Tomislav Nikolić, Serbian politician, 4th President of Serbia
Tomislav Nikolić (Serbian Cyrillic: Томислав Николић, pronounced [tǒmislaʋ nǐkolit͡ɕ]; born 15 February 1952) is a retired Serbian politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2012 to 2017.
Born in village Bajčetina in Kragujevac, Nikolić was a long-time member and MP of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS). He served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia from 1998 to 1999 and Deputy Prime Minister of FR Yugoslavia in the coalition government from 1999 to 2000. Nikolić was the Radical Party's deputy leader from 2003, and he briefly served as the President of the National Assembly of Serbia in 2007. In 2008, he resigned following a disagreement with party leader Vojislav Šešelj regarding Serbia's relations with the European Union, as Nikolić became in favour of Serbia's accession to the EU, a move that was staunchly opposed by Šešelj and his faction. Nikolić formed the Serbian Progressive Party, which several SRS members joined.
Nikolić ran for President of Yugoslavia in the 2000 elections and placed third. He also ran four times for President of Serbia (in 2003, 2004, 2008, and 2012 elections). In 2003, he garnered the most votes, but the election was cancelled due to low turnout, while in 2004 and 2008 he was placed second behind Boris Tadić. In 2012, he won the run-off against Tadić to become President of Serbia.