Sixth prime minister of North Macedonia
Nikola Gruevski
(
Macedonian
:
Никола Груевски
, pronounced
['nik?la
'?ru?fski]
ⓘ
; born 31 August 1970) is a former
Macedonian
politician who served as
Prime Minister of Macedonia
from 2006 until his resignation, which was caused by the
2016 Macedonian protests
, and led the
VMRO-DPMNE
party from 2004 to 2017.
Under the
Pr?ino Agreement
mediated by the
European Union
, Gruevski agreed to resign and left his post on 18 January 2016.
[1]
In May 2018 he was sentenced to two years in prison on corruption charges.
[2]
In November 2018 he was ordered to serve his sentence but failed to check-in with authorities and instead fled
[3]
to Hungary, where he sought and was granted
political asylum
.
[4]
He has been accused of promoting the controversial
identity politics
called
antiquization
. Under his leadership the country which had
pro-European
and
pro-NATO
policy, has changed sides to
pro-Russian
,
pro-Serbian
and
anti-Western
one.
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
He has opposed treaties with
Bulgaria in 2017
and the
Prespa agreement
signed with Greece in 2018.
In April 2022, he was added to the
US Treasury
's
Specially Designated Nationals List
of individuals facing Balkans-related sanctions and the
US Department of State
's corruption related sanctions.
[9]
[10]
Also in April, he was sentenced in Skopje to 7 years in prison on charges of money laundering and illegal acquisition and concealment of state property.
[11]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Born in
Skopje
in 1970, Gruevski was brought up in a family that was neither privileged nor poor. His father worked in furniture and design and his mother was a nurse. After his parents' divorce, he was raised by his mother. At the age of four, however, she went to work in
Libya
, like thousands of other Yugoslav citizens, and took him with her.
[12]
After their return, he completed primary and secondary education in
Skopje
. Having graduated from the Faculty of Economics at the
St. Clement of Ohrid University in Bitola
in 1994 (where he dabbled in amateur theatre and boxing) he entered the nascent finance sector, and was the first person to trade on Skopje's stock exchange.
[12]
During 1995 he worked as director of department in
Multigroup
owned Balkanbank, and became its exhibitioner till 1998. In 1996 he also acquired qualifications for the international capital market from a London Securities Institute.
[13]
He founded the Brokerage Association of Macedonia in 1998 and made the first transaction on the
Macedonian Stock Exchange
.
[14]
On 12 December 2006, he obtained a master's degree from the Faculty of Economics at the
Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje
.
[15]
He divorced his first wife and was married again in May 2007 to Borkica Gruevska with whom he has two daughters: Anastasija and Sofija.
[16]
[17]
Gruevski's paternal grandparents came from the
Ottoman Macedonia
village of
Kru?oradi
, where his grandfather Nikolaos Grouios (Nikola Gruev) (1911?1940) was born. Until the official Greek annexation after the
Second Balkan War
in 1913, it was under the jurisdiction of the
Bulgarian Exarchate
.
[18]
The Greek administration later practised an assimilative anti-Bulgarian campaign, changing the names of local villagers to the corresponding Greek names.
[19]
[20]
[21]
The village itself was renamed by the Greek authorities to
Achlada
in 1926.
[22]
[23]
Gruevski's grandfather fought in the
Greco-Italian War
, where he lost his life.
[12]
His name is mentioned on the
war memorial
in Achlada among the names of the locals who were killed during
World War II
. Years later, during the
Greek Civil War
, Gruevski's grandmother and father fled north to what was then
Yugoslav Macedonia
,
[12]
where they changed their family name to Gruevski in order to gain citizenship through assimilation, as was the Yugoslav policy at the time.
[24]
His mother Nade?da is from
?tip
. She is a sister of the first Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Macedonia -
Jordan Mijalkov
. During the administration of Nikola Gruevski, his first cousin,
Sa?o Mijalkov
was the director of the
Administration for Security and Counterintelligence
of the Republic of Macedonia.
