Centre for Civic Education (CCE), since its first proposals for government organization in 2016, has advocated for a compact and functional Government with only one Deputy Prime Minister. The latest available draft of the Law on Government envisages a maximum of four Deputy Prime Ministers. However, today we have the most bloated Government in Europe – with 32 members and as many as seven Deputy Prime Ministers. Some of them have overlapping portfolios, and together they may have more than 30 advisers, in addition to administrative-technical staff and numerous other privileges. Through a series of short overviews, the CCE provides insight into the Government’s structure and the activities of some of the members of our costly executive branch, based on officially available data.
We remind that the previous overview focused on the Minister without Portfolio, Milutin Butorović from PES.
Following the reconstruction of the 44th Government on 23 July 2024, parties from the coalition For the Future of Montenegro (ZBCG) – New Serb Democracy (Nova) and the Democratic People’s Party (DNP) – formally became part of the executive branch at the highest level, with several ministers and Deputy Prime Ministers. Budimir Aleksićfrom Nova was appointed Deputy Prime Minister for Education, Science and Religious Communities, while Milun Zogović from DNP assumed the role of Deputy Prime Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development.
One of the first activities of both Deputy PMs was an official visit to Belgrade and meetings with Serbian officials. Aleksić met with the Minister of Culture Nikola Selaković, while Zogović, along with his party colleague, Minister Maja Vukićević, met with the Speaker of the National Assembly of Serbia Ana Brnabić.
Most of Aleksić’s subsequent activities were ceremonial in nature, including meetings with the British Ambassador and the Head of the EU Delegation, two meetings with the chargé d’affaires of the People’s Republic of China, representatives of the Jewish Community, and civic activist Aleksandar Saša Zeković. He also received a delegation from the Serbian National Council of Montenegro (SNS CG), representatives of the organizing committee of the “Prosvjetitelj” award, and paid a working visit to the Serbian Matica in Montenegro. He held a meeting with a delegation from the University of Montenegro (UCG) and Maksim Vučinić, President of the Board of Directors of COTEE (Montenegrin Electricity Market Operator), aiming to strengthen cooperation between UCG and the economy, as stated on the website. Over more than nine months, the Government website recorded 13 meetings held by Aleksić with slightly more than 10 different interlocutors. It was also announced that from 21 to 27 May he will be on an official trip to China, marking his first official trip since Belgrade.
Aleksić is supported by four advisers – Zoran Dubljević, Dragan Vukić, Miljan Stanišić, and Sanja Jokić. Their biographies, like Aleksić’s, are not publicly available on the Deputy PM’s website. A search reveals that Dubljević graduated in English, Stanišić in sociology, and Vukić and Jokić in law, with the note that Vukić and Jokić have been long-time officials of SNP. Additionally, the platform for the visit to China mentions Aleksandar Ćuković as an adviser, though he is not listed as part of the permanent advisory team. Aleksić also has administrative-technical staff at his disposal.
On the other hand, Zogović, according to the official website, had 16 activities, excluding greetings for Plužine Municipality Day, New Year and Easter holidays, condolences to Serbia’s leadership over the tragedy in Novi Sad, public condolences to families of the victims, condolences to the citizens of Cetinje over the tragedy there, and an appearance announcement on RTCG. His activities included meetings with the British Ambassador, EU Ambassador to Montenegro, and the China’s chargé d’affaires, as well as with the Head of the Regional Economic Department for the Western Balkans, the French Ambassador, and the UNDP Resident Representative. Zogović also met with representatives of the Transport Community Permanent Secretariat, together with Minister of Transport Vukićević, paid a working visit to Žabljak municipality with Minister Simonida Kordić, received a delegation from the French employers’ association MEDEF, and met with representatives of Azerbaijani construction and infrastructure companies. As for events, he opened the European Chess Championship in Petrovac, spoke at the “Belt and Road” conference in Podgorica on cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries, and attended the signing of a contract between CEDIS and the EBRD for the financing of the CEDIS SCADA – Smart Digitalization Project. He also chaired the inaugural and second sessions of the Coordination Body for Harmonization and Monitoring of Inspections.
His advisory team consists of Milena Đurović and political veteran Predrag Bulatović, whose biographies, like Zogović’s, are not posted on the website, but a search reveals that Đurović holds a degree in political science. Additionally, he is supported by technical and administrative staff.
Official data from the Government website indicate that the activities of both Deputy PMs are limited and mostly ceremonial, which is disproportionate to their use of assigned official vehicles from the General Secretariat of the Government of Montenegro, Mercedes E280 models (PGCG-298 – Aleksić and PGCG-302 – Zogović). For instance, in January 2025, Aleksić reportedly traveled up to 5,000 km, even though he had only one officially recorded meeting that month – a working visit to Matica Srpska in Podgorica. Available travel logs also point to numerous irregularities, inclusing imprecise or incomplete entries, illegible documents lacking information on mileage or odometer readings, and some with signs of being altered after issuance. Furthermore, data indicates that the official vehicles were used during holidays and for private purposes.
On the party level, DNP heavily promotes Zogović’s work and media appearances, while only selected official activities of Aleksić are shared on Nova’s social media channels.
According to publicly available information, Aleksić’s salary in April was 2055.70 EUR, and Zogović’s was 1805.31 EUR, excluding other benefits.
Although the roles of Deputy Prime Ministers should be central to sectoral management and policy coordination in Government, in the cases of Budimir Aleksić and Milutin Zogović, the available data suggest a formalistic and predominantly ceremonial engagement. This further highlights the need to reassess the Government’s oversized structure and to insist on transparency, accountability, and measurable results over privileges.
Nikola Mirković, Programme Associate