Branislav Ivković, former minister, politician, and professor at the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Belgrade, has died at the age of 72. The news of his death was confirmed by his wife, Biljana Popović Ivković.
Born in Bijeljina in 1952, Ivković completed elementary school and high school in his hometown, and later earned his undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degrees at the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Belgrade.
He began his academic career as an assistant, later becoming a lecturer and associate professor. He served twice as vice dean and participated in numerous domestic and international projects, including work in Israel, Kuwait, and Moscow, Nova.rs recalls.
Ivković was also politically active, holding positions in the Socialist Party of Serbia. In the government, he served as Minister of Urbanism, Housing and Communal Affairs, and Construction starting in 1994, and as Minister of Science and Technology from 1998.
After the fall of Slobodan Milošević’s regime, he negotiated with the new authorities on behalf of the SPS during the events leading up to the arrest of the former FRY president on April 1, 2001.
He was expelled from the SPS on April 14, 2002, amid deepening divisions within the party.
He ran twice for President of Serbia: in 2002 as a candidate of the Citizens’ Group – Socialists for a Return to the Base, and in 2004 as a candidate of the Socialist People’s Party, which he founded two years earlier.
In an Instagram post, his wife Biljana Popović Ivković described him as a “superhuman fighter” and “Robocop” who always came back in life even when others had already counted him out.
“Bane turned pain into strength and injustice into courage. No matter how many times medicine said farewell to him, he returned and defied the laws of life. Bane lives, and he will continue to live as long as we breathe and carry his trace,” Popović wrote.
The place and time of the funeral will be announced later.
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Source: N1, Foto: Printscreen Instagram