Moreover, Gruevski also released a book in 2018 called "Experiences for the Future: Economic Effects of Different Types of International Capital Flows, With Particular Reference to the Republic of Macedonia"
[25]
Political career
[
edit
]
Minister of Finance (1999?2002)
[
edit
]
The government under
Ljub?o Georgievski
sold the
Macedonian Telecom
to Hungarian
Matav
and the
OKTA
oil refinery to
Hellenic Petroleum
. Gruevski also implemented financial reforms, including the reform of the payment system and the
value added tax
of 18%, requiring fiscal receipts for all Macedonian businesses, which was a program designed to fight
tax evasion
.
Party leader (2003?2017)
[
edit
]
Gruevski is the leader of the nationalist ruling party
VMRO-DPMNE
. After VMRO-DPMNE was defeated in the
2002 parliamentary election
, there was a period of infighting within the party. Gruevski emerged as the pro-EU leader, and he was elected as leader of the party after
Ljub?o Georgievski
left the position. Ljub?o Georgievski after he left
VMRO-DPMNE
he set up his own party (
VMRO-People's Party
), but
VMRO-DPMNE
retained most of the party's supporters.
Prime Minister (2006?2016)
[
edit
]
The VMRO-DPMNE won the
July 2006 parliamentary election
, and on 25 August 2006 he constituted the new government. His government had many new faces, mostly in their 30s, in key ministries and other positions. In the election Gruevski earned the distinction of becoming the first elected European head of government born in the 1970s.
[26]
[27]
In June 2007, Gruevski attended a meeting in
Tirana
, Albania, along with
President of the United States
George W. Bush
,
Prime Minister of Albania
Sali Berisha
, and
Prime Minister of Croatia
Ivo Sanader
.
[28]
The coalition led by his party, VMRO-DPMNE, won the
1 June 2008 parliamentary election
, their second electoral victory in a row, winning more than half of the seats in the parliament.
[29]
The polling was marred by a number of violent incidents and allegations of fraud in some ethnic Albanian dominated municipalities. Gruevski created a government with the ethnic Albanian political party
Democratic Union for Integration
.
[30]
The coalition led by his party, VMRO-DPMNE, won the
5 June 2011 parliamentary election
, their third electoral victory in a row, winning 56 out of the 123 seats in the parliament. Objections of misuse of state resources, including the blackmail of over one hundred thousand public servants to act as agitators were neglected, and the elections were declared valid. Gruevski formed the new government, again in coalition with the Democratic Union for Integration.
On 6 January 2012, Gruevski opened the
triumphal arch
"
Porta Macedonia
" in
Skopje
as a monument to 20th anniversary of Macedonian independence, and admitted that he personally has been the instigator of the
Skopje 2014
project.
[31]
[32]
On 27 April 2014, VMRO-DPMNE won the
parliamentary election
, providing Gruevski another term as prime minister.
In 2014, Gruevski began to rush plans through Parliament to create a tax-free autonomous trade zone that falls outside the purview of both domestic and international regulators. The move raised alarm among Parliament members.
[33]
The European Union's Venice Commission commented that "If all laws (other than criminal laws) are to be enacted and enforced by a managing body rather than the constitutionally recognised lawmaker and executive, this zone becomes a sort of a 'State within a State' separate from the existing constitutional structure" and could become "a haven for 'dirty money.'"
[34]
In 2015 the former prime minister and founder of the
VMRO-DPMNE
,
Ljub?o Georgievski
accused Gruevski's government it had a goal to
serbianise
the country, finally joining it to Serbia.
[35]
Wiretapping scandal and resignation
[
edit
]
In May 2015, protests occurred in
Skopje
against Gruevski and his government. The demonstrations began following charges being brought against
Zoran Zaev
, the opposition leader, who responded by alleging that Gruevski had had 20,000 Macedonian officials and other figures wiretapped, and had covered up the murder of a young man by a police officer in 2011. A
major protest
occurred on 5 May, with violent clashes between activists and police, causing injuries on both sides. In the days following, the opposition claimed that more anti-government actions would occur, which they did later that month. Several ministers, including the interior minister, resigned. Gruevski initially refused to step down, saying on 16 May that "if I back down it would be a cowardly move ... I’ll face down the attacks." However, on 15 January 2016,
Emil Dimitriev
was nominated as prime minister and he assumed office on 18 January, following the arranged pre-electoral resignation of Gruevski from the position, as part of the
Przino Agreement
.
