Topic: Zoran Djindjic

Zoran Đinđić, Ph.D. listen (help·info) (often Zoran Djindjić, from Serbian Cyrillic: Зоран Ђинђић, IPA: ) (1 August 1952 – 12 March 2003) was a Serbian prime minister, mayor of Belgrade, long-time opposition politician and a philosopher by profession.

Đinđić was born in Bosanski Šamac, a town in Bosnia and Herzegovina, then part of Yugoslavia. Đinđić's family, on his father's side, originated from Toplica in the southern region of Serbia. His mother Mila, a housewife, raised him and his elder sister Gordana. His father, an army officer, gained a post in Belgrade, and the family moved to the capital. There, Zoran Đinđić attended Ninth Belgrade Gymnasium, later studying philosophy at the University of Belgrade and obtained diploma in 1974. There he initially demonstrated interest in politics. After being convicted by the communist regime and through Party-controlled media for his role in attempt to organize an independent political movement of Yugoslav students, Đinđić left to Germany. The reason for this was help of former German Chancellor Willy Brandt who persuaded authorities to let Djindjic come to Germany instead of serving sentence in Yugoslavia. He continued his studies with professor Jürgen Habermas in Frankfurt.

In Germany, Đinđić obtained a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Konstanz in 1979. He was most proficient in German, unlike English, which he mastered later, while serving as Serbian prime minister.