Marko Carević

Marko "Bato" Carević (Serbian Cyrillic: Марко "Бато" Царевић, born 1966) is a Montenegrin politician, businessman and a football executive. He has been serving as the Mayor of Budva since 9 January 2019, with his local government under dispute since 17 June 2020.[1][2] He is also the chairman of OFK Grbalj, which plays in the Montenegrin First League.[3]

Marko Carević
Марко Царевић
Mayor of Budva
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 January 2019
(Disputed from June to September 2020)
Preceded byDragan Krapović
Personal details
Born (1966-04-05) 5 April 1966
Kotor, SFR Yugoslavia
(now Montenegro)
NationalityMontenegrin
Political partyNew Serb Democracy
Children3
OccupationBusinessman, politician
Nickname(s)"Bato"

Biography

Early life

He was born on 5 April 1966 in Kotor to a Serb family. He finished middle and high school in Kotor, and later graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Business career

For over 30 years, he has been involved in business and gained a fortune in the construction business.[3] Until recently, he was the director of the "Carinvest" construction company.[3] Carević is a millionaire.[4] He is also the chairman of OFK Grbalj, which finished 6th in the 2018–2019 Montenegrin First League season.[3]

Carević is the richest politician in Montenegro.[5]

Political career

He is a member of the New Serb Democracy which is a part of the Democratic Front (DF).[6] Following the October 2016 local elections, the DF and the Democrats managed to form a local government in Budva, replacing the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) after 25 years in power, against which several corruption proceedings were conducted during the previous term. DF and the Democrats agreed to form a local coalition government, with would see head of the local Democrats Dragan Krapović and Carević serve as Mayor of Budva in a rotation deal for 2 years each. Carević has been serving as the Mayor of Budva since 9 January 2019 with his local government under dispute since 17 June 2020.[1][2] He refused his mayor salary and has been donating his salary money to the people in need.[7][8] Carević was part of 2019-2020 clerical protests in Montenegro, also one of organizers of many protest walks in his hometown of Budva, at the height of the political crisis and an open conflict between DPS-led government and the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro.

On 11 June 2020, members of the Budva local parliament from the Democratic Party of Socialists, the Montenegrin, and an independent, Stevan Džaković, elected from the 2016 Democratic Front electoral list, have voted to remove Carević from office, however he remained in office, as he claimed that the session was illegal and that he can only be removed from office at the elections, accusing Džaković of betraying the electoral will of voters, as well for political corruption.[9][10] On 17 June 2020, Special Anti-Terrorist Unit stormed the building of the Municipality of Budva to remove Carević from office. However, Carević resisted and the police arrested him, as well as the President of Assembly of Budva, Krsto Radović (from the Democrats), 4 other members of Democratic Front and the Democrats, as well Carević's brother and his son.[2] Carević was taken to the hospital after getting injured during the arrest, and has left the hospital with a cast on his foot.[11] Police have also blocked the entrance to the city.[12] Vladimir Bulatović (from the Montenegrin) was voted for the acting Mayor of Budva by the new parliamentary majority.[13] The next day, Carević and Radović returned to their offices and they said that the "coup" failed. The decision of the new parliamentary majority on the removal of Carević and Radović and the election of Bulatović and Kuč as acting officials was not recorded in the archives of the Budva parliament because there was no official seal, which Carević said was "in its place, with the elected representative of the people."[14]

On 23 June 2020 the new majority in the local parliament elected new Mayor from the DPS, as well representatives of the Budva local government, without the presence of opposition MPs and the media, who were denied access to the session by private security and local police forces, which was accompanied by arrests, police brutality and violence against removed local government officials, parliament deputies and its supporters, as well the return of the DPS to local government in Budva, few months priror the regular local elections. Later that day, Prime Minister Dusko Markovic (DPS) labeled Carević an "unauthorized person blocking institutions", announcing police intervention in Budva, saying "the situation will be resolved in 15 minutes". On 24 June, after police prevented Carević and the other removed opposition-led local authorities from entering the municipal building, and after the entire old local administration was arrested for resisting, there were major riots and clashes between Police Special Unit and protesters supporting Carević and his administration. The police responded violently towards the peaceful protesters, with several police crackdowns taking place, resulting in beatings and arrests, with numerous cases of police abuse of office, brutality and violence against protesting citizens and political activists were reported.[15]

After the convincing victory of his list at the local elections in Budva on 30 August 2020, Marko Carević remains the mayor of Budva, once again disempowering the disputed DPS-led local government in Budva.[16]

Personal life

He is married, and has two sons and a daughter. One of his sons is a footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for FC Barcelona B, Lazar Carević.[17] He has participated in many humanitarian activities, and financially supported young entrepreneurs.

References

  1. https://www.minmedia.me. "Predsjednik Opštine Marko Carević primio dužnost od dosadašnjeg predsjednika Dragana Krapovića". Radio Televizija Budva (in Serbian). Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  2. ИН4С (17 June 2020). "(ВИДЕО, ФОТО) Злочиначка тиранија у Будви: САЈ упао у Општину:..." ИН4С (in Serbian). Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  3. "Marko Carević | Opština Budva". budva.me. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  4. "Gradonačelnik milioner: Carević predao imovinski karton". Investitor (in Bosnian). Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  5. "Carević zvanično najbogatiji političar u Crnoj Gori". vijesti.me (in Serbian). Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  6. Đurić, Novica. "Milioner na čelu Budve". Politika Online. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  7. "PREDSEDNIK OPŠTINE BUDVA: Odrekao sam se plate". www.novosti.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  8. B.Pejović, Piše (3 March 2020). "Predsednik Budve Marko Carević nastavlja sa doniranjem svoje plate". Dnevni list Danas (in Serbian). Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  9. rtcg.me. "Nova većina smijenila Carevića i Radovića". RTCG – Radio Televizija Crne Gore – Nacionalni javni servis (in Montenegrin). Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  10. "VLAST U BUDVI NIJE PROMENJENA, NE RADI SE TO U HOTELSKOM RESTORANU! Marko Carević raskrinkao milogorce: OVAJ PROPALI POKUŠAJ JE ZNAK NEMOĆI DPS!". INFORMER (in Serbian). Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  11. "Carević iz risanske Bolnice izašao sa gipsom na lijevoj nozi". CdM. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  12. "BUDVA POD OPSADOM POLICIJE: Ulaz u grad blokiran sa svih strana, građani protestuju zbog hapšenja funkcionera VIDEO". kurir.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  13. "Bulatović i Kuč u pratnji policije ušli u Opštinu Budva". vijesti.me (in Serbian). Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  14. "CAREVIĆ I KRSTIĆ U SVOJIM KABINETIMA: Puč je propao, ostanimo mirni! A evo koju su SRAMOTU zatekli u Opštini Budva". kurir.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  15. Tokom haosa u Budvi: Policajci tukli preko mjere?, Vijesti
  16. CAREVIĆ PROGLASIO POBEDU: Budva slavi!, Novosti
  17. ИН4С (7 July 2020). "Царевић продужио уговор са Барселоном до 2023. године". ИН4С (in Serbian). Retrieved 7 July 2020.
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