Post-premiership (since 2017)
[
edit
]
In July 2017, a Macedonian court ordered the seizure of the passports of Gruevski and four other officials of his party, including former interior minister
Gordana Jankuloska
and former transportation minister
Mile Janakieski
, in connection with the wiretapping case.
[36]
In December 2017, Gruevski resigned as leader of the VMRO-DPMNE,
[37]
following the party's major defeat by the Social Democratic Union in
local elections
.
[38]
Trial
[
edit
]
In January 2017 the Macedonian Special Prosecutor's Office launched the 'Tank' investigation in which two individuals were accused of using their official position and authority in the period from February to October 2012 to complete an illegal public procurement of an armoured
Mercedes-Benz
car worth €600,000 and "fulfil the wishes" of Gruevski who was prime minister at the time.
[39]
On 23 May 2018, Gruevski was sentenced to two years in prison for unlawfully influencing government officials in the purchase of the luxury bulletproof car.
[40]
[41]
[42]
[2]
On 9 November 2018, the Skopje Criminal Court rejected Gruevski's appeals for a postponement of his prison sentence and on 10 November he did not appear for the start of his two-year sentence. He had been last seen in Macedonia on 8 November at a hotel in Skopje.
[43]
The Macedonian authorities issued an arrest warrant against the fugitive. VMRO-DPMNE's leader,
Hristijan Mickoski
defended Gruevski and described the arrest warrant and police search against him as "political persecution" and a "
witch-hunt
", adding that VMRO-DPMNE was "under police siege".
[3]
Fugitive
[
edit
]
On 13 November, Gruevski announced through his
Facebook
account that he had fled to Hungary, where he applied for political asylum.
[44]
Gruevski was seen as having particularly close relations with the right-wing
national conservative
Fidesz
's head, and Prime Minister of Hungary,
Viktor Orban
, who opposed the
Prespa agreement
between Greece and Macedonia and supported VMRO-DPMNE's hardline position against it.
[45]
Orban has reportedly described Gruevski's escape as "an interesting story, exciting, like all crime stories".
[43]
Despite his passport having been confiscated, Gruevski successfully escaped and concerns arose that he probably used a Bulgarian one.
[46]
However, according to Bulgarian authorities, Gruevski has never applied for Bulgarian citizenship.
[47]
It was later confirmed by Albanian police that, with the aid of the
Hungarian government
which escorted him using Hungarian diplomatic vehicles, Gruevski had passed through Albania,
Montenegro
and
Serbia
before arriving in Hungary.
[48]
[49]
[50]
Interpol
alerted that Gruevski is wanted under an
international arrest warrant
and the Macedonian government filed a formal
extradition
request.
[48]
Hungary's opposition parties are calling on the Hungarian government to arrest and quickly extradite the fugitive former prime minister back to Macedonia.
[51]
On 20 November 2018, Gruevski was granted political asylum by the Hungarian authorities.
[4]
Gruevski has condemned the Prespa agreement and stated that Prime Minister Zoran Zaev "scammed" and "tricked" the Macedonian people over the name change of the country and that Greek politicians imposed an unfavourable deal upon Macedonia that outlines exclusive claims over "
antique history
" by Greece.
[52]
On 27 June 2019, Gruevski appeared
handcuffed
in a court in Budapest on a hearing closed for the public for his extradition requested by North Macedonia.
[53]
Later that day the court in Budapest announced that his extradition was rejected. According to judge Eva Varhegyi the conditions needed for his extradition were not fulfilled.
[54]
On 21 July 2020, Gruevski's position as an
honorary president
of
VMRO-DPNME
was taken away, along with other changes that were made to
democratize
the party.
[55]
[56]
Furthermore, in October 2020, Gruevski was named in a new money laundering probe launched by the authorities in
North Macedonia
.
