Honorific-prefix	His Excellency
Name	Boris TadićБорис Тадић
Office	President of Serbia
Primeminister	Vojislav KoštunicaMirko Cvetković
Term start	11 July 2004
Predecessor	Predrag Marković (Acting)Milan Milutinović
Office2	Minister of Defence of Serbia and Montenegro
Term start2	17 March 2003
Term end2	16 April 2004
Predecessor2	Velimir Radojević
Successor2	Prvoslav Davinić
Office3	Minister of Telecommunications of Yugoslavia
Term start3	4 November 2000
Term end3	17 March 2003
Birth date	January 15, 1958
Birth place	Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia
Nationality	Serbian
Ethnicity	Serbian
Spouse	Veselinka Zastavniković (1981–1997)Tatjana Tadić
Alma mater	University of Belgrade
Profession	Psychologist
Party	Democratic Party
Religion	Serbian Orthodox
Signature	Boris Tadic signature.gif
Website	www.predsednik.rs }}

Boris Tadić (, ; born 15 January 1958) is a Serbian politician, current President of the Republic of Serbia and leader of the Democratic Party. Tadić was elected to a five-year term on 27 June 2004, and was sworn into office on 11 July 2004. He was re-elected for a de facto second five-year term on 3 February 2008 and was sworn in on 15 February. Prior to Presidency, Tadić served as the last Minister of Telecommunications of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and as the first Minister of Defence of Serbia and Montenegro. He is a psychologist by profession.

Boris Tadić advocates full integration of Serbia into the European Union but he also believes Serbia can only join the EU if territorial integrity of Serbia with sovereignty over Kosovo is respected. He is seen as a pro-Western leader but who favours well-balanced relations with Russia, the United States, and the EU.

Early life

Boris Tadić was born in Sarajevo, the capital of the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a republic within the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. His father, Ljubomir, is a philosopher and a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. His mother, Nevenka, is a psychologist and cousin to Ustašes military commander Jure Francetić. But his maternal grandfather and six other relatives were killed by the Croatian Ustaše regime during World War II at the Jasenovac concentration camp.

The Tadić are descendants of the Serb clan of Old Herzegovina in Piva (pl. ''Pivljani'') and their family venerate Saint John (Serbian tradition Krsna slava of Jovandan).

His parents were often moving between various cities and had moved to Sarajevo from Paris, where they were pursuing their doctoral studies, only a few days prior to his birth. The Tadić family moved to Belgrade when Boris was three years old, and his father got a job at the newspaper ''Liberation''.

Tadić finished ''Pera Popović Aga'' (today ''Mika Petrović Alas'') elementary school and matriculated at First Belgrade High School in Dorćol, neighbourhood of Belgrade. During his teenage years he played water polo for VK Partizan but had to quit due to injuries. He graduated from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy with a degree in psychology, specifically social psychology in the department of clinical psychology. Tadić was arrested during his studies for "participating in the demonstrations demanding that arrested students be released from detention" and spent one month in penal labour prison in Padinska Skela. He worked as a journalist, military clinical psychologist and as a teacher of psychology at the First Belgrade Gymnasium.

Until 2003, Tadić also worked at the Faculty of Drama at the University of Belgrade as a lecturer of political advertising.

Political career

Tadić joined the Democratic Party, founded in 1990. The Democrats won seven seats in the National Assembly that year.

Boris Tadić was the founder of the Centre for modern skills in 1998. Centre for modern skills is the NGO dealing with political and civil education, and the development of the political culture and dialogue.

The Democratic party, was part of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia, which played a key role in the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević in 2000. He served two terms as the deputy leader of the Democratic Party before he was elected as the new leader in 2004 following the death of Zoran Đinđić.

Tadić served as Minister of Telecommunications in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 2000 and as Minister of Defence from 17 March 2003 until he started his presidential campaign. He served as an MP of the Democratic Party in the parliament and later on as vice-speaker. He served as the leader of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia coalition in the Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro in 2003 and as leader of the Democratic Party in the Parliament of Serbia in 2004. As an MP he was a member of the science and technology parliamentary committee.

The assassination of Zoran Đinđić in March 2003 led to a leadership convention of the Democratic Party in 2004, which was won by Tadić against Zoran Živković. He was reelected in regular leadership convention in 2006.

Presidency

President of Serbia within state union (2004–2008)

Tadić as the newly elected Democratic Party leader was chosen as the candidate for the presidential election. Tadić defeated Tomislav Nikolić of the nationalist Radical Party in the run-off of the 2004 presidential election with 53% of the vote. He was inaugurated on 11 July, of that year.

On 1 December 2004, Tadić’s presidential motorcade was involved in a traffic collision. Miroslav Cimpl, a Serb employee of the local American embassy, repeatedly crashed his vehicle into presidential motorcade although the President's car was not personally affected. Cimpl fled the scene but was later arrested after the Serb government complained to the embassy. A subsequent investigation concluded that Cimpl did not intend to harm Tadić but that he was driving under influence of alcohol. The public drew a connection between this incident and a similar occurrence in February 2003 when Dejan Milenković Bagzi attempted to kill then Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić by ramming his vehicle with a truck on the highway.

On 6 December 2004, Boris Tadić made an apology in Bosnia-Herzegovina to all those who suffered crimes committed in the name of the Serbian people.

As President, Tadić has pursued a pro-Western foreign policy. On 28 September 2005 he met with Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican City, making him the first Serbian head of state to be granted an audience with a pope. This helped improve traditionally strained Catholic-Orthodox relations.

Tadić presided during the independence referendum in Montenegro in 2006. He was the first foreign head of state to visit Montenegro after it became independent on 8 June, promising to continue friendly relations. Serbia declared independence as well, and Tadić attended the first raising of the flag of Serbia at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

Tadić took part in the events marking the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution, unveiling a plaque in honour of Imre Nagy with Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány at the Embassy of Serbia in Budapest.

On 22 June 2007, Tadić presided over the 1000th meeting of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers in Belgrade.

In 2007, Tadić issued an apology to Croatia for any crimes committed in Serbia's name during the war in Croatia. On 4 August 2007, Tadić was awarded the "European Prize for Political Culture" that is given by the Swiss Foundation ''Hans Ringier'' of the Ringier Publishing House in Locarno. Previously it was awarded to Jean-Claude Juncker. Tadić decided to donate the financial part of the award for humanitarian purposes for the maternity hospital in town near Gračanica. In the same year Tadić was a signatory of the agreement that led to formation of the Council for Cooperation between Serbia and Republika Srpska on 6 September 2007, together with Milorad Dodik and Vojislav Koštunica.

In September 2007, he met with Sumitaka Fujita, CFO of Itochu Corporation in order to negotiate a donation from Official development assistance which would be used for the construction of a new bridge over the river Danube in Belgrade.

Contrary to his earlier decision in the 2004 Kosovan parliamentary election, Tadić stated that he has no right to call Serbs of Kosovo to vote in the 2007 Kosovo parliamentary election, as the standards he asked for in 2004 were not reached.

He stated that former and current terrorists, who escaped from prison in Kosovo in September 2007, are located in northern regions of the Republic of Macedonia. According to him, terrorists are planning new attacks on municipalities in southern Serbia in order to start a new Preševo Valley conflict.

In late 2007, he stated that Serbia does not support a break up of Bosnia and Herzegovina and that, as a guarantor of the Dayton Accords that brought peace to Bosnia, supports its territorial integrity. Tadić also said that Serbia supports EU integration for Bosnia. Along with that, he supports Bosnia's incorporation into the military organisation NATO.

On 13 January 2008, Tadić announced a 7.5 billion RSD modernisation package for the Serbian Army from the National Investment Plan to include the purchase of communications equipment and an overhaul of the air force.

Reelection campaign

Boris Tadić has advocated an early presidential election that is required under constitutional law, since the adoption of the new Constitution of Serbia, after the successful constitutional referendum in October 2006. On 13 December 2007 the speaker of the Parliament, Oliver Dulić, set the election date for 20 January 2008. The Democratic Party officially submitted the candidacy of its leader to the Republic Electoral Commission on 21 December. The re-election campaign was led under the slogan – ”For a Strong and Stable Serbia“ (''За Јаку и Стабилну Србију'') in the first round and ”Let's win Europe together!“ (Да освојимо Европу заједно!) in the second. Tadić advocated integration of Serbia into the European Union but also territorial integrity of Serbia with sovereignty over Kosovo and Metohia.

Tadić received support from G17 Plus and Sanjak Democratic Party, partners from the Government. He also received support of various national minority parties including Hungarian and Roma parties. Tadić has received strong support from Milorad Dodik, the Prime Minister of Republika Srpska. Boris Tadić also received support from various organisations representing people with disabilities and special needs.

Tadić received 1,457,030 votes (35.39 percent) in the first round. In the second round on 3 February 2008, he faced Tomislav Nikolić and won the election with 2,304,467 votes (50.31 percent).

President of Serbia (2008–)

{| cellpadding="1" style="float:left; border:1px solid #8888aa; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin:0 15px 0 0; background:#f9f9f9; width:200px;" |- | style=" text-align: center;" |Presidential oath of Boris Tadić: |- | ''I swear that I will invest all my efforts in the preservation of sovereignty and integrity of the territory of the Republic of Serbia, including Kosovo and Metohija as its integral part, as well as the realisation of human and minority rights and freedoms, observation and defence of the Constitution and laws, preservation of peace and welfare of all Serbian citizens and that I will fulfill all my duties conscientiously and responsibly.'' |}

He was sworn in at the inauguration ceremony on 15 February 2008 in the National Assembly of Serbia.

