SEPTEMBER GATHERING 2023

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.

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.

Aleksandar Jakovljević joined Philip Morris in 2015, and within the company has previously held the positions of finance director for the market of Southeast Europe and financial director for the markets of Ukraine, the Caucasus and Moldova. Prior to joining PMI, he held financial and general managerial positions in various international companies.

Goran Vesic was born in 1969 in Kruševac, and grew up in Maribor, Slovenia, and Kraljevo. He completed his primary school and gymnasium education in Kraljevo, and graduated from the Faculty of Law in Belgrade. He was an intern at the Robert Schuman European Foundation in the European Commission and the European Parliament in 1999.From February to September 1997, he was a member of the Executive Committee of the Belgrade City Assembly, and from 1996 to 2000, he was a councilor in the Belgrade City Assembly. He served as a Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia from 2000 to 2003, and from 2001 to 2002, he was the President of the Administrative Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia. From 2001 to 2003, he was an advisor to the Federal Minister of Internal Affairs of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Defense and Security of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, and he served as an advisor to the Minister of Defense of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro from 2003 to 2004.He was a member of the Commission for the Division of Military Property between Serbia and Montenegro after the dissolution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the establishment of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro from 2003 to 2004.He served as a councilor in the Vračar Municipal Assembly from 2004 to 2008. He was the Secretary of the Temporary Body of the City of Belgrade appointed by the Government of the Republic of Serbia from November 2013 to April 2014, a member of the Management Board of the Chamber of Commerce of Belgrade from 2013 to 2014. He was elected as a councilor in the Belgrade City Assembly in the elections held in 2014, 2018, and 2022. From 2014 to 2018, he was the City Manager of the City of Belgrade, and from 2018 to 2022, he held the position of Deputy Mayor of the City of Belgrade. From 1994 to 1997, he was the Chief of the Cabinet of the President of the Democratic Party, Zoran Đinđić. He participated in election campaigns in Montenegro from 1997 to 2000, as well as in the election campaign in the Republic of Srpska in 1997. After 2004, he actively participated in election campaigns in Slovenia, Bulgaria, and North Macedonia.On his proposal, the City of Belgrade and the Belgrade City Library established the "Belgrade Victor" award for the best novel written in the Serbian language and the "Dušan Radović" award for the best work of children's literature. He is an honorary member of the Association of Writers of Serbia. He initiated the founding of the "Gnezdo" Foundation for Children and Youth of Belgrade and the Foundation for Young Talents of the City of Belgrade.He was the President of the Organizing Committee of the "Days of Freedom" event from 2018 to 2022, during which, at his initiative, joint celebrations of October 20, the day when Belgrade was liberated in World War II, and November 1, when Belgrade was liberated in World War I, began for the first time.He was the editor of the Serbian edition of the book "The Audacity of Hope" by former U.S. President Barack Obama in 2008. He is a regular columnist for the daily newspaper "Politika". He has published three books and one brochure. "The Book about Belgrade," published in 2019, was released in two editions and translated into English, Russian, and Chinese. "The Book about Belgrade 2" was published in 2022 and translated into English. He published the book "Varoš beogradska" in 2021, and "Guide to Political Communication with Voters" in the edition of the Foundation for the Serbian People and State in 2021. His "Book about Belgrade" in 2021 inspired the documentary TV series "Belgrade Stories," for which he was the screenwriter.He was the President of the Management Board of the Public Utility Company "City Greenery" from 1997 to 1999, the Management Board of the Public Utility Company "City Markets" from 2000 to 2002, and the Management Board of the Public Enterprise "Ada Ciganlija" from 2002 to 2006. He was a member of the Management Board of the brokerage and dealer company "AB Invest" from 1997 to 2000 and a member of the Supervisory Board of the Yugoslav River Shipping Company from 2001 to 2005. He served as the Executive Director of Wireless Media d.o.o. from 2004 to 2008 and was a member of the Board of Advisors of the company International Communication Partners from 2008 to 2014. He was awarded the Svetosavska Award in 2018 for his contribution to science and education in the Republic of Serbia. He was the Vice President of the Commission for the Memorial Center "Staro Sajmište" from 2014 to 2018 and one of the authors of the Law on the Memorial Center "Staro Sajmište." On his proposal, the Belgrade City Assembly established May 10 as the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Holocaust in Belgrade. He initiated cooperation between the Historical Archives of Belgrade and the World Holocaust Memorial Center "Yad Vashem" and the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.In 2018, he received the Charter "Joseph Žamboki Donates to the Citizens of Belgrade and Serbia," awarded by the Knesset, the Parliament of Israel, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel for an outstanding contribution to strengthening the interstate relations and cultural ties between the two countries. He was elected as a Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia in the elections held on April 3, 2022. He is a member of the Presidency and the Main Committee of the Serbian Progressive Party.