.