The Assembly of Kosovo, proclaimed a unilateral declaration of independence on February 17, 2008. Boris Tadić urged a United Nations Security Council meeting to react urgently and annul the act. He also said that Belgrade would never recognise the independence of Kosovo and would never give up the struggle for its legitimate interests. Russia backed Serbia's position and President Vladimir Putin said that any support for Kosovo's unilateral declaration is immoral and illegal. On 21 February Tadić met President of Romania Traian Băsescu in Bucharest where he thanked him for Romanian support and stated that "Serbia will not give up its future in Europe". Tadić also said that Serbia would not accept the legality of the EU's planned policing and judiciary mission for Kosovo. On 25 February 2008 Boris Tadić met with Dmitry Medvedev and Sergei Lavrov in Belgrade where Medvedev stated that “We proceed from the understanding that Serbia is a single state with its jurisdiction spanning its entire territory, and we will adhere to this principled stance in the future, We have made a deal to coordinate together our efforts in order to get out of this complicated situation”. Agreement on the South Stream pipeline was also signed during this visit.

Tadić said that Serbia would never recognise an independent Kosovo. He stated that the problem of Kosovo was not solved by the unilaterally declared independence and that the decade-long problems between Serbs and Albanians still exist. He called the international institutions to find a solution within the UN Security Council, for the continuation of negotiations. He also called a decision made by the US President George W. Bush to send arms to Kosovo “bad news.”

On 5 April 2008, Tadić called the acquittal of Ramush Haradinaj "disgraceful because of the innocent victims" and demanded the ICTY to appeal. He said that Serbia wishes to help the Tribunal to collect evidence "because Haradinaj’s place is in prison". He said that former Hague Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte had said that witnesses in the case against Haradinaj had been intimidated and even murdered to prevent them testifying to his crimes.

On 13 March 2008, President Tadić has signed a decree dissolving the country's parliament and slating early parliamentary elections for 11 May. Boris Tadić has gathered a large pro-EU coalition around his Democratic Party and G17 Plus for the upcoming Serbian parliamentary election in 2008, named “For a European Serbia – Boris Tadić”. The coalition list was led by Dragoljub Mićunović and it also included Sanjak Democratic Party, Serbian Renewal Movement and League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina. The coalition won 38% of the vote, more than any other list. He condemnеd remarks regarding the election made by Javier Solana and Pieter Feith and called on the European Union not to interfere with Serbian elections.

Tadić said that he is ready, authorised as per Vienna Convention, to sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union if it is offered on 28 April, but not at the price of recognising Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence. Tadić attended the signing of the SAA ceremony in Luxembourg on 29 April, where the Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Đelić signed the document on behalf of Serbia, as per the authorisation of the Government from December 2007. He is opposed by the Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica who thinks Serbia must not sign any agreements with the European Union. On 1 May, Koštunica said that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was right when he said that the SAA should have been signed but one day later on May 2 he vowed to annul the agreement after the election, calling it "a trick", "Solana's agreement" and "the Tadić-Đelić SAA signature".

On 27 June 2008, he named Mirko Cvetković for the new Prime Minister, following the victory of his party coalition in parliamentary election that took place in May. Cvetković was officially sworn in after giving the oath in the National Assembly on 7 July 2008.

Following the 2008 South Ossetia War, and Russian recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia independence, he refused to follow suit by saying that even though he respects the Russian support to Serbia regarding Kosovo, "Serbia is not going to recognise these so-called new countries". He stated that "Serbia is not going to do something that is against our interest, because we are defending out territorial integrity and sovereignty by using international law" and that by constitution he must defend the interests of Serbia, and not the interests of any other country in the world. He received the Quadriga award in September 2008, an annual German award sponsored by Werkstatt Deutschland, a non-profit organisation based in Berlin. The award recognises four people or groups for their commitment to innovation, renewal, and a pioneering spirit through political, economic, and cultural activities. The other three winners were Wikipedia, represented by Jimmy Wales, Eckart Höfling, Franciscan and director and Peter Gabriel, musician and human rights activist. Award given to Tadić was named ''The Courage of Perseverance'' and was presented by Heinz Fischer, the Federal President of Austria.

Congratulating Barack Obama for his presidential election victory, Tadić said that it will pave the way for opening a new chapter in the long history of relations between Serbia and the United States, during which they have been allies and friends for the most part. He also expressed hope that the new U.S. administration will have more understanding for Serbia, that defends its legitimate interests in peaceful and diplomatic way.

On 24 December 2008 Boris Tadić and Dmitry Medvedev signed an umbrella agreement providing political guarantees that Serbia will receive a stretch of the South Stream gas pipeline and that the underground gas storage facility in Banatski Dvor will be finalised.

Tadić invoked his constitutional powers of Commander-in-Chief of the Military of Serbia and dismissed the Chief of the General Staff Zdravko Ponoš on 30 December 2008. Ponoš made public accusations against the Defence Minister Dragan Šutanovac in the media. It was also revealed that he ignored the minister and has not submitted a single report in a year.

He was ranked the tenth most influential politician in Europe of 2008 in a survey conducted by Telewizja Polska among 29 European media houses. He shared the position with Mikheil Saakashvili, scoring below Jean-Claude Juncker and above Dmitry Medvedev. He was also one the five nominated politicians for the award ''National politician of the year'' of the European Voice for "bringing his country closer to EU membership with the handing over of alleged war criminal Radovan Karadžić to the international court for former Yugoslavia".

Following the formation of Kosovo Security Forces in January 2009, he sent protest letters both to the and NATO Secretaries-General. The letter, states that Serbia views those forces as an illegal paramilitary organisation that constitutes a threat to the country’s security and a danger to peace and stability in the Western Balkans. Tadić drew attention to the fact that the KSF were formed on the basis of the Ahtisaari Plan that was never adopted by the Security Council and added that the creation of these forces constitutes a breach of the Serbian Constitution and international law, which is why they should be disbanded. He called for the demilitarisation of Kosovo.

Mayor of Madrid Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón gave the Golden Keys of the City of Madrid to Tadić in March 2009, due to his commitment to Europe and its values and the changes that Serbia has undertaken in this direction. He said that this attitude helps the stability and progress of the continent "in a very positive way" and that the award given is "an expression of our friendship with the Serbian people and our commitment to collaboration". In March 2009 he also received an honorary degree of Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University in Bucharest.

In April 2009, he announced a constitutional reform proposal. His initiative includes proposal to reduce the number of the National Assembly members from 250 to 150 to better reflect the size of the country followed by changes in law on party registration and financing in order to consolidate similar parties and limit those with little support which should bring Serbia closer to a two-party system. The second proposed amendment would change the administrative division of Serbia by dividing it into more autonomous regions in order to achieve the more balanced development. This change would lead to Serbia being divided into seven regions instead of the current asymmetrical division which includes two autonomous provinces but where the majority of the territory has no special autonomy.

During the visit to Serbia in May 2009, Lech Kaczyński, President of Poland, stated that he doesn't agree with the decision of the Polish Government to recognise independence of Kosovo and that he is as the President "favours the policy pursued by Serbian President Boris Tadić". They also discussed energy, particularly Europe's dependence on natural gas from just one source, and agreed that there is a need for a common EU energy policy that should also include the Balkan states.

Tadić attended the inauguration of the new Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov in Skopje in May 2009. They agreed that both countries should cooperate on the integration to the European Union despite problems caused by their different views on the status of Kosovo. This caused a minor controversy as the leader of Kosovo Fatmir Sejdiu was not invited for the inauguration ceremony. He also met with Montenegrin President Filip Vujanović in Belgrade the same month, which was the first official visit by a senior Montenegrin official to Belgrade since October 2008, when Montenegro recognised Kosovo's independence. They agreed on mutual protection of Serbs and Montenegrins in both countries.

Following the state visit of the US Vice President Joe Biden to Serbia in late May 2009, Tadić voiced his belief that Biden's visit opened a new era in relations between the two countries, stressing the need for dialogue despite their opposing views on Kosovo. He stated "Vice-President Biden and I agreed that we now have an opportunity to establish a new level of communication between our two countries" and "I’m sure that with dialogue based on mutual respect, we can achieve a great deal,". Tadić said that there are many subjects that unite Serbia and the US, and that those are primarily the Western Balkans’ EU integration, and the struggle against international crime and terrorism. He also recalled that the two countries had been allies during the Second World War, adding that they were now "allies in the Partnership for Peace program." During this meeting Tadić reiterated Serbia’s position that Kosovo’s unilateral independence declaration was a breach of international law and that it is strongly committed to the stability of the entire region and the integrity of all the UN member states. He said that as a signatory of the Dayton Peace Accords, Serbia is a guarantor of the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it opts only for solutions that are the result of democratic agreement reached between the three constituent ethnic groups – Serbs, Bosniaks and Croats.