[57]
Tobias Zech lobbying scandal
[
edit
]
On 19 March 2021, German politician
Tobias Zech
resigned from the
Bundestag
due to allegations that he received a large sum of money to campaign for former Macedonian PM Nikola Gruevski.
[58]
[59]
[60]
After Gruevski escaped to Hungary, Zech continued business relations with
North Macedonia
through
cannabis
-related company PharmCann Deutschland AG in partnership with Zlatko Keskovski, a former
counter-intelligence
officer of North Macedonia.
[61]
Awards and recognition
[
edit
]
Recognitions
[
edit
]
Awards
[
edit
]
- Vienna Economic Forum award ? for contribution to national and regional economic development (2011)
[64]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Macedonia Premier to Step Down Under Western-brokered Deal"
.
VOA
. 14 January 2016
. Retrieved
15 June
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"Gruevski sentenced to 2 years in prison in 'Tank' case"
. BalkanEU.com. 23 May 2018. Archived from
the original
on 22 November 2018
. Retrieved
23 May
2018
.
- ^
a
b
"Macedonia Police Intensify Hunt for Ex-PM Gruevski"
.
balkaninsight.com
. 13 November 2018
. Retrieved
13 November
2018
.
- ^
a
b
"Macedonia's Gruevski Gets Hungary Asylum, Alleges Murder Plot"
.
Balkaninsight
. 20 November 2018
. Retrieved
20 November
2018
.
- ^
Jasmin Mujanovic, Hunger and Fury: The Crisis of Democracy in the Balkans, Oxford University Press, 2018,
ISBN
0190877391
, pp. 115; 162.
- ^
Sarantis Michalopoulos, Tensions grow before biggest secret is revealed: FYROM's new name,
EURACTIV Jan 18, 2018.
- ^
Vassilis Petsinis, From pro-American to pro-Russian? Nikola Gruevski as a political chameleon.
22 May 2015. openDemocracy
Archived
21 November 2018 at the
Wayback Machine
.
- ^
Aubrey Belford et al., Leaked Documents Show Russian, Serbian Attempts to Meddle in Macedonia.
04 June 2017, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.
- ^
"Balkans-related Designations and Designations Removals"
.
U.S. Department of the Treasury
. Retrieved
11 April
2022
.
- ^
"Public Designation of Former Officials of the Republic of North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina Due to Involvement in Significant Corruption"
.
state.gov
.
- ^
Йоана Кръстева, Осъдиха бившия македонски премиер Никола Груевски на 7 години затвор.
21 април 2022 Дир.бг.
- ^
a
b
c
d
A profile of Gruevski
, The Economist, 12 August 2011
- ^
iBi Center.
"NATO PA ? PLENARY ? Nikola Gruevski"
. Nato-pa.int. Archived from
the original
on 22 July 2011
. Retrieved
14 August
2010
.
- ^
"President of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia | Влада На Република Македони?а"
. Vlada.mk
. Retrieved
14 August
2010
.
- ^
"уким"
. Ukim.edu.mk. 17 December 2008
. Retrieved
14 August
2010
.
- ^
"Vest"
. Archived from
the original
on 19 August 2009
. Retrieved
14 May
2017
.
- ^
"Daily.mk - Вести"
.
Daily.MK - Вести
. Retrieved
14 May
2017
.
- ^
"PDF pager"
.
anemi.lib.uoc.gr
. Retrieved
14 May
2017
.
- ^
Collective Memory, National Identity, and Ethnic Conflict: Greece, Bulgaria, and the Macedonian Question, Author Victor Roudometof, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002,
ISBN
0275976483
, pp. 62-63.
- ^
Ivo Banac,
"The Macedoine"
in "The National Question in Yugoslavia. Origins, History, Politics", pp. 307-328, Cornell University Press, 1984, retrieved on 8 September 2007.
