Aleksandar Martinović (; born 15 June 1976) is a Serbian academic and politician who has served as minister of public administration and local self-government since 2022. He is a member of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and led its parliamentary caucus from 2016 to 2022.
Martinović was previously a member of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS) and served in its parliamentary group from 2007 to 2012.
Early life and career
Martinović was born in Slavonski Brod, in what was then the Socialist Republic of Croatia in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He graduated from the University of Novi Sad's law faculty in 1999 and later received a master's degree (2003) and a doctorate (2011) from the same institution. He has been employed by the faculty since 2001, working in the field of constitutional law. He lives in Ruma in southwestern Vojvodina.
Politician
Early years in the Serbian Radical Party (2004–08)
Local politics in Ruma
The Radical Party won twenty out of forty-three seats in Ruma in the 2004 Serbian local elections and afterward formed a coalition government with the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS). Martinović served on the municipal council (i.e., the executive branch of the municipal government) in the term that followed. He chaired the local SRS organization during this time.
In 2007, three SRS delegates in the local assembly left the party and allowed the Democratic Party (DS) to form a new administration. The SRS-led coalition refused to cede power, leading to a chaotic situation in which both sides claimed to be the municipality's legitimate government. This situation continued until March 2008, when the Serbian government appointed a provisional council that did not include the Radicals.
The 2008 local elections in Ruma continued the stalemate, with both the DS and the SRS winning eighteen seats. In June 2008, Martinović and local DSS leader Dragan Božić announced a new coalition that would have held a one-seat majority in the local assembly. The coalition never came to power; one Radical delegate mysteriously left the area, and the DSS later withdrew its support. The DS's attempts to form a new coalition with the DSS and the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) also failed, and the assembly was dissolved for a repeat election in November. By the time the vote took place, the Radical Party had split.
Parliamentarian
Martinović received the seventy-fifth position on the Radical Party's electoral list in the 2007 Serbian parliamentary election and was given a mandate when the list won eighty-one seats. (From 2000 to 2011, Serbian parliamentary mandates were awarded to sponsoring parties or coalitions rather than to individual candidates, and it was common practice for the mandates to be assigned out of numerical order. Martinović did not automatically receive a mandate by virtue of his list position.) While the Radicals won more seats than any other party, they fell well short of a majority and ultimately served in opposition. In his first assembly term, Martinović was a member of the committee for constitutional affairs, the legislative committee, and the committee for science and technological development.
He was promoted to the twenty-third position on the Radical Party's list for the 2008 parliamentary election and was again chosen for a mandate when the list won seventy-eight seats. While the overall results of the election were inconclusive, an alliance led by the DS ultimately formed a coalition government with the Socialists, and the Radicals remained in opposition. Martinović served on the committee for constitutional affairs, the legislative committee, and the administrative committee.
Radical Party member after the 2008 split (2008–12) The Radicals experienced a serious split in late 2008, with several members joining the more moderate Progressive Party under the leadership of Tomislav Nikolić and Aleksandar Vučić. Martinović initially remained with the Radicals and was given a more prominent role in the party.
Local and provincial politics
The Radical Party lost the repeat election in Ruma in November 2008, falling to only four seats against the backdrop of the party split. Martinović led the party's assembly group for the term that followed. He was re-elected at the head of the SRS list in the 2012 Serbian local elections, in which the party increased its representation to seven seats.
Martinović was also the Radical Party's candidate for Ruma in the 2012 Vojvodina provincial election. He finished third.