On 21 May 2009, Dragan Marić, a former businessman who was revolted over the court decision in his dispute with the national air carrier Jat Airways entered the Presidency office carrying two hand grenades seeking an out-of-court settlement signed by President or Government. Members of the Battalion of Military Police Cobras, providing security to the President of Serbia, managed to take one of the grenades immediately and isolate the attacker, however the perpetrator removed the pin from the second grenade and threatened to detonate it by releasing the lever. The negotiations were handled by the special team of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs, supported by the officials of the Ministry of Justice, and lasted for several hours until the man was disarmed and arrested. After the incident, Tadić, who was present in the secured area of the building, congratulated the police and army special units, the security and negotiation team for doing a terrific job, peacefully and with no casualties and also said that problems, no matter what kind, cannot be resolved by force and by jeopardising citizens' lives.

During the state visit to France in late May 2009, Tadić unveiled a memorial plaque to Serbo-French friendship in two world wars at Les Invalides in Paris. He and President Nicolas Sarkozy announced that a strategic partnership document would be signed between France and Serbia in Belgrade. Sarkozy also stressed the importance of Serbia’s fast accession to the European Union and committed to help Serbia on this path.

In August 2009 in Beijing, Tadić and Hu Jintao signed a ''Joint declaration of the Republic of Serbia and the People's Republic of China on the establishment of strategic partnership''. The agreement has ten points and covers wide array of subjects including the mutual respect of territorial integrity, plans for trade development as well as cultural, technological and scientific exchange. He also held separate meetings with Wen Jiabao and Wu Bangguo. Tadić made a 5 day tour of China, also visiting Xi'an, Great Wall of China and economic forums in Shanghai. During the visit to Shanghai he received a special invitation for Serbia to participate in Expo 2010 Shanghai China. China Post issued honorary envelope series with his image and signature, as well as the message „For the great historic friendship of Chinese and Serbian peoples“. The Chinese Post Office also released into circulation stamps with the flag of Serbia marking the Serbian delegation visit.

In October 2009, after Serbia qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa; Boris Tadić and other Serbian Minister celebrated at the end of the match in Belgrade's Stadion Crvena Zvezda (Red Star Stadium) by toasting the winning teach with a glass of champagne. It is illegal to consume alcohol at Serbian sporting events to stop violence. Tadić pleaded guilty, saying "I did not know that consumption of alcohol, even if only for a toast, has been forbidden so I fully take responsibility for the violation" and was fined €400.

In March 2010, he received the Steiger Award ''Europe'' of the Rhine-Ruhr for "respectfulness, openness, humanity, and tolerance".

People's Office of the President

During the 2004 election campaign, Tadić promised to form a new special institution called the People's Office. The People's Office of the President of the Republic was opened on 1 October 2004. The role of the People's Office is to make communication between the citizens and the President easier, and to cooperate between other state bodies and institutions, in order to enable the citizens of Serbia to exercise their rights. The People's Office of the President is divided into four divisions: Legal Affairs Division, Social Affairs Division, Projects Division and General Affairs Division. The first Director of the People's Office was Dragan Đilas. When he joined the Government of Serbia as the Minister in charge of the National Investment Plan in 2007, Tatjana Pašić became the new Director.

Advisors

Advisors to the President of the Republic carry out the analytical, advisory and other corresponding tasks for the needs of the President of the Republic as well as other expert tasks in relations of the President with the Government and the Parliament.

{| class=wikitable |- ! Advisor !! Portfolio |- | Gordana Matković | General Affairs |- | Trivo Inđić | Political Issues |- | Mlađan Đorđević | Legal Issues |- | Nebojša Krstić | Public Relations |- | Vojislav Brajović | Culture |- | Jovan Ratković | EU/NATO relations |}

Chief of Staff is Miodrag Rakić. Acting Secretary General of the Office of the President is Vladimir Cvijan.

Previous advisors who served from 2005 to 2008 are Biserka Jevtimijević Drinjaković (economic issues), Vladimir Cvijan (legal issues) and Dušan T. Bataković and Leon Cohen (political issues). Most of the former advisors are now serving as directors of public enterprises and ambassadors.

Personal life

Tadić has a sister, Vjera, who is a psychologist as well and currently teaches psychology in the First Belgrade Gymnasium. Besides his native language, Tadić speaks English, French and Italian fluently. Tadić enjoys watching football and he supports FK Partizan.

He was previously married to journalist Veselinka Zastavniković from 1980 to 1996, but they divorced, having had no children. Throughout their marriage they were actively involved in various socio-political activities including protests and petitions against human rights abuses and so-called 'verbal delict' in SFR Yugoslavia in the 1980s as well as anti-Milošević protests in the 1990s. Veselinka became a nun in October 2008, as ''Irina'', in the Patriarchate of Peć.

He is married to Tatjana Tadić (née Rodić), with whom he has two daughters: Maša and Vanja. Tatjana has roots in Knin.

Honours

''European Prize for Political Culture'' by Ringier in 2007

''Medal For the Contribution to the Victory'' of Russian Federation in 2008

''The Courage of Perseverance'' by Quadriga in 2008

''Golden Keys of the City'' of Madrid in 2009

''Honorary doctorate'' of Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University in 2009

''40 Years of Revolution Medal'' of Libya in 2009

''Steiger Award'' of Rhine-Ruhr in 2010

''Golden Medal'' of Hellenic Parliament in 2010

''Jubilee Medal 65 Years of Victory in Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945'' of Russian Federation in 2010

References

External links

Official Biography of The President of Serbia

People´s Office of the President

Biography at the Democratic Party Website

Official Presidential Campaign Website

*Boris Tadić YouTube channel

*Boris Tadić MySpace campaign page

Centre for modern skills

President Tadić's speech at the 63rd session of the General Assembly

{{Incumbent succession box | before = Predrag MarkovićActing | title = President of SerbiaFrom 2006 first president of independent Serbia | start = 2004 }} {{Incumbent succession box | title = Leader of the Democratic Party | before = Zoran Đinđić | start = 2004 }}

Category:Current national leaders Category:Serbia and Montenegro politicians Category:People from Belgrade Category:People from Sarajevo Category:Presidents of Serbia Category:University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy alumni Category:Eastern Orthodox Christians from Serbia Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:Democratic Party (Serbia) politicians Category:Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina

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Name	Novak DjokovicНовак ЂоковићNovak Đoković
Nickname	''Nole''''The Djoker''
Country	(2003–2006) (2006–present)
Residence	Monte Carlo, Monaco
Birth date	May 22, 1987
Birth place	Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia (now Serbia)
Height
Weight
Turnedpro	2003
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	$35,182,760 4th All-time leader in earnings
Singlesrecord	401–111 (78.32%)
Singlestitles	29
Highestsinglesranking	No. 1 (4 July 2011)
Currentsinglesranking	No. 1 (16 January 2012)
Australianopenresult	W (2008, 2011, 2012)
Frenchopenresult	SF (2007, 2008, 2011)
Wimbledonresult	W (2011)
Usopenresult	W (2011)
Othertournaments	Yes
Masterscupresult	W (2008)
Olympicsresult	20px Bronze Medal (2008)
Doublesrecord	31–43 (41.89%)
Doublestitles	1
Grandslamsdoublesresults	yes
Australianopendoublesresult	1R (2006, 2007, 2012)
Frenchopendoublesresult	1R (2006)
Wimbledondoublesresult	2R (2006)
Usopendoublesresult	1R (2006)
Highestdoublesranking	No. 114 (30 November 2009)
Currentdoublesranking	No. 238 (16 January 2012)
Updated	13:38, 27 January 2012 (UTC) }}

}} Novak Djokovic (; ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked World No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) since 4 July 2011. He has won five Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008, 2011 and 2012 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open. By winning three Majors in 2011, Djokovic became the sixth male player in the open era to win three Majors in a calendar year. He is the first male player representing Serbia to win a Major singles title and the youngest player in the open era to have reached the semifinals of all four Grand Slam events, separately and consecutively. Amongst other titles, he won the Tennis Masters Cup in 2008 and was also on the team which won the 2010 Davis Cup.

Early and personal life

Djokovic was born 22 May 1987, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, to father Srđan (Срђан) and mother Dijana (Дијана). His two younger brothers, Marko and Đorđe (Ђорђе), are also tennis players with professional aspirations. Residing in Monte Carlo, Monaco, Djokovic has been coached since 2006 by a former Slovak tennis player, Marián Vajda. Similar to fellow pro Roger Federer, Djokovic is a self-described fan of languages, speaking four himself: his native Serbian, English, German, and Italian. Since the end of 2005, Djokovic has been dating Jelena Ristić.

He started playing tennis at the age of four. In the summer 1993, the six-year-old was spotted by Yugoslav tennis legend Jelena Genčić at Mount Kopaonik where Djokovic's parents ran a fast-food parlour. Upon seeing the dedicated and talented youngster in action, she stated: "This is the greatest talent I have seen since Monica Seles." Genčić worked with young Djokovic over the following six years before realizing that, due to his rapid development, going abroad in search of increased level of competition was the best option for his future. To that end, she contacted Nikola Pilić, and in September 1999, the 12-year-old moved to the Pilić tennis academy in Oberschleißheim, Germany, spending four years there. At age 14, he began his international career, winning European championships in singles, doubles, and team competition.

Djokovic is known for his often humorous off-court impersonations of his fellow players, many of whom are his friends. This became evident to the tennis world after his 2007 US Open quarterfinal win over Carlos Moyà, where he entertained the audience with impersonations of Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova. He also did an impression of John McEnroe after his final preliminary game at the 2009 US Open, before playing a brief game with McEnroe, much to the delight of the audience. It is because of this jovial personality that he earned the nickname "Djoker", a portmanteau of his surname and the word ''joker''. Novak Djokovic is a member of the "Champions for Peace" club, a group of famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization.

