Serbia and Montenegro - Politics

Politics

The Federal Assembly of FRY (1992–2003) was composed of two chambers: the council of citizens and the council of republics. Whereas the council of citizens served as an ordinary assembly, representing the people of FRY, the council of republics was made equally by representatives from the federation's constituent republics, to ensure federal equality.

Under the FRY, the old collective presidency of the SFRY was dissolved and a single president was elected. The status of leadership of the Federal Yugoslav president was unstable with no president lasting more than four years in office. The first president from 1992 to 1993 was Dobrica Ćosić, a former communist Yugoslav partisan during World War II and later one of the fringe contributors of the controversial Memorandum of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Despite being head of the country, Ćosić was forced out of office in 1993 due to his opposition to Serbian President Slobodan Milošević. Ćosić was replaced by Zoran Lilić who served from 1993 to 1997, and then followed by Milošević becoming Yugoslav President in 1997 after his last legal term as Serbian president ended in 1997. The presidential election in 2000 was accused of being the result of vote fraud. Yugoslav citizens took to the streets and engaged in riots in Belgrade demanding that Milošević be removed from power. Shortly afterwards Milošević resigned and Vojislav Koštunica took over as Yugoslav president and remained president until the state's reconstitution as the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro.

After the federation was reconstituted as a state union, the new Assembly of the State Union was created. It was unicameral and was made up of 126 deputies, of which 91 were from Serbia and 35 were from Montenegro. The Assembly convened in the building of the old Federal Assembly of FRY, which now houses the National Assembly of Serbia.

In 2003, after the constitutional changes, new President of Serbia and Montenegro was elected. Svetozar Marović was the first and last President of Serbia and Montenegro until its breakup in 2006.