Macedonia was partitioned by the Treaty of Bucharest (1913), whereby over half of the land went to Greece (Aegean Macedonia) and most of the remainder to Serbia (Vardar Macedonia), leaving slightly more than one-tenth to Bulgaria (Pirin Macedonia)...The immediate effect of the partition was an anti-Bulgar campaign in areas under Serbian and Greek rule. The Serbians expelled Exarchist churchmen and teachers and closed Bulgar schools and churches (affecting the standing of as many as 641 schools and 761 churches). Thousands of Macedonians left for Bulgaria, joining a still larger stream from devastated Aegean Macedonia, where the Greeks burned Kukush, the center of Bulgar politics and culture, as well as much of Serres and Drama. Bulgarian (including the Macedonian dialects) was prohibited, and its surreptitious use, whenever detected, was ridiculed or punished.
- ^
For a detailed report on the atrocities of Greek Boulgarophagoi (Bulgarianeaters) in Aegean Macedonia, see
Report of the International Commission on the Balkan Wars
.
.
- ^
"Πανδ?κτη?: Krousorati -- Achlada"
.
pandektis.ekt.gr
. Retrieved
14 May
2017
.
- ^
"Dnevnik"
. Dnevnik. 22 February 1999. Archived from
the original
on 4 October 2010
. Retrieved
14 August
2010
.
- ^
"Yugoslavias National Minorities Under Communism"
(PDF)
.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 19 October 2016
. Retrieved
14 May
2017
.
- ^
Gruevski, Nikola (2019).
Experiences for the Future
.
ISBN
9786082014289
.
- ^
Who's your daddy?
(accessed 24 December 2010)
- ^
Deputy Prime Minister > Biography
Archived
22 July 2011 at the
Wayback Machine
(accessed 24 December 2010)
- ^
"Remarks at a Luncheon Hosted by Prime Minister Sali Berisha of Albania in Tirana"
.
The American Presidency Project
. 10 June 2007
. Retrieved
15 June
2022
.
- ^
"Macedonia"
.
Parties and Elections in Europe
. Archived from
the original
on 4 December 2008
. Retrieved
14 May
2017
.
- ^
"PM claims win in Macedonian poll"
, BBC News, Link accessed 01/06/08
- ^
"Macedonia, Kazakhstan: Triumphal Arches to Celebrate 20 Years of Independence · Global Voices"
. 28 March 2012
. Retrieved
14 May
2017
.
- ^
"PM Gruevski: Yes, Skopje 2014 was my Idea"
. MINA. 7 January 2012. Archived from
the original
on 11 January 2012
. Retrieved
30 July
2012
.
- ^
"A Mess in North Macedonia: The Secret Plan to Create a 'Haven for Dirty Money' · OCCRP"
. 4 December 2019
. Retrieved
5 December
2019
.
- ^
"EU Slows Macedonia Plan for Tax Haven' · BalkanInsight"
. 1 December 2014
. Retrieved
5 December
2019
.
- ^
Радио Слободна Европа, ?ануари 23, 2015, Мари?а Митевска, Србизаци?а на Македони?а?
- ^
"Macedonian Court Orders Seizure of Conservative Leaders' Passports in Wiretapping Case"
. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 4 July 2017.
- ^
Former Macedonian rightist PM resigns party leadership
, Reuters (11 December 2017).
- ^
Macedonia's Gruevski Says He Will 'Soon' Step Down As Leader Of VMRO-DPMNE
, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (2 December 2017).
- ^
"
SPO launches new "Tank" case for Gruevski’s 600,000 euro "Mercedes"
".
Meta.mk
. 24 January 2017.
- ^
"
Macedonian court sentences former PM Gruevski to 2 years
".
The Washington Post
. 23 May 2018.
- ^
"
Macedonian court sentences former PM Gruevski to 2 years
".
ABC News
. 23 May 2018.
- ^
"Macedonian Court Sentences Former PM Gruevski to 2 Years"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
23 May
2018
.
- ^
a
b
"Letter from Skopje".
Private Eye
. London: Pressdram Ltd. 22 December 2018.
- ^
"Fugitive Macedonian Ex-PM 'Seeking Asylum in Hungary'
"
.