Djokovic is a Serbian Orthodox Christian. On 28 April 2011, Patriarch Irinej of Serbia awarded Djokovic the Order of St. Sava I class, the highest decoration of the Serbian Orthodox Church, because he demonstrated love for the church, and because he provided assistance to the Serbian people, churches and monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church of Kosovo and Metohija.

He is a keen fan of Serbian football club Red Star Belgrade, Italian Serie A side A.C. Milan and Portuguese club S.L. Benfica. Djokovic is good friends with fellow Serbian tennis player Ana Ivanović, whom he has known since the two were children growing up in Serbia.

Tennis career

Early career

As a member of the FR Yugoslavia national team, he reached the finals of the 2001 Junior Davis Cup for players under 14, in which he lost his match in singles.

At the beginning of his professional career, Djokovic mainly played in Futures and Challenger tournaments, winning three of each type from 2003 to 2005. His first tour-level tournament was Umag in 2004, where he lost to Filippo Volandri in the round of 32. He made his first Grand Slam tournament appearance by qualifying for the 2005 Australian Open, where he was defeated by Marat Safin in the first round.

2006

Djokovic briefly considered plans to move from Serbia to play for Britain. He reached the top 40 world ranking due to a quarterfinal appearance at the French Open, and reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon.

Three weeks after Wimbledon, he won his maiden ATP title at the Dutch Open in Amersfoort without losing a set, defeating Nicolás Massú in the final. Djokovic won his second career title at the Open de Moselle in Metz, and moved into the top 20 for the first time in his career.

2007

Djokovic began the year by defeating Australian Chris Guccione in the final of the ATP Adelaide, before losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open to eventual champion Roger Federer in straight sets. His performances at the Masters Series events in Indian Wells, California and Key Biscayne, Florida, where he was the runner-up and champion respectively, pushed him into the world's top 10. Djokovic lost the Indian Wells final to Rafael Nadal, but defeated Nadal in Key Biscayne in the quarterfinals before defeating Guillermo Cañas for the title in the finals.

Right after his first master series title, he went back home to contribute to his country's attempt to get into the World Group of the Davis Cup competition. Serbia faced off the Republic of Georgia, and Djokovic won a point by defeating Georgia's George Chanturia. This was a tournament where he prepared for the later clay court season. Djokovic played in the Masters Series Monte Carlo Open, where he was defeated by David Ferrer in the third round, and in the Estoril Open, where he defeated Richard Gasquet in the final. Djokovic then reached the quarterfinals of both the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome and the Masters Series Hamburg, but lost to Nadal and Carlos Moyà respectively. At the French Open, Djokovic reached his first Major semifinal, losing to eventual champion Nadal.

During Wimbledon, Djokovic won a five-hour quarterfinal against Marcos Baghdatis. In his semifinal match against Rafael Nadal, he was forced to retire with elbow problems in the 3rd set after winning the first and losing the 2nd set.

Djokovic went on to win the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Montreal. He defeated world no. 3 Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals, world no. 2 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, and world no. 1 Federer in the final. This was the first time a player had defeated the top three ranked players in one tournament since Boris Becker in 1994. Djokovic was also only the second player, after Tomáš Berdych, to have defeated both Federer and Nadal since they became the top two players in the world. After this tournament, Björn Borg stated that Djokovic "is definitely a contender to win a Grand Slam (tournament)." However, the following week at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Djokovic lost in the second round to Moyà in straight sets. Djokovic nevertheless reached the final of the US Open. Djokovic had five set points in the first set and two in the second set, but lost them all before losing the final to top-seeded Federer in straight sets. During the 2007 tournament, Djokovic emerged as a fan favorite with his on-court impressions of other players including Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, and Maria Sharapova.

Djokovic won his fifth title of the year at the BA-CA TennisTrophy in Vienna, defeating Stanislas Wawrinka in the final. His next tournament was the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid, where he lost to David Nalbandian in the semifinals. Djokovic, assured of finishing the year as world no. 3, qualified for the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup, but did not advance beyond the round robin matches.

He received a golden badge award for the best athlete in Serbia, and the Olympic Committee of Serbia declared him the best athlete.

2008

Djokovic started the year by playing the Hopman Cup with fellow Serbian world no. 3 Jelena Janković. While he won all his round-robin matches, the team lost 1–2 in the final to the second-seeded American team consisting of Serena Williams and Mardy Fish.

At the Australian Open, Djokovic reached his second consecutive Major final without dropping a set, including a victory over two-time defending champion Roger Federer in the semifinals. By reaching the semifinals, Djokovic became the youngest player to have reached the semifinals in all four Majors. In the final, Djokovic defeated unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets to earn Serbia's first Grand Slam singles title. This marked the first time since the 2005 Australian Open that a Grand Slam singles title was not won by Federer or Nadal.

Djokovic's next tournament was the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, where he lost in the semifinals to Andy Roddick.

At the Masters Series Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Djokovic won his ninth career singles title, defeating American Mardy Fish in the three-set final.

Djokovic won his tenth career singles title and fourth Master Series singles crown at the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome. The following week at the Hamburg Masters, Djokovic lost to Nadal in the semifinals. At the French Open, Djokovic was the third-seeded player behind Federer and Nadal. Djokovic lost to Nadal in the semifinals in straight sets.

On grass, Djokovic once again played Nadal, this time in the Artois Championships final in Queen's Club, London, losing in two sets. At Wimbledon, Djokovic was the third seeded player; however, he lost in the second round to Marat Safin. This ended a streak of five consecutive Majors where he had reached at least the semifinals.

Djokovic then failed to defend his 2007 singles title at the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Toronto. He was eliminated in the quarterfinals by eighth-seeded Andy Murray. The following week at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Djokovic advanced to the final, beating Nadal. In the final, he again lost to Murray in straight sets.

His next tournament was the Beijing Olympics, his first Olympics. He and Nenad Zimonjić, seeded second in men's doubles, were eliminated in the first round by the Czech pairing of Martin Damm and Pavel Vízner. Seeded third in singles, Djokovic lost in the semifinals to Nadal. Djokovic then defeated James Blake, the loser of the other semifinal, in the bronze medal match.

After the Olympics, Djokovic entered the US Open as the third seed. He defeated Roddick in the quarterfinals. To a smattering of boos in a post-match interview, Djokovic criticized Roddick for accusing him of making excessive use of the trainer during matches. His run at the US Open ended in the semifinals when he lost to Federer in four sets, in a rematch of the 2007 US Open final.

Djokovic played four tournaments after the US Open. In a rematch of the 2008 Australian Open final, he lost in the final of the Thailand Open to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets. In November, Djokovic was the second seed at the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. In his first round-robin match, he defeated Argentine Juan Martín del Potro in straight sets. He then beat Nikolay Davydenko in three sets, before losing his final round robin match against Tsonga. Djokovic qualified for the semifinals, where he defeated Gilles Simon. In the final, Djokovic defeated Davydenko again to win his first Tennis Masters Cup title.

2009

Djokovic started the year at the Brisbane International in Brisbane, Australia, where he was upset by Ernests Gulbis in the first round. At the Medibank International in Sydney, he lost to Jarkko Nieminen in the semifinals.

As defending champion at the Australian Open, Djokovic retired from his quarterfinal match with former world no. 1 Andy Roddick.

After losing in the semifinals of the Open 13 tournament in Marseille to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Djokovic won the singles title at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, defeating David Ferrer to claim his twelfth career title. The following week, Djokovic was the defending champion at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, but lost to Roddick in the quarterfinals. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, another ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, Djokovic beat Federer in the semifinals, before losing to Andy Murray in the final. Djokovic reached the final of the next ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on clay, losing to Rafael Nadal in the final. At the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, another ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, Djokovic was the defending champion, but again lost in the final.

Djokovic was the top seed at his hometown tournament, the Serbia Open in Belgrade. He defeated first-time finalist Łukasz Kubot to win his second title of the year. As third seed at the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, Djokovic advanced to the semifinals without dropping a set. There, he faced Nadal and lost despite holding three match points. The match, at 4 hours and 3 minutes, was the longest three-set singles match on the ATP World Tour in the Open Era. At the French Open, he lost in the third round to German Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Djokovic began his grass court season at the Gerry Weber Open where, after the withdrawal of Federer, he competed as the top seed. He advanced to the final, where he lost to German Tommy Haas. Djokovic also lost to Haas in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.

During the US Open Series, Djokovic made the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal, before losing to Andy Roddick. At the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Djokovic defeated world no. 3 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. He lost in the final to world no. 1 Roger Federer.

At the 2009 US Open, Djokovic made the semifinals, having dropped only two sets, defeating Ivan Ljubičić, 15th seed Radek Štěpánek and 10th seed Fernando Verdasco. He then lost to Roger Federer.

At the China Open in Beijing, he defeated Victor Hănescu, Viktor Troicki, Fernando Verdasco, and Robin Söderling en route to the final, where he defeated Marin Čilić in straight sets to win his third title of the year. At the inaugural Shanghai ATP Masters 1000, Djokovic lost in the semifinals to Nikolay Davydenko.

At the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel, Djokovic defeated Jan Hernych to make it to the quarterfinals. He then recovered from a deficit to defeat Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarterfinals. He won the semifinals against Radek Štěpánek. In the final, he defeated home favourite and three-time defending champion Roger Federer to win his fourth title of the year.

