The current Constitution of the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: Устав Републике Србије, romanized: Ustav Republike Srbije), also known as Mitrovdan Constitution (Митровдански устав, Mitrovdanski ustav), is the supreme and basic law of Serbia. It was adopted in 2006, replacing the previous constitution dating from 1990.
Serbia is the nation state of the Serbs, who are Serbia's dominant ethnic group. Serbs are also majority in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the 19th century, the Serbian national identity was manifested, with awareness of history and tradition, medieval heritage, cultural unity, despite Serbs living under different empires. Three elements, together with the legacy of the Nemanjić dynasty, were crucial in forging identity and preservation during foreign domination: the Serbian Orthodox Church, Kosovo Myth, and the Serbian language. The identification with medieval heritage through venerating Serbian saints, together with Serbian epic poetry, had helped develop a national consciousness separate from other Orthodox Christian peoples in the Balkans. The heroic epic poetry cycles inspired the Serbs to revive their heroic past and freedom. In the stories, the hajduks were heroes: they had played the role of the Serbian elite during Ottoman rule, they had defended the Serbs against Ottoman oppression, and prepared for the national liberation and contributed to it in the Serbian Revolution. The symbolical Kosovo Myth became the mythomoteur, signifying martyrdom and defence of Serb honour and Christendom against Turks (Muslims). When the Principality of Serbia gained independence from the Ottoman Empire, Orthodoxy became crucial in defining the national identity, instead of language which was shared by other South Slavs (Croats and Muslims).
The Cyrillic script is an important symbol of Serbian identity. Under the Constitution of Serbia, Serbian Cyrillic is the only script in official use; it is also co-official in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The double-headed eagle and the shield with fire steels are the main heraldic symbols which have represented the national identity of the Serbian people across the centuries.
Christianity is the predominant religion in Serbia. The Constitution of Serbia defines it as a secular state with guaranteed religious freedom. Eastern Orthodox Christians with 6,079,396 members, comprise 84.5% of country's population. The Serbian Orthodox Church is the largest and traditional church of the country; adherents of it are overwhelmingly Serbs. Public schools in Serbia allow religious teaching, most commonly with the Serbian Orthodox Church. Serbian public holidays include the religious celebrations of Eastern Orthodox Christians. Other Orthodox Christian communities in Serbia include Montenegrins, Romanians, Macedonians, and Bulgarians. The Catholic Church is prominent in north Vojvodina amongst the Hungarian minority. Protestantism is most largely found in Slovak populations within Bački Petrovac and Kovačica. Christianity first arrived in Serbia in the 9th century. It became state-religion in the 9th century when Serbia began to identify as a Christian country. In a 2011 census, 91.22% of Serbians identified as Christian.
The Serbian Revolution (Serbian: Српска револуција, romanized: Srpska revolucija) was a national uprising and constitutional change in Serbia that took place between 1804 and 1835, during which this territory evolved from an Ottoman province into a rebel territory, a constitutional monarchy, and modern Serbia.
In 1804, the Ottoman Janissary decided to execute all prominent nobles throughout Central Serbia, a move known as the Slaughter of the Knezes. The heads of the murdered Serbian nobles were put on public display in the central square to serve as an example to those who might plot against Ottoman rule. The event triggered the start of the Serbian Revolution aimed at putting an end to the 370 years of Ottoman occupation. The first part of the period, from 1804 to 1817, was marked by a violent struggle for independence from the Ottoman Empire with two armed uprisings taking place, ending with a ceasefire. The later period (1817–1835) witnessed a peaceful consolidation of political power of the increasingly autonomous Serbia, culminating in the recognition of the right to hereditary rule by Serbian princes in 1830 and 1833 and the territorial expansion of the young monarchy.
Slobodan Milošević (Serbian Cyrillic: Слободан Милошевић, pronounced [slobǒdan milǒːʃevitɕ] , 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the President of Serbia between 1989 and 1997 and President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 until his overthrow in 2000. Milošević played a major role in the Yugoslav Wars and became the first sitting head of state charged with war crimes.
Born in Požarevac, he studied law at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law during which he joined the League of Socialist Youth of Yugoslavia. From the 1960s, he was advisor to the mayor of Belgrade, and in the 1970s he was a chairman of large companies as the protégé of Serbian leader Ivan Stambolić. Milošević was a high-ranking member of the League of Communists of Serbia (SKS) during the 1980s; he came to power in 1987 after he ousted opponents, including Stambolić. He was elected president of the Socialist Republic of Serbia in 1989 and led the anti-bureaucratic revolution, reforming Serbia's constitution and transitioning the state into a multi-party system, reducing the power of autonomous provinces. He led the Socialist Party of Serbia from its foundation in 1990 until his death. Following the 1990 general elections, Milošević enacted dominant-party rule while his party retained control over economic resources of the state. During his presidency, anti-government and anti-war protests took place, and hundreds of thousands deserted the Milošević-controlled Yugoslav People's Army, leading to mass emigration from Serbia.
