Portrait
Ana Brnabić
Born
28 September 1975Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Politician, Prime Minister of SerbiaSerbia

Ana Brnabić

In 2017 she became Serbia’s first woman and first openly gay prime minister.

Ana Brnabić was born in Belgrade in 1975. She studied business in the United States and the United Kingdom, then worked for international organisations and companies in Serbia. In 2016 she entered government as minister of public administration and local self-government, initially without party membership.

In June 2017 she became Serbia’s first woman and first openly gay prime minister. Her appointment attracted international attention in a country where Pride events had faced violence and restrictions. She led successive governments until 2024, when she became president of the National Assembly.

Brnabić’s visibility did not remove the disagreements between her government and LGBTQ+ campaigners. Activists questioned whether the symbolism of her appointment was being matched by changes to their rights and everyday lives. During the dispute over Belgrade’s EuroPride in 2022, the authorities’ attempt to stop the march sharpened that criticism.

Her political career has therefore carried two different kinds of significance: a precedent for representation at the highest level of government, and a continuing debate about how that representation translates into policy.

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