September gathering 2025

Crown Prince Alexander, the heir to the throne, was born on Yugoslav territory as the British Government under the orders of Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill declared suite 212 in Claridge’s Hotel Yugoslav territory. His Holiness Patriarch Gavrilo of Serbia baptized the new born Crown Prince in Westminster Abbey with Godparents King George VI and HM Queen Elizabeth IIHRH Crown Prince Alexander was educated at Trinity School (New York City, United States), Marie-José (Switzerland), Le Rosey (Switzerland), Culver Military Academy (Indiana, United States), Gordonstoun School (Scotland) and Millfield (England). He subsequently went to the British Royal Military Academy and in 1966 was commissioned an officer in the British Army. Crown Prince Alexander served in the 16th/5th The Queen’s Royal Lancers rising to the rank of captain. His tours of duty included West Germany, Italy, Middle East and Northern Ireland. After leaving the army in 1972, Crown Prince Alexander II, who speaks several languages, pursued a career in international business. In 1991 Crown Prince Alexander accompanied by Their Royal Highnesses Crown Princess Katherine, Prince Peter, Hereditary Prince Philip and Prince Alexander travelled to Belgrade where they were very enthusiastically received by hundreds of thousands of people who see the Crown Prince as the embodiment of all that is best for democracy and Constitutional Parliamentary Monarchy. Before the 5 October 2000 revolution in Serbia, the Crown Prince visited Serbia in 1992, 1995 and 2000. The Crown Prince travelled to Montenegro and Kosovo in 1999 and Bosnia and Montenegro in 2000. The Crown Prince and his family have been living in The Royal Palace in Belgrade since 17 July 2001.

H.E. Andreas von Beckerath, born 16 January 1971 in Sollentuna, near Stockholm, has served as Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia since August 2025. He brings to this role more than two decades of distinguished diplomatic service with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Sweden and the European External Action Service, having held postings in key European capitals and within major multilateral institutions. A graduate of Uppsala University, he also pursued academic studies at the Saint Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance and the University of Dortmund. Prior to joining the diplomatic service, he headed the Moscow office of EF Education, gaining valuable experience in international business and intercultural communication. His career at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs includes senior assignments such as Political Adviser at the Embassy in Berlin, Second Secretary at the Embassies in Moscow and Bucharest, member of Sweden’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, and Deputy Head of Mission in London. From 2013 to 2016, he served as Sweden’s Ambassador to Ukraine during a pivotal period for that country’s relations with the European Union. Upon returning to Stockholm, he led the Department for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and in 2023 was appointed Sweden’s Ambassador to Poland. He is fluent in English, German, and Russian, and has working knowledge of French and Dutch. He is married to sociologist Anna Rinder von Beckerath.

Vladislav Cvetkovic is Director of Advisory Services in “PricewaterhouseCoopers” in Belgrade since 2013. He served as the Director of Privatization Agency from 2009 to 2013, managing all activities on the Serbian privatization agenda, including the improvement of privatization-related legislation. From 2001 to 2007 he was engaged in the National Bank of Serbia and the Agency for Deposit Insurance, as Advisor to the Governor and the leading advisor for privatization of banks. During this period, he led a number of projects related to banking sector reform and was directly engaged in formulating and successful implementation of the strategy and privatization of significant financial institutions in the country, also leading on several of the largest privatization projects in Serbia so far. From 2004 to 2005 he was a Council member in the National Bank of Serbia, and the Managing Board President in Komercijalna banka AD Beograd from 2006 to 2009. His professional career started in financial consulting in “Deloitte”, Belgrade, in 1994-2000, as well as in academia, as he was a lecturer at the Faculty of Economy in Belgrade, at the Business Finance and Accounting department.

Violeta started building expertise in local economic and rural development and standardization, upon graduation in 1998, as an expert and team leader in USAID programs in Serbia and the region, through the design and implementation of complex development projects worth over 10 million dollars. As the first employee of NALED, and its Executive Director since July 2007, she was instrumental in growing an independent membership organization, which later grew into the largest public-private association focusing on building a favorable business environment in Serbia. She is a graduate philologist and gained further education in the field of economics and project management in specialized training and study programs in the United States and Europe. She is engaged as a motivational speaker and moderator at professional conferences around the topic of women's entrepreneurship and leadership in the country and abroad. She has gained international experience as a consultant in the field of certification and intellectual property protection. She is a member of the Regional Council as the umbrella body of the Network for a Favorable Business Environment, which brings together state institutions and sector organizations from Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro to institutionalize mechanisms for cooperation and strengthening the competitiveness of the region. She actively contributes to the preservation of traditional heritage of Serbia and employment programs for women through the role of the founder and president of Ethno Network.