Balkan Insight
. 13 November 2018
. Retrieved
13 November
2018
.
- ^
Aleksandar Ivkovi?, Orban opposes Greece-Macedonia agreement, supports VMRO-DPMNE protests.
European Western Balkans, 05.06.2018.
- ^
VIP-eljarast kap Gruevszki a kormanytol.
Nepszava Cimlap, 2018.11.14.
- ^
Bulgarian Ministry of Justice: Nikola Gruevski has not become a Bulgarian citizen.
FOCUS News Agency, 15 November 2018
.
- ^
a
b
"Macedonia's Gruevski Fled via Albania and Montenegro, Police Confirm"
.
Balkan Insight
. 15 November 2018
. Retrieved
16 November
2018
.
- ^
"Police: Gruevski fled to Hungary via Albania and Montenegro"
.
b92.net
. 15 November 2018
. Retrieved
16 November
2018
.
- ^
"Fugitive Macedonian ex-PM 'passed through' Montenegro"
.
toronto.citynews.ca
. 16 November 2018
. Retrieved
16 November
2018
.
- ^
"Hungary opposition wants Gruevski extradition"
.
wsfa.com
. 14 November 2018. Archived from
the original
on 14 November 2018
. Retrieved
15 November
2018
.
- ^
Rudic, Filip (18 February 2019).
"Gruevski Slates Greece-Macedonia Name Deal as 'Scam'
"
.
www.Balkaninsight.com
. Balkaninsight
. Retrieved
19 February
2019
.
- ^
"Груевски со лисици во судот во Будимпешта на рочиште за екстрадаци?а"
. Sakam Da Kazham. 27 June 2019
. Retrieved
27 June
2019
.
- ^
"Судот во Будимпешта го одби бара?ето за екстрадаци?а на Груевски"
. Sakam Da Kazham. 27 June 2019
. Retrieved
27 June
2019
.
- ^
"North Macedonia Opposition Party Strips Gruevski of Honorary Presidency"
.
Balkan Insight
. 22 July 2020
. Retrieved
28 July
2020
.
- ^
EWB (22 July 2020).
"Gruevski no longer honorary president of VMRO-DPMNE"
.
European Western Balkans
. Retrieved
28 July
2020
.
- ^
"North Macedonia's Ex-PM Named in New Money Laundering Probe"
.
Balkan Insight
. 19 October 2020
. Retrieved
28 October
2020
.
- ^
WELT (19 March 2021).
"Tobias Zech: CSU-Abgeordneter legt Bundestagsmandat und Parteiamter nieder"
.
DIE WELT
. Retrieved
22 March
2021
.
- ^
"German conservative MP quits over conflict of interest allegations"
.
POLITICO
. 19 March 2021
. Retrieved
22 March
2021
.
- ^
bulgarianbusinessinsideroffici (22 March 2021).
"Conservative German MP Who lobbied For North Macedonia's Fugitive ex-PM Nikola Gruevski Resigns"
.
Bulgaria Business Insider
. Retrieved
22 March
2021
.
- ^
"DER SPIEGEL | Online-Nachrichten"
.
www.spiegel.de
. Retrieved
22 March
2021
.
- ^
"Gruevski receives highest award of Shtip, "St. Nicholas" - Meta.mk"
.
meta.mk
. Retrieved
14 May
2017
.
- ^
"† Бигорски манастир - Свети ?ован Крстител †"
.
† Бигорски манастир
. 15 December 2016.
- ^
"PM Gruevski recipient of Vienna Economic Forum award"
.
Влада на Република Македони?а
. 22 November 2011
. Retrieved
14 May
2017
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Gruevski, Nikola and
Vaknin, Sam
Macedonian Economy on a Crossroads
, Skopje, NIP Noval Literatura, 1998.
ISBN
9989-610-01-0
- Gruevski, Nikola,
The Way Out
- Mattioli, Fabio (2020).
Dark Finance: Illiquidity and Authoritarianism at the Margins of Europe
. Stanford University Press.
ISBN
978-1-5036-1294-5
.
External links
[
edit
]