At the last Masters 1000 event of the year at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, Djokovic won his first Masters 1000 title of the year. He defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. In the final, Djokovic prevailed over Gaël Monfils.

Coming into the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London as the defending champion, Djokovic defeated Nikolay Davydenko in his first round-robin match. In his second match, he lost to Robin Söderling. Despite victory over Rafael Nadal in his third round-robin match, Djokovic failed to make the semifinals.

Djokovic ended the year as the world no. 3 for the third consecutive year. Djokovic played 97 matches throughout the year, the most of any player on the ATP World Tour, with a 78–19 win-loss record. In addition to leading the ATP World Tour in match wins, he reached a career best 10 finals, winning 5 titles.

2010

Djokovic started his year by playing in the Kooyong Classic, an exhibition event. In his first match, he defeated Tommy Haas, but lost to Fernando Verdasco in his second.

At the Australian Open, Djokovic was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in five sets. Despite the loss, Djokovic attained a career-high ranking of world no. 2.

He reached the semifinals of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, losing to Mikhail Youzhny. At the Dubai Tennis Championships in the U.A.E., Djokovic reached the final, defeating Mikhail Youzhny to win his first title of the year.

He then took part in Serbia's Davis Cup tie against the USA on clay in Belgrade. He helped Serbia reach their first quarterfinal in the Davis Cup 3–2 victory, defeating Sam Querrey and John Isner.

At the Indian Wells Masters, he lost in the fourth round to Ivan Ljubičić. At the Miami Masters, he lost in his opening match to Olivier Rochus. Djokovic then announced that he had ceased working with Todd Martin as his coach.

In his first clay-court tournament of the year at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, top-seeded Djokovic reached the semifinals with wins over Stanislas Wawrinka and David Nalbandian. There, he lost to Fernando Verdasco. Djokovic again lost to Verdasco at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, this time in the quarterfinals.

As the defending champion at his hometown event, the Serbia Open in Belgrade, he withdrew in the quarterfinals while trailing Filip Krajinović.

Djokovic entered the 2010 French Open seeded third. He defeated Evgeny Korolev, Kei Nishikori, Victor Hănescu, and Robby Ginepri en route to the quarterfinals, where he lost to Jürgen Melzer in five sets.

Djokovic entered the 2010 Wimbledon Championships as third seed, defeating Olivier Rochus, Taylor Dent, Albert Montañés, Lleyton Hewitt, and Yen-Hsun Lu en route to the semifinals, which he lost to Tomáš Berdych in straight sets.

Djokovic then competed at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, where he lost to Roger Federer in the semifinals. Djokovic also competed in doubles with Rafael Nadal in a one-time, high-profile partnership. That hadn't happened since 1976, when Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe as world no.1 and no.2 paired together as a doubles team. They lost in the first round to Canadians Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil. Djokovic lost in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati to Andy Roddick. As the third seed at the US Open, Djokovic came very close to losing in his opening round against Viktor Troicki in extreme heat. He then defeated Philipp Petzschner, James Blake and Mardy Fish, and number 17 seed Gaël Monfils, all in straight sets to reach the US Open semifinals for the fourth consecutive year. In the semifinals, Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in five sets. It was Djokovic's first victory over Federer at the US Open in four attempts, and his first victory over Federer in a Major since the 2008 Australian Open. Djokovic lost to Nadal in the final, a match that saw Nadal complete his career Grand Slam.

After helping Serbia defeat the Czech Republic 3–2 to make it to the Davis Cup final, Djokovic competed at the China Open as the top seed and defending champion. He won the title for the second successive year, after defeating Maoxin Gong, Mardy Fish (walkover), Gilles Simon, and John Isner en route to the final. Djokovic then defeated David Ferrer in the final.

At the Shanghai Masters, Djokovic made a semifinal appearance, losing to Roger Federer.

Djokovic played his final tournament of the year at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. Djokovic was placed in Group A along with Rafael Nadal, Tomáš Berdych, and Andy Roddick. Djokovic won his first round-robin match against Berdych. He next lost to Nadal. He defeated Roddick in his final round-robin match and advanced to the semifinals. He lost to Roger Federer in two sets.

Djokovic went on to win his two singles rubbers in Serbia's Davis Cup finals victory over France. This started a long unbeaten run that went on into 2011. Djokovic finished the year ranked world no. 3, his fourth successive finish at this position.

He was awarded the title "Serbian Sportsman of the year" by the Olympic Committee of Serbia and "Serbian Athlete of the year" by DSL Sport.

2011

Djokovic won ten tournaments in 2011, including Grand Slam tournament victories at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. Djokovic also captured a record-breaking five ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles, and set a new record for the most prize money won in a single season on the ATP World Tour (12.0 million dollars). His level dropped at season's end beginning with a back injury and ended with a poor showing at the ATP World Tour Finals. Djokovic finished the season with a 70–6 record and No. 1 in the world. Pete Sampras declared Djokovic's season as the best he has ever seen in his lifetime, calling it "one of the best achievements in all of sports." Boris Becker called Djokovic's season "one of the very best years in tennis of all time," adding that it "may not be the best statistically, but he’s beaten Federer, he’s beaten Nadal, he’s beaten everybody that came around to challenge him in the biggest tournaments in the world." Rafael Nadal, who lost to Djokovic in six finals on three different surfaces, described Djokovic's performances as "probably the highest level of tennis that I ever saw." Djokovic was named 2011 ITF World Champion.

2012

Djokovic began his season winning at the 2012 Australian Open. He won his first rounds against Paolo Lorenzi, Santiago Giraldo, Nicolas Mahut and Lleyton Hewitt. In the Quarter finals he defeated David Ferrer in three sets. In the semi final, Djokovic beat Andy Murray in five sets after 4 hours and 50 minutes. In the final, Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in five sets. At 5 hours and 53 minutes, the match was the longest final in Open Era Grand Slam history.

Davis Cup

In 2006, Djokovic got the decisive win on 9 April, against Great Britain by defeating Greg Rusedski in four sets in the fourth match, giving his team an unsurmountable 3–1 lead in their best-of-five series, thus keeping Serbia and Montenegro in the Group One Euro/African Zone of Davis Cup. Following this match-up, a lot of media buzz appeared about Djokovic's camp negotiating with the Lawn Tennis Association about changing his international loyalty by joining British tennis ranks. Nineteen-year-old Djokovic, who was no.63 on the ATP list at the time, mostly dismissed the story at first by saying that the talks were not serious, describing them as "the British being very kind to us after the Davis Cup". However, more than three years later, in October 2009, Djokovic confirmed that the talks between his family and the LTA throughout April and May 2006, were indeed serious:

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By winning all three of his matches, Djokovic played a key role in the 2007 play-off win over Australia, promoting the Serbia Davis Cup team to World Group in 2008. In Serbia's tie against Russia in early 2008, in Moscow, Djokovic was sidelined due to influenza and was forced to miss his first singles match. He returned to win his doubles match, teaming with Nenad Zimonjić, before being forced to retire during his singles match with Nikolay Davydenko. Djokovic also had a big role in promoting Serbia to the 2009 World Group. On 6–8 March 2010, he played the key role in bringing Serbia to World Group quarterfinals for the first time in its independent history, winning both singles matches in the home tie against United States (against Sam Querrey and John Isner). Later, Serbia progressed to the Davis Cup final, following the victories over Croatia (4–1) and Czech Republic (3–2). Serbia came from 1–2 down to defeat France in the final tie 3–2 in Belgrade to win the nation's first Davis Cup Championship. In the final, Djokovic scored two singles points for Serbia, defeating Gilles Simon and Gaël Monfils. He was the backbone of the Serbian squad, going 7–0 in singles rubbers to lead the nation to the title, although the honour of winning the deciding rubber in the final went to compatriot Viktor Troicki.

In the semi finals of the 2011 Davis Cup Djokovic played a crucial rubber match for Serbia against Juan Martin Del Potro playing for Argentina, which he lost 6–7, 0–3 having to retire due to a back injury sustained during the US Open tournament, which secured Argentina's place in the final defeating Serbia 3–2. This marked Djokovic's third loss of his 2011 season, and his second retirement.

Rivalries

Djokovic–Nadal rivalry

Djokovic and Nadal have met 30 times (the sixth-most head-to-head meetings in the Open Era) with Nadal having a 16–14 advantage. Nadal leads on grass 2–1 and clay 9–2, but Djokovic leads on hard courts 11–5. This rivalry is listed as the third greatest rivalry in the last decade by ATPworldtour.com and is considered by many to be the emerging rivalry. Djokovic is the only player to have at least ten match wins against Nadal and the only person to defeat Nadal seven times consecutively. The two share the record for the longest Australian Open and Grand Slam final match ever played (5 hours and 53 minutes) which was the 2012 Australian Open final, as well as the record for the longest match played in a best of three sets (4 hours and 3 minutes) which was the 2009 Mutua Madrid Open semi-final. In the 2011 Wimbledon final, Djokovic won in four sets, which was his first victory over Nadal in a Major. By doing so, he became the only person other than Federer to defeat Nadal in a Grand Slam tournament final. This rivalry is part of the "Trivalry" (a term coined by American sportscaster Mary Carillo), which includes the rivalries among the top three in tennis (Federer, Nadal, Djokovic). Djokovic also defeated Nadal in the 2011 US Open Final to capture his third major title of the year and fourth overall. By beating Nadal, Djokovic became the second player to defeat Nadal in more than one Grand Slam final (the other being Federer), and the only player to beat Nadal in a Slam final on a surface other than grass. In 2012, Djokovic defeated Nadal in the Australian Open final which made Nadal the first player to lose in three consecutive Grand Slam finals.

