MONTENEGRO'S PM DESIGNATE: ZELJKO STURANOVIC

UNCLAS BELGRADE 001646

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR MW
SUBJECT: MONTENEGRO'S PM DESIGNATE: ZELJKO STURANOVIC


SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY

This is an Embassy Podgorica cable. It has not been
cleared with Embassy Belgrade.


1. (U) Summary: Zeljko Sturanovic was confirmed on
October 5 by the Main Board of the ruling Democratic
Party of Socialists (DPS) as the nominee for Prime
Minister, succeeding Milo Djukanovic. Sturanovic's
nomination quickly attracted favorable comment from
opposition parties, who lauded his performance as
Minister of Justice since 2001, his cooperative approach
to the opposition, and the absence of any taint of
corruption. As Minister of Justice, Sturanovic has
worked closely with the USG, and has been supportive of
judicial reform. End summary.

New PM - Zeljko Sturanovic
--------------


2. (U) The Main Board of the ruling Democratic Party of
Socialists (DPS) met on October 5, and afterwards
confirmed publicly that Zeljko Sturanovic will be the
next Prime Minister. The DPS Main Board press conference
also confirmed that former State Union President Svetozar
Marovic will be leaving politics, and that Milo
Djukanovic will remain as the head of the DPS.

Support from Opposition
--------------


3. (U) The opposition, publicly and privately, has come
out in support of Sturanovic as Prime Minister. While
highly critical of the DPS, Sturanovic's party, for being
authoritarian and corrupt, they specifically exempt
Sturanovic from that criticism. They also cite
Sturanovic as a minister who was willing to work with the
opposition.

Cooperation with the USG
--------------


4. (SBU) Sturanovic has been a close partner of the USG
as it sought to strengthen the rule of law in Montenegro
and reform the judicial system. In that connection,
Sturanovic visited the United States in September 2005,
on a study tour to examine the role of appellate judges.
He, along with the Chief State Prosecutor, was
instrumental (at post request),in persuading the
judiciary to take a more stringent approach in trying and
sentencing human traffickers. That approach met with
noticeable success.

Thumbnail Bio
--------------


5. (U) Sturanovic was born in Niksic, Montenegro on
January 31, 1960. He graduated from the Law Faculty in
Podgorica in 1983, as the best student in his class. He
was a Senior Officer for the Niksic Steel Factory and the
Head of its Legal Department. Starting in 1993, he was a
representative in the House of Citizens of the Federal
(Yugoslav) Parliament, for two terms. During his second
term of office he was Head of the DPS Caucus from
Montenegro. In 2001, he was elected as a representative
in the Parliament of the Republic of Montenegro from the
DPS electoral list. He became Minister of Justice in the
Government of Montenegro in July 2001. He was also
President of the Commission for Human Resources in the
Government of Montenegro. He still lives in Niksic, and
is married, with two children. He does not speak English
(or any other foreign language).

Observations
--------------


6. (SBU) As Minister of Justice, Sturanovic has been a
good partner for the USG, and not an obstacle to pursuing
reforms. However, Sturanovic has not been comfortable
wielding authority, and his subordinates would often lack
clear guidance. He also has had a tendency to avoid
conflict, which accounts at least in part for the nearly
unanimous accolades for his nomination. He is a protege
of former SaM President Marovic, and is close to Marovic
and his family. Within the DPS, Sturanovic's support
base is also in Niksic.

POLT