General elections were held in Serbia, a constituent federal unit of SFR Yugoslavia, on 12 November 1989, to elect the president of the presidency of the Socialist Republic of Serbia and delegates of the Assembly of SR Serbia. Voting for delegates also took place on 10 and 30 November 1989. In addition to the general elections, local elections were held simultaneously. These were the first direct elections conducted after the adoption of the 1974 Yugoslav Constitution and the delegate electoral system, and the last elections conducted under a one-party system.
The election was preceded by the rise of Slobodan Milošević, who, after being elected president of the presidency of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Serbia (SKS) in 1986, ousted his mentor Ivan Stambolić and his allies from key positions in 1987. The anti-bureaucratic revolution began and the constitution of Serbia was amended after Milošević came to power. After Milošević was appointed to the position of president of the presidency of SR Serbia in May 1989, presidential and parliamentary elections were announced for November 1989.
General elections were held in Serbia, a constituent federal unit of SFR Yugoslavia, in December 1990 to elect the president of Serbia and members of the National Assembly. The presidential election and the first round of the parliamentary elections were held on 9 December, with the second round of the parliamentary elections taking place on 23 December. The elections were scheduled after the ratification of a new constitution on 28 September, which was approved by voters in a referendum held in July. These were Serbia's first multi-party elections, and the only parliamentary election to be held using a first-past-the-post, two-round voting system with single-member constituencies; all future elections used proportional representation.
Slobodan Milošević came to power in Serbia at the 8th session in 1987. He then led the anti-bureaucratic revolution, which saw his supporters overthrow the leadership of Montenegro, Kosovo, and Vojvodina. After the July 1990 referendum, Milošević's Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), Vuk Drašković's Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), and Dragoljub Mićunović's Democratic Party (DS) became registered parties. Due to low requirements, 1,701 candidates ran for parliament and 32 for president. The campaign was marked by intense polarisation and politically driven incidents. SPS inherited a significant amount of political infrastructure upon its formation, giving it an immeasurable advantage over the opposition. Furthermore, SPS controlled most television, radio, and newspapers, which attacked and discredited opponents, especially Drašković, but portrayed SPS as the party of peace. The SPO and Ivan Đurić of Union of Reform Forces during the campaign called for an election boycott over but ultimately dropped after the government agreed to most of their demands in late November.
The National Assembly (Serbian: Народна скупштина, Narodna skupština, pronounced [nǎːrodnaː skûpʃtina]) or Parliament (Serbian: Парламент, Parlament, pronounced [parlameːnt]), formally the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: Народна скупштина Републике Србије, romanized: Narodna skupština Republike Srbije), is the unicameral legislature of Serbia. The assembly is composed of 250 deputies who are proportionally elected to four-year terms on the basis of direct, universal, and equal suffrage by secret ballot. It is presided over by a President of the National Assembly (speaker), who is assisted by at least one vice-president (deputy speaker).
The National Assembly exercises supreme legislative power. It adopts and amends the Constitution, laws, elects Government, appoints state officials such as the Supreme Public Prosecutor, Ombudsman, Governor of the National Bank of Serbia, President of the State Audit Institution. All decisions are made by majority vote of deputies at the session at which a majority of deputies are present, except for amending the Constitution, when a two-thirds majority is needed.
The Politics of Serbia are defined by a unitary parliamentary framework that is defined by the Constitution of Serbia in which the President of the Republic is the head of state while the Prime Minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the Government (consisted of the cabinet that includes Prime Minister and ministers) and the President of the Republic. Legislative power is vested in the unicameral National Assembly which is composed of 250 proportionally elected deputies. The judiciary is independent from the executive and the legislature and is headed by the Supreme Court, the highest court in the country.
The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Serbia as a "flawed democracy" in 2023 and ranked country 64th in the world on its Democracy Index. Freedom House also considers Serbia to be "partly free" that is democratically backsliding as in recent years the ruling Serbian Progressive Party has steadily eroded political rights and civil liberties, that is also putting legal and extralegal pressure on independent media, political opposition, and civil society organizations in the country.