Djokovic-Federer rivalry

Djokovic and Federer have met 24 times, with Federer leading 14–10. Federer leads on all surfaces, although they have never met on grass. Djokovic is the only player other than Nadal who has defeated Federer in consecutive grand slam tournament matches. Federer ended Djokovic's 41-match winning start to the 2011 season at the 2011 French Open semi-finals which many consider to be a classic match. Djokovic played Federer in his first Major final at the 2007 US Open and lost in three sets. Djokovic has the second-most wins against Federer (after Nadal). The two have met five years in a row at the US Open with their last two meetings (in 2010 and 2011) being five-set matches in which Djokovic saved match points before going on to win.

Djokovic-Murray rivalry

Djokovic and Murray have met 11 times with Djokovic leading 7–4. Djokovic leads 2–0 on clay, and also 5–4 on hard courts. The two went to training camp together, and Murray won the first match they ever played as teenagers. The pair have met four times in finals, with Murray leading 3–1, however, their most important final was the 2011 Australian Open final, in which Djokovic won in straight sets. The other three finals were all ATP Masters 1000 finals, Murray won them all in straight sets, with the most recent being in Cincinnati 2011.

Playing style and equipment

Djokovic is an all-court player with emphasis on aggressive baseline play. His groundstrokes from both wings are consistent, deep, and penetrating. His backhand is widely regarded as the best in today's game. His best weapon is his backhand down the line, with great pace and precision. He is also known as one of the greatest movers on the court with superior agility, court coverage and defensive ability. After great technical difficulties during the 2009 season, his serve is one of his major weapons again, winning him many free points; his first serve is typically hit flat, while he prefers to slice and kick his second serves wide. Occasionally, Djokovic employs a well-disguised backhand underspin drop shot and sliced backhand. His drop shots still tend to be a drawback when hit under pressure and without proper preparation.

Djokovic commented on the modern style of play, including his own, in interview with Jim Courier after his semifinal win against Andy Murray in the 2012 Australian Open tournament:

Entering the pro circuit, Djokovic used Wilson rackets, continuing so until the end of 2008. At that time, he switched to Head rackets, using a custom paint job of the Head YouTek Speed Pro racquet. Starting with 2011 Australian Open, he began using Head's YouTek IG Speed MP 18/20. Djokovic uses a hybrid of Head Natural Gut in the mains and Luxilon Alu Power in the crosses.

After his 2011 victory in Montreal, tennis coach Nick Bollettieri stated that Djokovic is the most "complete" player of all time. He has the backhand, forehand, serve, second serve, movement, mentality, and can play equally well on any surface. In assessing his 2011 season, Jimmy Connors said that Djokovic gives his opponents problems by playing "a little bit old-school, taking the ball earlier, catching the ball on the rise, (and) driving the ball flat." Connors adds that a lot of the topspin that Djokovic's opponents drive at him comes right into his zone, thus his ability to turn defense into offense well.

Coaching and personal team

From fall 2005 until June 2006, Djokovic was coached by Riccardo Piatti who divided his time between the 18-year-old and Ivan Ljubičić. Player and coach reportedly parted ways over the latter's refusal to work full time with Djokovic.

Since June 2006, Djokovic has been coached by Slovakian former professional tennis player Marián Vajda. They met for the first time during that year's French Open, after which Vajda got hired to be the 19-year-old's coach. On occasion Djokovic employed additional coaches on part-time basis: in 2007, during the spring hardcourt season, he worked with Australian doubles ace Mark Woodforde with specific emphasis on volleys and net play while from August 2009 until April 2010 American Todd Martin joined the coaching team, a period marked by his ill-fated attempt to change Djokovic's serve motion.

In July 2010, before the Davis Cup clash away at Croatia, Djokovic made another addition to his team – nutritionist Igor Četojević who additionally focuses on Chinese medicine and does acupuncture. He discovered the tennis player suffers from Celiac Disease and cannot eat gluten, purging it from his diet. It appeared to have worked as Djokovic began feeling stronger, quicker, and much more fit. After Djokovic's Wimbledon win in July 2011, Četojević left the team.

Sponsorships and business ventures

Djokovic endorses Serbian telecommunications company Telekom Srbija and German nutritional supplement brand FitLine.

Since turning professional in 2003, Djokovic wore Adidas clothing and footwear. At the end of 2009, Djokovic signed a 10-year deal with the Italian clothing company Sergio Tacchini after Adidas refused to extend his clothing contract (choosing instead to sign Andy Murray). Since Sergio Tacchini doesn't make shoes, he continued with Adidas as his choice of footwear. From 2011, Djokovic began to wear custom Red and Blue Adidas Barricade 6.0's shoes, referring to the colours of the Serbian national flag.

Djokovic did television commercial spots and print ads for supermarket chain Idea, the Serbian arm of Croatian supermarket retailer Konzum.

In August 2011, Djokovic became the brand ambassador of Swiss watch manufacturer Audemars Piguet. Less than a month later, Djokovic signed a sponsorship deal with German car company Mercedes-Benz.

The business end of Djokovic's career was initially handled by Israeli managers Amit Naor and Allon Khakshouri. In June 2008, he signed with CAA Sports.

Investments

In 2005, as Djokovic moved up the tennis rankings, his family founded a legal entity in Serbia named Family Sport. Registered as a limited liability company, its initial focus was the restaurant business. The company's day-to-day operations are mostly handled by Novak's father Srdjan and uncle Goran expanded its activities into real estate, sports/entertainment event organization, and sports apparel distribution.

The company opened theme cafés named Novak Café, as well as Novak Café & Restaurant in the Belgrade's municipality of Novi Beograd.

In February 2008, the company reached an agreement with local authorities in the city of Kragujevac about jointly entering into a real estate development deal that was to include 4 hectares of city-owned land at Veliki Park being developed into a tennis center with 14 courts. But by 2010 the company pulled out of these plans.

In March 2008, Family Sport won a municipal authority-organized tender in Novi Beograd by submitting an €11 million bid for the 3.8 hectares of land located in Ivan Ribar neighbourhood; with the ambitious plan to build a big tennis center there. As of fall 2011, construction is yet to commence.

In 2009, the company managed to buy an ATP tournament known as the Dutch Open and bring it to Serbia where it became – Serbia Open. With the help of Belgrade city authorities, the tournament's inaugural edition was held during May 2009 at the city-owned 'Milan Gale Muškatirović' courts, located at an attractive spot in Dorćol neighbourhood.

On Monday, 4 July 2011, one day after Djokovic won Wimbledon, Family Sport organized the homecoming reception in front of the National Assembly building with more than 80,000 people gathering to greet him.

Grand Slam tournaments

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

''To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2012 Australian Open.''

{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center;font-size:98% |- !Tournament!!2003!!2004!!2005!!2006!!2007!!2008!!2009!!2010!!2011!!2012!!width=50|SR!!width=50|W–L!!width=50|Win % |- |colspan=14 align=left|'''Grand Slam Tournaments |- |bgcolor=#efefef text-align:left|Australian Open |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=#efefef|3 / 8 |bgcolor=#efefef|32–5 |bgcolor=#efefef|86.49 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|French Open |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=| |bgcolor=#efefef|0 / 7 |bgcolor=#efefef|25–7 |bgcolor=#efefef|78.12 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Wimbledon |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=| |bgcolor=#efefef|1 / 7 |bgcolor=#efefef|27–6 |bgcolor=#efefef|81.81 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|US Open |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=thistle|F |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=thistle|F |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=| |bgcolor=#efefef|1 / 7 |bgcolor=#efefef|33–6 |bgcolor=#efefef|84.62 |- !style=text-align:left|Win–Loss !0–0 !0–0 !5–4 !9–4 !19–4 !18–3 !15–4 !19–4 !25–1 !7–0 !5 / 29 !117–24 !82.98 |}

Grand Slam tournament finals

Singles: 7 (5 titles, 2 runner-ups)

{|class="sortable wikitable" |- !width=80|Outcome !width=50|Year !width=200|Championship !width=75|Surface !width=200|Opponent in the final !width=200|Score in the final |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2007||US Open||Hard|| Roger Federer||6–7^(4–7), 6–7^(2–7), 4–6 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2008||Australian Open||Hard|| Jo-Wilfried Tsonga||4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(7–2) |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2010||US Open (2)||Hard|| Rafael Nadal||4–6, 7–5, 4–6, 2–6 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2011||Australian Open (2)||Hard|| Andy Murray||6–4, 6–2, 6–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner||2011 || Wimbledon || Grass || Rafael Nadal || 6–4, 6–1, 1–6, 6–3 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2011||US Open ||Hard|| Rafael Nadal||6–2, 6–4, 6–7^(3–7), 6–1 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2012||Australian Open (3)||Hard|| Rafael Nadal||5–7, 6–4, 6–2, 6–7^(5–7), 7–5 |}

Career statistics

From the 2010 Davis Cup finals to the 2011 French Open, Djokovic had a 43-match win streak, placing him behind Guillermo Vilas (46 matches in 1977) and Ivan Lendl (44 matches in 1981/1982).

