Who Was Vladimir Cvijan?

Vladimir Cvijan was a Serbian lawyer and politician, born in Belgrade in 1976. The public came to know him as the best student of his generation at the Faculty of Law, as legal adviser and General Secretary to Serbian President Boris Tadić, and later as a senior official of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and a member of parliament.

He withdrew from public life in 2014, after an open conflict with the leadership of the party he had helped build. He died on 5 January 2018, but the public learned of it only in March 2021. The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade then announced that the cause of death was drowning in the Danube.

This biography follows his path from his studies and academic work, through law practice and service in the Presidency, to politics and the circumstances surrounding his death. All information is based on publicly available and verifiable sources.

Early Life and Family

Vladimir Cvijan was born on 24 November 1976 in Belgrade, then part of the Socialist Republic of Serbia within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Most sources give only the year of birth, while the full date appears on Wikipedia.

According to available information, his father, Mirko, was born in Peć and is of Bosnian and Herzegovinian descent. He worked as a professor of biology and served as dean of the Faculty of Biology at the University of Belgrade. His mother, Zlatinka, comes from Kikinda.

He grew up in Belgrade, where he later completed his entire higher education. Besides his native Serbian, he spoke English and Russian.

Education

Cvijan graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Belgrade in 1999. Media reports describe him as the best student of his generation, a fact often highlighted in his later political profiles.

He earned his master’s degree at the same faculty in 2004, in the field of intellectual property protection and internet law. This specialization was unusual among Serbian lawyers of his generation, since information technology law was only beginning to develop at the time.

Early Career

He began his professional life in academia. From 2000 to 2004, he worked at the Institute of Comparative Law in Belgrade, where he took part in research projects on legislation, the judiciary and civil law.

At the same time, he built a legal career. According to the portal N1, he was first registered as a lawyer in the office of attorney Vojkan Nedić, and then went independent and opened his own practice.

Thanks to his academic work and public appearances, he quickly gained a reputation as an expert in constitutional and civil law. That reputation drew the attention of the office of the President of Serbia.

Law Practice and Notable Clients

During his years as a lawyer, Cvijan also represented people who were often in the media spotlight. One of them was Sreten Jocić, better known as Joca Amsterdam, who was tried in connection with the murder of Croatian journalist Ivo Pukanić. Cvijan withdrew from representing him in 2012, following criticism in the public.

He also defended Ivan Pavlović, known as Iker, who was tried for cocaine smuggling. According to the portal 021.rs, his clients also included businessmen Dušan Borovica, Slaviša Purić and Milan Marjanović.

It should be stressed that representing defendants does not mean endorsing their actions. It is part of a lawyer’s professional role and of every defendant’s right to a defense.

Adviser to President Boris Tadić

From October 2004, Cvijan worked as a consultant for expert legal analysis in the cabinet of Serbian President Boris Tadić. At the same time, he served as secretary of the President’s Legal Council.

In February 2008, after Tadić’s re-election, he was appointed presidential adviser and General Secretary of the Presidency. This made him one of the head of state’s closest legal associates.

He left the Presidency in March 2010, citing disagreement over the re-election of judges. His departure drew considerable public attention, because Cvijan had been regarded as a trusted Tadić aide.

Joining the SNS and Service in the National Assembly

As early as April 2010, Cvijan joined the then-opposition Serbian Progressive Party. The party was led at the time by Tomislav Nikolić, with Aleksandar Vučić as vice president. Vučić presented him as one of the best lawyers in the country and the author of a large number of legislative proposals.

In the 2012 parliamentary elections, he was elected a member of parliament on the list led by the SNS. According to media reports, he chaired the parliamentary committee responsible for constitutional and legislative matters. At the time, he was widely considered a serious candidate for Minister of Justice.

He also became a member of the party’s Presidency and one of its most prominent officials. However, his relationship with the party leader soon deteriorated.

Conflict with Aleksandar Vučić and Departure from the SNS

In late 2013, Cvijan began publicly criticizing the policies of then First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić. He accused him of abusing the constitution and the law, and he filed a criminal complaint against him. Vučić rejected these claims.

