G17 Plus
Encyclopedia
G17 Plus abbreviated to G17+, is a centre-right
Centre-right
The centre-right or center-right is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals, political parties, or organizations whose views stretch from the centre to the right on the left-right spectrum, excluding far right stances. Centre-right can also describe a coalition of centrist...

 political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

. With 22 seats in the National Assembly
National Assembly of Serbia
The National Assembly of Serbia is the unicameral parliament of Serbia. It is composed of 250 proportionally elected deputies elected in general elections by secret ballot, on 4 years term. The National Assembly elects the President of the National Assembly who presides over the sessions...

, it is the third-largest party, and currently participates in a coalition with, amongst others, the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Serbia)
The Democratic Party is a political party in Serbia. It is described as a social liberal or social democratic party.-Pre-war history:The Democratic Party was established on 16 February 1919 from unification of Sarajevo parties independent radicals, progressives, liberals and the Serbian part of...

 and the Socialist Party
Socialist Party of Serbia
The Socialist Party of Serbia is officially a democratic socialist political party in Serbia. It is also widely recognized as a de facto Serbian nationalist party, though the party itself does not officially acknowledge this...

. Verica Kalanović
Verica Kalanovic
Verica Kalanović is a Serbian politician and the current Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Serbia.- Biography :...

 serves as a Deputy Prime Minister: a position held until 2011 by party leader Mlađan Dinkić.

The party was founded in 1997 as a NGO
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...

 led by 17 economists. It became a political party on 16 December 2002, after the departure of Miroljub Labus
Miroljub Labus
Miroljub Labus is a Serbian economist and politician. Currently he's a University of Belgrade professor, lecturing political economy at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law...

 from the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Serbia)
The Democratic Party is a political party in Serbia. It is described as a social liberal or social democratic party.-Pre-war history:The Democratic Party was established on 16 February 1919 from unification of Sarajevo parties independent radicals, progressives, liberals and the Serbian part of...

. At the 2003 election
Serbian parliamentary election, 2003
Parliamentary elections were held in the Republic of Serbia on December 28, 2003. The Republic of Serbia then was one of the two federal units of Serbia and Montenegro, formerly known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....

, the party won 31 seats, and entered into a minority government with the Democratic Party of Serbia
Democratic Party of Serbia
The Democratic Party of Serbia is a political party in Serbia.-Foundation:The Democratic Party of Serbia was founded when a faction of the Democratic Party that supported its involvement in the Democratic Movement of Serbia split from the party and formed their own in 1992.Soon after the March...

 the following year. In 2006, Dinkić replaced Labus as party leader, and the party left the government over the failure to capture Ratko Mladić
Ratko Mladić
Ratko Mladić is an accused war criminal and a former Bosnian Serb military leader. On May 31, 2011, Mladić was extradited to The Hague, where he was processed at the detention center that holds suspects for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia...

. In 2007, the party fell to 19 seats, but remained in a broader-based government.

G17+ is the founder and central core of United Regions of Serbia, a pro-decentralisation
Decentralization
__FORCETOC__Decentralization or decentralisation is the process of dispersing decision-making governance closer to the people and/or citizens. It includes the dispersal of administration or governance in sectors or areas like engineering, management science, political science, political economy,...

 coalition, which also includes Together for Šumadija and several other non-parliamentary parties. G17+ is an observer member of the International Democrat Union
International Democrat Union
The International Democrat Union, abbreviated to IDU, is a centre-right international alliance of conservative and liberal-conservative political parties. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, the IDU comprises 45 full or associate members...

 and associate member of the European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...

.

History

G17+ was originally formed, with support by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 government through the National Endowment for Democracy
National Endowment for Democracy
The National Endowment for Democracy, or NED, is a U.S. non-profit organization that was founded in 1983 to promote US-friendly democracy by providing cash grants funded primarily through an annual allocation from the U.S. Congress...

, as a non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...

 in 1997 by a group of 17 economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...

s. It became a political party on December 16, 2002 after its first president Miroljub Labus
Miroljub Labus
Miroljub Labus is a Serbian economist and politician. Currently he's a University of Belgrade professor, lecturing political economy at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law...

 left the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Serbia)
The Democratic Party is a political party in Serbia. It is described as a social liberal or social democratic party.-Pre-war history:The Democratic Party was established on 16 February 1919 from unification of Sarajevo parties independent radicals, progressives, liberals and the Serbian part of...

.

In the 2003 elections
Serbian parliamentary election, 2003
Parliamentary elections were held in the Republic of Serbia on December 28, 2003. The Republic of Serbia then was one of the two federal units of Serbia and Montenegro, formerly known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....

, the party won 11.5% of the popular vote and 34 seats in the parliament. Three seats went to their coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (Serbia)
The Social Democratic Party was a political party in Serbia....

 which competed on G17+'s electoral list.

In March 2004, G17+ formed a minority government with Democratic Party of Serbia
Democratic Party of Serbia
The Democratic Party of Serbia is a political party in Serbia.-Foundation:The Democratic Party of Serbia was founded when a faction of the Democratic Party that supported its involvement in the Democratic Movement of Serbia split from the party and formed their own in 1992.Soon after the March...

 and a 2-party pre-election coalition of Serbian Renewal Movement
Serbian Renewal Movement
The Serbian Renewal Movement is a political party in Serbia.It was founded in 1990.In 1997 a dissident group abandoned the party and formed New Serbia....

 and New Serbia
New Serbia
New Serbia is a political party in Serbia. It was created in 1997 by a number of dissidents from the Serbian Renewal Movement....

. In May 2006 Miroljub Labus resigned as party president and Mlađan Dinkić was elected as his replacement. On October 1, 2006, G17+ quit the coalition government over its inability to capture Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladić
Ratko Mladić
Ratko Mladić is an accused war criminal and a former Bosnian Serb military leader. On May 31, 2011, Mladić was extradited to The Hague, where he was processed at the detention center that holds suspects for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia...

.

In the 2007 elections
Serbian parliamentary election, 2007
Parliamentary elections took place in Serbia on 21 January 2007. The first session of the new National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia was held on 14 February 2007....

, G17+ received 6.82% of the popular vote and 19 seats in the parliament.

The party has also taken a single seat in the Community Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija
Community Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija
The Assembly of the Community of Municipalities of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija , is the assembly of the association of local governments created by the municipal authorities in Kosovo elected in the May 11, 2008 municipal elections called by the Government of Serbia...

.
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