He won 41 straight matches from the start of 2011 until the French Open semi-finals, second only to John McEnroe's record (he started 42–0 in 1984).

Novak Djokovic is one of only four players (besides David Nalbandian, Andy Murray, and Rafael Nadal) to beat Roger Federer three times in one calendar year, and one of only two players (Juan Martin Del Potro being the other) to beat both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in a Grand Slam in consecutive matches. He is the only player who can claim to have beaten both Federer and Nadal in the same tournament on 4 different occasions (Montreal 2007, Indian Wells 2011, US Open 2011,). He is also the youngest player in the Open Era to defeat the top three players in succession and he achieved this when he defeated world number three Andy Roddick, world number two Nadal, and World number one Federer in the 2007 Rogers Cup. He is one of only two players to have defeated Federer at the semifinal stage or later on more than one occasion in Grand Slam tournaments, and also at consecutive tournaments (the other being Nadal).

His five Masters titles in 2011 are a season record.

Awards and honours

Order of Saint Sava

On 28 April 2011, in Belgrade, Patriarch Irinej of Serbia awarded Djokovic the Order of St. Sava I class, the highest decoration of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The order was given to him because he demonstrated love for the church, and because he provided assistance to the Serbian people, churches and monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija.

List of awards

Best Male Tennis Player in Serbia and Montenegro: 2005

Best Male Tennis Player in Serbia: 20062011 Golden Badge of DSL Sport: 2007, 2010, 2011

ATP Most Improved Player of the Year: 2006, 2007

Best Sportsman by Olympic Committee of Serbia: 2007, 2010

ATP Player of the Year: 2011

ACE of the Year by GQ: 2011 Golden Bagel Award: 2011 ITF World Champion: 2011

BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year: 2011

Records

These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis and in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 series since 1990.

{|class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" !Tournament !width=75|Year !Record !width=100|Players matched |- |Australian Open – French Open – Wimbledon – US Open |2007–2008 |Youngest player to have reached the semi-finals of all four Majors (20 years, 250 days old)||'''Stands alone |- |Australian Open |2011–2012 |2 consecutive titles||Ken Rosewall Guillermo Vilas Johan Kriek Mats Wilander Stefan Edberg Ivan Lendl Jim Courier Andre Agassi Roger Federer |- |Australian Open |2012 |Longest Grand Slam final match ||Rafael Nadal |- |Australian Open – Indian Wells Masters – Miami Masters |2011 |Winner of the hard court treble (Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami) ||Roger Federer Pete Sampras |- |ATP World Tour |2011 |Player to qualify earliest for the ATP World Tour Finals – 18 weeks, 6 days||'''Stands alone |- |ATP World Tour Masters 1000 |2011 |Most titles in a season – 5||'''Stands alone |- |ATP World Tour Masters 1000 |2011 |Most consecutive titles – 3||Rafael Nadal |- |ATP World Tour Masters 1000 |2011 |Longest winning streak – 31 ||'''Stands alone |- |ATP World Tour Masters 1000 |2011 |Most finals in a season – 6 ||Roger Federer |- |Madrid Masters |2009 |Longest best-of-three sets men's singles match ever played (4 hours, 3 minutes) ||Rafael Nadal |- |Canada Masters |2007 |Youngest player to defeat the top 3 players in succession||'''Stands alone |- |Miami Masters |2007 |Youngest male champion (19 years, 316 days old)||'''Stands alone |- |ATP World Tour |2007–2009 |Most consecutive weeks at world number 3 – 91||'''Stands alone |- |ATP World Tour |2011 |Longest winning streak in finals vs. a current World no.1 in any season (Rafael Nadal – 5) (also defeated Nadal at 2011 US Open and 2012 Australian Open, where rankings were by then reversed) ||'''Stands alone |- |ATP World Tour |2011 |Most prize money in one season ($12,619,803) ||'''Stands alone |- |ATP World Tour |2006–2010 |Most years ended at world number 3 (4) ||Jimmy Connors |- |ATP World Tour |2006–2010 |Most consecutive weeks at world number 3 (91) ||'''Stands alone |}

In popular culture

In 2009, and 2010, Djokovic won Oscar Of Popularity for the most popular male athlete in Serbia.

He was a special guest in the first semi-final of Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade. He threw a big tennis ball into the crowd, announcing the start of voting. Together with presenter of the show Željko Joksimović, Djokovic sang a song about Belgrade.

Djokovic is also featured in the music video for the song "Hello" by Martin Solveig and Dragonette. The video, filmed at Stade Roland Garros, shows Solveig facing off against Bob Sinclar, another DJ, in a tennis match. When the referee calls a crucial ball "Out", Djokovic enters the arena and convinces the referee otherwise.

In 2010, Serbian blues-rock band Zona B recorded the song "The Joker", dedicating it to Djokovic.

On 25 June 2011, its seventieth Congress in Chicago, all the members unanimously awarded Djokovic the Order of Serbian National Defense in America I class, the highest decoration of the SND. The order was given to him because of his merits in the international sport scene and his contributions to the reputation of Serbs and Serbia around the world.

Owing to his extroverted personality, fluency in several languages, and willingness to go along with comedic concepts, Djokovic became a fixture on entertainment-based TV talk shows around the globe immediately upon achieving a measure of prominence via results on the tennis court. After winning the Australian Open, his first major, in early 2008, Djokovic appeared on American late-night programme ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno''. Throughout spring 2009, during ATP Master Series tournaments in Madrid and Rome, respectively, the Serb was a guest on Pablo Motos' show ''El Hormiguero'' followed by an appearance on the ''Fiorello Show'' hosted by Italian comedian Rosario Fiorello. Djokovic's television appearances particularly intensified during his amazing run of form throughout 2011: after winning Wimbledon and reaching number one spot on the ATP list, he again appeared on Leno's ''Tonight Show'' as well as on Conan O'Brien's show on TBS. Djokovic's dramatic win at the US Open was followed by another television blitz including spots on ''Live with Regis and Kelly'', CBS' ''The Early Show'', NBC's ''Today'' as well as a walk-on appearance on ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon''. In mid-November 2011, he made a triumphant return to Rai 1's ''Fiorello Show''. In late November during the ATP World Tour Finals in London he was a guest on Sir David Frost's interview programme ''Frost Over the World'' on Al Jazeera English.

He was voted the 19th most influential man on AskMen.com's Top 49 Most Influential Men of 2011. On invitation from film producer Avi Lerner, Djokovic became part of the high-budget Hollywood movie production ''The Expendables 2'' in a cameo playing himself, which he shot on 29 November 2011 in a Sofia warehouse.

See also

Tennis performance timeline comparison (men)

ATP World Tour records

List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players

List of Grand Slam men's singles champions

List of non-Grand Slam tennis statistics and records

List of open era tennis records

ATP Awards

References

Further reading

External links

Official site

Novak Djokovic at Flickr

Novak Djokovic at Qwinki

Novak Djokovic at Tumblr

{{navboxes|title=Novak Djokovic in Grand Slam Tournaments |list1= }} {{navboxes|title=Novak Djokovic's Achievements |list1= }}

Category:1987 births Category:Australian Open (tennis) champions Category:Living people Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Serbia Category:Olympic medalists in tennis Category:Olympic tennis players of Serbia Category:People from Belgrade Category:People from Monte Carlo Category:Serbia and Montenegro male tennis players Category:Serbian expatriates in Monaco Category:Serbian male tennis players Category:Serbian Orthodox Christians Category:Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Wimbledon champions Category:World No. 1 tennis players Category:Hopman Cup competitors

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name	Beogradski Sindikat
background	group_or_band
alias	UPHKSBS (Udruženje poklonika hip hop kulture Srbije - Beogradski sindikat)
origin	Belgrade, Serbia
genre	Hardcore hip hop Political hip hopSerbian hip hop
years active	1999-present
label	ProhibicijaAutomatik Records
website	beogradskisindikat.com
current members	BlažoOgiDedaDarkoŠkaboDajsMC FlexŠef SaleProtaDJ IRon
notable instruments	}}

Beogradski Sindikat (Serbian Cyrillic: Београдски Синдикат, English: ''Belgrade Syndicate'') is a Serbian hip-hop group from Belgrade formed in 1999. It currently consists of eleven members. They have released three albums,first one highly acclaimed and marked the beginning of second wave of Serbian hip hop.

Group members

Žobla - MC (b. Blažo Vujović)

Ogi - MC (b. Ognjen Janković)

Deda - MC, producer (b. Marko Đurić)

Dare - MC (b. Darko Marjanović)

Škabo - MC, producer (b. Boško Ćirković)

Đolo Đolo - MC, video director, producer (b. Đorđe Jovanović)

Dajs - MC (b. Vladimir Ćorluka)

Feđa - MC, producer (b. Feđa Dimović)

Šef Sale - MC, producer (b. Aleksandar Karadžinović)

Prota - producer (b. Aleksandar Protić)

IRon - DJ (b. Stefan Novović)

Discography

Albums

2002: ''BSSST…Tišinčina!''