On 9 December 2013, Cvijan announced his candidacy for SNS president. Just a few weeks later, on 30 December 2013, he left the party and resigned from all party functions. Some sources place this in early January 2014, so sources differ on this detail.

In an open letter to the leadership, he wrote that he had joined the party believing that one man would never again rule Serbia, but found a party in which everyone who opposed one man’s will had been removed. He remained in parliament as an independent member until the end of his term in 2014.

Withdrawal from Public Life

In January 2014, Cvijan took over the small Reformist Party and announced its renaming to the Republican Party, with an anti-corruption platform. Sources differ on whether the party was founded or renamed. Soon afterward, he vanished from public view.

For years there was no reliable information about him. Some tabloids wrote that he had left the country for the United States, but those claims were never confirmed.

More details emerged only in 2021, when lawyer Ivan Ninić published documents from the Security Information Agency (BIA) that had been declassified. According to them, Cvijan traveled to Greece in 2014 and later to the United States. He returned to Serbia in October 2017 and cut off contact with his family at the end of December that year.

BIA stated that it had kept no records about him before March 2021. Ninić assessed that the documents leave many unanswered questions, among them about his residence and sources of income.

Tragic Death

Discovery of the Body and the Official Finding

According to a statement from the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, on 5 January 2018 the body of an unidentified man was found in the Danube. It lay at kilometer 1,164 of the right bank, about seven meters from the shore. Media reports place the spot about two kilometers from the Pančevo Bridge.

The on-duty prosecutor ordered an autopsy with toxicological analysis. The deceased was identified as Vladimir Cvijan. The prosecutor’s office stated that death resulted from drowning and that there were no indications of a criminal offense, so the case was archived in 2018.

In August 2026, the prosecutor’s office added that the autopsy report names drowning as the cause of death, along with a state of alcohol intoxication at the time of dying.

How the Public Learned of the Death

The Belgrade Bar Association removed Cvijan from its register of lawyers on 17 August 2018, following an inquiry from the Tax Administration. Bar president Jugoslav Tintor said the association learned of the death from the civil registry and issued the decision with 5 January 2018 as the date of death.

The public learned all of this on 15 and 16 March 2021. Journalist Predrag Popović published a prosecutor’s document on the payment of autopsy costs in Tabloid magazine, and the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office issued a statement on the cause of death the next day.

The fact that the death of a well-known lawyer and former member of parliament went unreported for three years drew strong public interest. No official explanation was given for why it remained unknown for so long.

Reactions and Unresolved Questions

Former President Boris Tadić demanded that the authorities urgently publish a report on the cause of death and the reasons for the long silence. Aleksandar Vučić said in late March 2021 that no one had killed Cvijan.

Lawyers Ivan Ninić, Čedomir Kokanović and Jovan Rajić have raised questions about the investigation for years. In December 2025, they asked the Belgrade Bar Association for access to Cvijan’s file, arguing that the autopsy finding does not give a clear basis for concluding how he died.

On 6 August 2026, the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the claims of murder as arbitrary and unsupported by material evidence. Claims of a violent death have not been confirmed by any official finding to this day. The Misdemeanor Court in Belgrade suspended, due to the statute of limitations, the proceedings against Nataša Krivokapić, the former head of the prosecutor’s office, whom Ninić had reported for denying access to the case file.

Works and Publications

Besides practicing law, Cvijan left behind several professional publications. He worked as an author and co-author on editions of the Institute of Comparative Law.

• Pregled zakonodavstva sistema odbrane Republike Srbije (Overview of Defence Legislation in Serbia, 2007), sole author;
• Prava pripadnika sistema odbrane (Rights of Members of the Defense System, 2008), co-author;
• Građansko pravo (Civil Law, 2004), co-author;
• Građansko pravo, intelektualna svojina: harmonizacija domaćeg zakonodavstva sa pravom Evropske unije (Civil Law, Intellectual Property: Harmonization of Domestic Legislation with EU Law, 2004), co-author;
• Pravosudni saveti (Judicial Councils, 2003), co-author;
• Zakonodavstvo o prosvetnom savetu: uporednopravna istraživanja (Legislation on the Education Council: Comparative Legal Research, 2002), co-author.

