# Ivan Vuković (politician)

Ivan Vuković (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Иван Вуковић; born 17 September 1984) is a Montenegrin politician who served as the mayor of Podgorica from 2018 to 2023. Before taking office, he worked as an Assistant Professor and Vice-Dean for International Cooperation at the Faculty of Political Science in Podgorica.

## Early life

Vuković was born on September 17, 1984, in Podgorica, where he finished both elementary school and high school.
Vuković completed his undergraduate and specialist studies in 2007 at the University of Montenegro, Faculty of Political Science (study program International Relations and Diplomacy). He was one of the top students in his class, with an average grade of A (9.7).
Shortly before the referendum in 2006, he was one of the student representatives in the Movement for Independence of Montenegro.
After completing his specialist studies (2006-2007), Vuković completed an internship at the Montenegro Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after which he enrolled in postgraduate studies in the Netherlands at Leiden University.
In 2008, Vuković defended his masters thesis on the topic of "European Integration and Political Competition in Montenegro: The Determinants of Party Consensus".
Upon returning to Montenegro (2008-2014) Vuković began working as a teaching assistant at the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Montenegro.
During 2010, Vuković wrote foreign policy columns for the daily newspaper Pobjeda.
From September to November 2013, Vuković conducted a PhD thesis research at Harvard University and in June 2014 defended his PhD thesis on Party Outcomes in Hybrid Regimes in the Western Balkans and Beyond at the Central European University in Budapest.

## Academic career

In the period 2014–2015, Vuković acquired the title of Lecturer at the Faculty of Political Science; In November 2015 he was elected Assistant Professor and Vice-Dean for International Relations at the same Faculty.
Vuković spent academic year 2016–2017 at George Washington University as the first Fulbright Postdoctoral scholarship holder from Montenegro. During his stay in America, he taught there on the subject “Politics in Central and Eastern Europe”.
Vuković is fluent in English and has a good grasp of French.

## Political career

In 2018, Vuković publicly supported the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), Milo Đukanović.
In May 2018, he continued his political path as the holder of the coalition list “For the Good of the Citizens of Podgorica”, winning local election in Podgorica.
In July 2018, by secret ballot in the Capital City Assembly, Vuković was elected Mayor. Out of the total number of councilors (36), 35 voted for Vuković and one ballot was invalid.
On July 31, 2018, at age 34, Vuković began serving as the forty-third mayor of Podgorica. Vuković stated:
   Today, I come to you as a free man, proud and humble, ready to put absolutely everything I have learned in my life for the purpose of the future development of our City, convinced that there are no shortcuts to success and that what each of us wishes upon our City of Podgorica can only come as a result of a hard work. That is why I urge you, sincerely and humanly, to help me and those with whom I am to share the heavy burden of responsibility that I take on today. And as for me, may the God judge my work and devotion.