2005: ''Svi Zajedno''

2010: ''Diskretni Heroji''

Singles

2002: ''Govedina''

2006: ''Oni Su''

Solo albums

2003: Škabo - ''Sam''

2005: PKS (Škabo & Nadica) - ''PVO''

2007: Shef Sale - ''Prvi Udar''

2008: Škabo - ''Remek Delo''

2009: Škabo - ''Deset Dina Glasa Na Matrici''

2010: Škabo - ''Muzika za demonstracije''

2011: Shef Sale - ''Ritam mog grada''

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website

Category:Musical groups established in 1999

de:Beogradski sindikat fr:Beogradski sindikat hr:Beogradski sindikat pt:Beogradski Sindikat ru:Београдски синдикат sr:Београдски синдикат sh:Beogradski sindikat

Name	Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Office	President of Estonia
Primeminister	Andrus Ansip
Term start	9 October 2006
Predecessor	Arnold Rüütel
Birth date
Birth place	Stockholm, Sweden
Spouse	Evelin Ilves
Party	Non-partisan (previously SDE)
Alma mater	Columbia UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania
Profession	DiplomatJournalist
Signature	Toomas Hendrik Ilves Signature.svg }}

Toomas Hendrik Ilves (; born 26 December 1953) is the fourth and current President of Estonia. He is a former diplomat and journalist, was the leader of the Social Democratic Party in the 1990s and later a member of the European Parliament. He was elected to the post by an electoral college on 23 September 2006 and his term as President began on 9 October 2006.

Childhood and education

Ilves was born in Stockholm, Sweden; his parents were Estonian refugees. He grew up in the United States in Leonia, New Jersey and graduated from Leonia High School in 1972 as valedictorian. He received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Columbia University in 1976 and a master's degree in the same subject from the University of Pennsylvania in 1978. In addition to his native Estonian, he is fluent in English, German and Spanish.

Career

During the 1980s, Ilves worked as a journalist for Radio Free Europe and became actively involved in politics prior to Estonia's independence in 1991. Ilves subsequently became Ambassador of Estonia to the United States in 1993; he also served as Ambassador to Canada and Mexico for several years.

In December 1996, Ilves became Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs, serving until he resigned in September 1998, when he became member of a small opposition party (Peasants' Party, agrarian-conservative). Ilves was soon elected chairman of the People's Party (reformed Peasants' Party), which formed an electoral cartel with the Moderates, a centrist party. After the March 1999 parliamentary election he became foreign minister again, serving until 2002, when the so-called Triple Alliance collapsed. He supported Estonian membership in the European Union and succeeded in starting the negotiations which led to Estonia joining the European Union on 1 May 2004. From 2001 to 2002 he was the leader of the People's Party Moderates. He resigned from the position after the party's defeat in the October 2002 municipal elections, in which the party received only 4.4% of the total votes nationwide. In early 2004, the Moderates party renamed itself the Estonian Social Democratic Party.

In 2003, Ilves became an observer member of the European Parliament and, on 1 May 2004, a full member. In the 2004 elections to the European Parliament, Ilves was elected MEP in a landslide victory for the Estonian Social Democratic Party. He sat with the Party of European Socialists group in the Parliament. Katrin Saks took over his MEP seat when Ilves became President of Estonia.

Presidential elections

Ilves was nominated by the Reform Party, Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica and his own Social Democratic Party on 23 March 2006, as a candidate for the 2006 presidential election.

On 29 August, Ilves was the only candidate in the second and the third round of the presidential election in Riigikogu, the Parliament of Estonia (he was supported by an electoral coalition consisting of the governing Reform Party plus the Social Democrats and the Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica which form the parliamentary opposition). The elections were boycotted by the Centre Party and the People's Union (the MPs were called upon by the party leaders not to participate in the election). Ilves gathered 64 votes out of 65 ballots. Therefore, one deputy of the three party alliance supporting Ilves did not vote in favour of his candidacy. A two-third majority in the 101-seat Riigikogu was required, so he was not elected in Riigikogu. His candidacy was automatically transferred to the next round in the Electors' Assembly on 23 September.

On 13 September 2006, a broad spectrum of 80 well-known intellectuals published a declaration in support of Ilves' candidacy. Among those who signed were Neeme Järvi, Jaan Kross, Arvo Pärt and Jaan Kaplinski.

On 23 September 2006 he received 174 ballots in the first round of the presidential election in the ''Electors' Assembly'', thus having been elected the next president of Estonia. His five-year term started on 9 October 2006.

Ilves has promised to concentrate more on foreign policy; according to Ilves, "The road to Moscow goes via Brussels." He also wishes to move Estonia politically more towards the centre of Europe. With regard to Estonia's domestic policies, he has supported re-affirming the president's role as a moral arbitrator in case of leading politicians' misdeeds. Ilves has severely criticised alleged political pressure exercised by the Centre Party and People's Union leaders over their parliamentary deputies and local politicians. Edgar Savisaar in turn has expressed dissatisfaction with Ilves' victory.

On 29 August 2011, he was reelected by the 101-seat legislature to a second five-year term. He received support from 73 members of the legislature, and is the first candidate to be elected in the first round since Estonia regained independence in 1991.

Personal life

Ilves has been married twice. With his first wife, American psychologist Dr. Merry Bullock he has two children: son Luukas (b. 1987), who graduated from Stanford University in 2009 and daughter Juulia Kristiine (b. 1992). In 2004 Ilves married his longtime partner Evelin Int-Lambot with whom he has one daughter, Kadri Keiu (b. 2003).

In public, Ilves almost exclusively wears bow ties. He says that this is because his late father used to do so.

Ilves has a brother, Andres Ilves, head of the Persian and Pashto World Service of the BBC. Andres graduated from Princeton University in the early 1980s and was awarded a fellowship with the public affairs leadership training program Coro Southern California based in Los Angeles, California. Until the early 2000s, Andres Ilves was head of the Afghanistan bureau of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty based in Prague, Czech Republic.

Decorations

1999 Knight First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit.

1999 Grand Cross of the Order of Honour of Greece.

2001 Commander of the Légion d'Honneur of the French Republic.

2004 Third Class Order of the Seal of the Republic of Estonia.

2004 Three Star Order of the Republic of Latvia.

2006 The Collar of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (Estonia).

2006 The Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath of Great Britain.

2007 Order of the White Rose of Finland.

2007 The Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum of Japan.

2007 The Golden Fleece Order of Georgia.

2007 The Order of Isabella the Catholic with Collar of Spain.

2008 The Collar of the Order of the National Coat of Arms (Estonia), also known as the ''Presidential Chain''.

2008 The Order of Vytautas the Great with the Golden Chain of Lithuania.

2008 The Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion.

2008 Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (Belgium).

2009 The Chain of the Order of the Three Stars (Latvia).

2009 The Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (Hungary).

2010 The Order of St. George of Georgia.

See also

Tarja Halonen, president of Finland

Andris Bērziņš, president of Latvia

References

External links

Official Website of the President of the Republic of Estonia

Personal website

Estonians elect former exile as new president, DPA, 23 September 2006

Ilves wins Estonia's presidential election, AP, 23 September 2006

|years=1996–1998}} |- |years=1999–2002}} |-

Category:1953 births Category:Columbia University alumni Category:Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Category:Current national leaders Category:Estonian diplomats Category:Estonian journalists Category:Government ministers of Estonia Category:Living people Category:People from Leonia, New Jersey Category:People from Stockholm Category:Presidents of Estonia Category:University of Pennsylvania alumni Category:Social Democratic Party (Estonia) politicians Category:Social Democratic Party (Estonia) MEPs Category:MEPs for Estonia 2004–2009 Category:Ambassadors of Estonia Category:Ambassadors and High Commissioners to Canada Category:Ambassadors to Mexico Category:Ambassadors to the United States Category:Recipients of the Order of the Three Stars, 1st Class Category:Recipients of the Order of the Three Stars, 2nd Class Category:Recipients of the Collar of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana Category:Recipients of the Collar of the Order of the National Coat of Arms Category:Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 3rd Class

ar:توماس هندريك إلفيس be:Тоамас Хендрык Ільвес be-x-old:Тоамас Хэндрык Ільвэс bg:Тоомас Хендрик Илвес ca:Toomas Hendrik Ilves cv:Тоомас Хендрик Ильвес cs:Toomas Hendrik Ilves da:Toomas Hendrik Ilves de:Toomas Hendrik Ilves et:Toomas Hendrik Ilves el:Τόoμας Χέντρικ Ίλβες es:Toomas Hendrik Ilves eo:Toomas Hendrik Ilves fr:Toomas Hendrik Ilves ga:Toomas Hendrik Ilves gd:Toomas Hendrik Ilves gl:Toomas Hendrik Ilves ko:토마스 헨드리크 일베스 io:Toomas Hendrik Ilves id:Toomas Hendrik Ilves it:Toomas Hendrik Ilves he:טומאס הנדריק אילווס ka:ტოომას ჰენდრიკ ილვესი la:Thomas Henricus Ilves lv:Tomass Hendriks Ilvess lt:Toomas Hendrik Ilves ms:Toomas Hendrik Ilves nl:Toomas Hendrik Ilves ja:トーマス・イルヴェス no:Toomas Hendrik Ilves nn:Toomas Hendrik Ilves oc:Toomas Hendrik Ilves pl:Toomas Hendrik Ilves pt:Toomas Hendrik Ilves ro:Toomas Hendrik Ilves ru:Ильвес, Тоомас Хендрик se:Toomas Hendrik Ilves sk:Toomas Hendrik Ilves sr:Томас Хендрик Илвес fi:Toomas Hendrik Ilves sv:Toomas Hendrik Ilves tr:Toomas Hendrik Ilves uk:Тоомас Гендрік Ільвес yo:Toomas Hendrik Ilves