Personal Life

Little is publicly known about the personal life of Vladimir Cvijan. He was divorced and had one child. Out of respect for the family’s privacy, no further details are given here.

According to media reports, he was cremated after his death, and the urn was placed at the Lešće cemetery in Belgrade on 19 January 2018. The spot was marked only with the name Vladimir, without a surname.

Interesting Facts

• He was the best student of his generation at the Faculty of Law in Belgrade.
• He spoke English and Russian.
• By his own account, a shared love of chess connected him with Aleksandar Vučić.
• In 2010, Vučić introduced him as the author of about 70 legislative proposals.
• His death remained unknown to the public for more than three years.
• His resting place was marked with only his first name.

Legacy and Influence

Vladimir Cvijan is remembered as a lawyer who traveled the road from an academic institute to the top of the state administration and parliament. His departure from the Presidency, his move to the SNS, and then his public break with the party leader remain among the more striking political turns in Serbia at the start of the previous decade.

The case of his death became a subject of wider public debate on the transparency of state institutions and the work of the judiciary. The association Ustavobranitelji continues to seek further explanations, while the prosecutor’s office stands by its finding of drowning.

His professional works on civil law, intellectual property and defense system law remain in library collections.

Biography – Frequently Asked Questions

Who Was Vladimir Cvijan?

Vladimir Cvijan was a Serbian lawyer and politician, adviser and General Secretary to Serbian President Boris Tadić, and later an SNS official and member of parliament from 2012 to 2014.

When and Where Was Vladimir Cvijan Born?

He was born on 24 November 1976 in Belgrade. Most sources give only the year of birth, while the full date appears on Wikipedia.

Where Did Vladimir Cvijan Study?

He studied at the Faculty of Law at the University of Belgrade, graduating in 1999 as the best student of his generation and earning his master’s degree in 2004.

What Position Did He Hold in Boris Tadić’s Office?

From October 2004 he was a consultant and secretary of the President’s Legal Council, and from February 2008 he was adviser and General Secretary of the Presidency. He left that post in March 2010.

Why Did Vladimir Cvijan Leave the SNS?

In late 2013, he criticized the policies of Aleksandar Vučić and accused him of abusing the constitution and the law. He left the party on 30 December 2013, resigning all functions and publishing an open letter.

Whom Did Vladimir Cvijan Represent as a Lawyer?

Among others, he represented Sreten Jocić, known as Joca Amsterdam, and Ivan Pavlović, known as Iker. Media reports also mention several businessmen.

When Did Vladimir Cvijan Die, and of What Cause?

He died on 5 January 2018. According to the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, the cause of death was drowning in the Danube, and the case was archived because there were no indications of a criminal offense.

Why Did the Public Learn of Vladimir Cvijan’s Death Only in 2021?

No official explanation exists. The Bar Association said it learned of the death after an inquiry from the Tax Administration and removed him from its register in August 2018, while the public found out in March 2021.

Have the Circumstances of Vladimir Cvijan’s Death Been Clarified?

The prosecutor’s office maintains that they have, and that this was a drowning. Some lawyers and politicians express doubt and call for further investigation, but claims of murder have not been confirmed by any official finding.

Conclusion

Vladimir Cvijan was a lawyer whose career spanned academia, law practice, the Presidency of Serbia and parliament. He stood out as the best student of his generation, adviser to President Boris Tadić and a senior SNS official, and he broke publicly with Aleksandar Vučić in late 2013.

He disappeared from public view in 2014 and died on 5 January 2018, a fact that became known only in 2021. The official finding points to drowning, while some lawyers continue to seek additional explanations. His name remains tied to questions about the relationship between politics and the judiciary in Serbia.