Zoran Zaev
| Zoran Zaev Зоран Заев | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
|
Assumed office 2 June 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Branko Crvenkovski |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
8 October 1974 Strumica, Yugoslavia (now Macedonia) |
| Political party | Social Democratic Union |
| Alma mater | University of Skopje |
Zoran Zaev (Macedonian: Зоран Заев; born 8 October 1974 in Strumica) is the political leader of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) and the leader of opposition in the Republic of Macedonia.[1] He is also mayor of the Strumica Municipality, re-elected in the 2013 local elections.[2] He was elected as president of SDSM by receiving the majority of votes in the 14th Macedonian Social Democratic Congress, held on 2 June 2013.[3] In his political career he has been a member of the Macedonian Assembly from 2003 to 2005, in 2005 he was first elected as mayor of Strumica, and in 2008 he became the vice president of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia.[4]
Zoran Zaev is a member of the SDSM since 1996. For two mandates he has been elected as the president of the regional administration of the party in the Strumica region.[5]
On 1 September 2008 he was placed in the position of vice president of the party.[6] In the 2009 local elections Zaev was elected for his second mandate as mayor of Strumica. In 2013, after Branko Crvenkovski stepped down from the leader's position in SDSM, Zaev was elected as the party's president.
Coup charges
On 31 January 2015, Zaev was charged with "conspiring with a foreign intelligence service to topple the government",[7] and a foreign diplomat was also allegedly involved in the alleged attempted coup d'état.[8][9]
In February 2015, Zaev accused Macedonian prime minister Nikola Gruevski of wiretapping and illegally spying on at least 20,000 people. The government, on the other hand, accused Zaev of blackmailing Gruevski and detained five people in connection with that case.[10]
Zoran Zaev as main opposition leader took part in a meeting on June 2, 2015 with Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn, in order to overcome a deep political crisis since January 2015. The meeting resulted in the Pržino Agreement. The political leaders agreed to hold early elections on June 5, 2016.
In early April 2016 he announced that his party would boycott the next parliamentary election due to a lack of government reforms which he believes are necessary.[11]
References
- ↑ BrifMK - Zoran Zaev: The new Leader of Opposition (Macedonian) 2 June 2013
- ↑ State Election Committee of Macedonia
- ↑ Official website of the Social Democratic Union - Archive: Zoran Zaev is the new President of SDSM (Macedonian)
- ↑ President Zoran Zaev's page on the website of the SDSM (Macedonian)
- ↑ Official website of SDSM - Strumica www.sdsmstrumica.org
- ↑ Vecer - Zoran Zaev, Vice President www.vecer.com.mk (Macedonian) 1 September 2008
- ↑ Kole Casule (February 6, 2015). "U.S. warns Macedonia not to muzzle media in 'coup' scandal". Reuters. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
- ↑ Documents show British Ambassador directly involved in Macedonia coup scandal, 9 April 2015. Macedoniaonline.eu, Retrieved 18 May 2015
- ↑ MacDowall, Andrew (28 February 2015). "Fears for Macedonia's fragile democracy amid 'coup' and wiretap claims". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
- ↑ RFE/RL's Balkan Service (9 February 2015) Macedonian Opposition Leader Accuses Government Of Wiretapping. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty–www.rferl.org. (In English) Retrieved 18 May 2015.
- ↑ Macedonia opposition says will boycott election. Business Insider. Published 7 April 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2016.