Who Is Zagorka Dolovac

Zagorka Dolovac is a Serbian lawyer and the Supreme Public Prosecutor of Serbia. She was born in Novi Sad in 1966 and has spent her entire professional career in the public prosecution service. Since 1 January 2010 she has headed the country’s prosecution organisation, first as Republic Public Prosecutor and, since 2023, as Supreme Public Prosecutor.

She has been elected to the post three times, most recently in 2021. Because of the length of her tenure and the position she holds, her work is regularly the subject of public attention, praise and criticism. This biography follows her path from the Novi Sad prosecutor’s office to the top of the judicial hierarchy.

Early Life and Education

Zagorka Dolovac was born in Novi Sad, in what was then the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. According to the Serbian Wikipedia, she was born on 12 October 1966, while official sources give only the year of birth. Details about her childhood and family are not publicly available.

She completed secondary school at the Karlovci Grammar School in Sremski Karlovci in 1985. She then studied law and graduated in 1989. According to the official biography published by the High Prosecutorial Council, she graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Novi Sad, while one source mentions the Faculty of Law in Belgrade. The sources therefore differ, and the official biography is followed here.

She passed the bar exam in 1992, which gave her the formal qualification to work in the judiciary.

Beginning of Her Career in the Novi Sad Prosecution Service

She began her professional career in 1990 as a trainee at the District Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad. She remained there until 1992, when she passed the bar exam.

She then worked as a legal associate at the Municipal Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad until 1996. That period allowed her to learn the day-to-day work of a prosecutor’s office, from case analysis to the preparation of proceedings.

The Path to the Top of the Prosecution Service

From 1996, Zagorka Dolovac served as deputy municipal public prosecutor in Novi Sad. According to her official biography, she held that post until 2003. From 2004 to 2007 she was deputy district public prosecutor in the same city.

From 2007 to 2009 she served as acting District Public Prosecutor in Belgrade. That position took her to the capital and to the largest prosecutor’s office in the country. From there she made the final step towards the highest office.

Republic Public Prosecutor from 2010

She was elected Republic Public Prosecutor in 2009 and took up the post on 1 January 2010. Her term was renewed in 2015, when the National Assembly of Serbia elected her again.

Her official biography states that during her mandate she worked for the efficient conduct of the public prosecution service, the strengthening of its capacities and cooperation with other bodies, civil society organisations and international partners. According to the Serbian Encyclopedia, she was also president of the State Council of Prosecutors, a body later renamed the High Prosecutorial Council, of which she is a member.

Third Term in 2021

On 22 July 2021, the National Assembly elected her Republic Public Prosecutor for the third time. She was the only candidate for the post. She took the oath of office on 29 July 2021, despite political and public objections to her nomination, as reported by the N1 portal.

Supreme Public Prosecutor since 2023

Since 12 May 2023, Zagorka Dolovac has served as Supreme Public Prosecutor. This is the same office that was previously known as Republic Public Prosecutor, and it received its current name under the new judicial framework.

As Supreme Public Prosecutor, she heads the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office and has the authority to issue general binding instructions for the work of all public prosecutor’s offices. She can also decide which office handles a particular case. It is these powers that most often draw public comment on her work.

Criticism and Public Controversy

Over the years, Zagorka Dolovac has been the target of criticism from the opposition and part of the expert community. As N1 reported, critics argued that the prosecution service did not act ex officio in certain cases, including the unlawful demolitions in Belgrade’s Savamala district and the crash of a military helicopter in which several people died.

Media outlets such as Peščanik and Vreme have described her public conduct as reserved, while some political actors have demanded her removal. In June 2025, the People’s Party launched a campaign for her dismissal, and in September of that year it submitted to Parliament an initiative with about 32,000 signatures. The prosecution service and its representatives rejected some of the accusations, and in December 2025 lawsuits over alleged damage to her reputation were announced.

It should be noted that these are assessments and political positions, not court findings. Her supporters point out that the work of the prosecution service is lawful and that she was repeatedly elected to the post by the National Assembly.

The Novi Sad Canopy Case

The collapse of the canopy at the railway station in Novi Sad on 1 November 2024, in which 16 people lost their lives, became one of the main subjects of public debate about the work of the prosecution service. The Vreme portal reports that for the first months Zagorka Dolovac made no public statement about the case.

In February 2025, she decided that the case files from the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad should be transferred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime. Legal experts interpreted that decision in different ways. Lawyer Ivan Ninić assessed it as an attempt to control the case, while the decision itself falls formally within her powers.

In early August 2025, arrests followed in an investigation into corruption in the reconstruction of the Novi Sad–Subotica railway, led by the Organised Crime Prosecutor’s Office headed by Mladen Nenadić. Part of the pro-government media described those events as a “prosecutorial coup”, while President Aleksandar Vučić called the prosecution’s actions criminal. On 19 August 2025, Zagorka Dolovac appeared, together with Nenadić, at a session of the National Security Council.

Recent Activity in 2026

In October 2026, Zagorka Dolovac issued several general binding instructions. On 20 October, she ordered public prosecutor’s offices to open cases within 24 hours on complaints concerning election-related criminal offences. A commission of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office was formed by a decision of 27 October, and by an instruction of 28 October prosecutor’s offices were required to give the commission access to any case on request.

On 29 October, she issued a further instruction ordering chief public prosecutors to urgently request that the police take measures to prevent the possible destruction of official files. Reactions are divided. The Forum of Serbian Lawyers called for her resignation, while the Ministry of Justice, in a caretaker mandate, stated that supervision by the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office is routine practice.

Personal Life

Details of Zagorka Dolovac’s personal life are not publicly available. It is not publicly known whether she has a family or children, and she has not spoken about it publicly. In keeping with respect for privacy, those details are not included here.

All that is known is that she comes from Novi Sad, the city where she began her career and with which her name is often associated in the media.

Interesting Facts

• She has headed the prosecution organisation since 1 January 2010, which makes her one of the longest-serving holders of that office.
• The National Assembly of Serbia has elected her three times, in 2009, 2015 and 2021.
• In 2021 she was elected as the sole candidate at a session of the National Assembly.
• She received the French Legion of Honour in 2020, together with Deputy Public Prosecutor Gordana Janjićević.
• She met the Head of the European Union Delegation to Serbia, Emmanuel Giaufret, in February 2025.

Awards and Recognition

In June 2020, Zagorka Dolovac was awarded the French Legion of Honour. She received the decoration together with Deputy Public Prosecutor Gordana Janjićević, as confirmed by the French Embassy. According to N1, the award recognised cooperation between Serbia and France in the field of law.

Legacy and Influence

Zagorka Dolovac’s influence derives mainly from her position at the head of the prosecution service over several consecutive terms. As its head, she shapes the organisation of the prosecutor’s offices, the allocation of cases and the general instructions that bind all prosecutors in the country.

Assessments of her legacy remain divided. While critics argue that the prosecution service has not acted sufficiently in sensitive cases, others stress that she has acted within her powers. As with other public officials, a final assessment will depend on time and on the outcome of the proceedings now under way.