Radovan Jelašić: 125th anniversary of the enactment of the first law on
the National Bank of Serbia
Speech by Mr Radovan Jelašić, Governor of the National Bank of Serbia, on the 125th
anniversary of the enactment of the first law on the National Bank of Serbia, Belgrade, 31
January 2008.
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Ladies and gentlemen,
Institutional anniversaries such as the one today are the right time to look back at what has
been achieved and to ask ourselves if we have managed to preserve the fundamental values
of our society and state. Today, we are celebrating 125th anniversary of enactment of the
first Law on the National Bank of Serbia, which laid the cornerstone of one of the most
important institutions of the Serbian state. Preparations for the enactment of this law lasted
for about a decade, as can be seen from a document dating from as far back as 1873. The
leading people of that time understood the need for the young Serbian state to pursue the
most advanced European standards and visited almost a half of European countries,
including Germany, Switzerland and Belgium, to learn more about modern central bank
organization and operations and to apply this knowledge in formulating the law on the central
bank. At that time, there was no Brussels administration and Serbia was offered no technical
or any other assistance, but the makers of the first law on the National Bank of the Kingdom
of Serbia had a clear vision of the country's future and of what needed to be done for Serbia
to catch up and keep pace with the best European practice.
Anniversaries are also an occasion to remind ourselves of the fundamental ideas, aims and
visions, and to see how close we are to achieving them! For the National Bank of Serbia,
entering the 21st century meant a return to the main ideals and spirit of the law enacted in
1883 - to build an independent and professional institution, which is just and fair in the
distribution of money. It is misleading to portray Serbia as being on a crossroads between
the East and the West, dithering between European integrations or their opposite. Europe
has both an "east" and a "west", a "north" and a "south" - in this Europe, we all are equal but
different! In practice, such "Europe", the Europe woven into the law of 125 years ago, means
simply that we must work harder, better and more responsibly; that we must renounce daily
populism, sycophantism and politicizing; that we must think over the long run only, however
impossible it may sound today; and that we must tell the public exactly what awaits us on our
road back to Europe, however difficult it is, and what the consequences would be of Serbia's
decision to take a different course.
By incorporating the best European practice into the Law on the National Bank 125 years
ago, the creators of the law wanted to bring Europe into Serbia and to change - or, in
modern terms - harmonize our legislation with the European one. Serbia, now as then, can
only be changed by collective effort of us all, of both you and me! And it has always been
difficult to garner majority support for reform efforts - both 125 days ago and today. Still, all
who are present here today have not only the possibility but indeed a binding obligation to
improve our society, quickly and efficiently, and there is no excuse for failing to do so. For, in
the National Bank of Serbia, I am not only supervised by auditors, the Council and the
Parliament, but also by the makers of this law. I feel their spirit in the halls of this building and
every day they ask the same question: "And what did you, Radovan Jelasic, do today?" This
question is not always easy to answer, but after 7 years in the National Bank it is my daily
obligation, and I am deeply convinced that you feel the same way.
The fact that we knew that reverting to the key principles of the law drafted 125 years ago
would not be smooth sailing did not help us much in facing day-to-day challenges. What I
wish to say is simple - although we were aware of the job ahead of us, we embarked upon it,
and there was absolutely no excuse for not doing so! Curiously enough, except in the initial
phase of implementing reforms when the people are still buoyant with enthusiasm, you will
hardly ever enjoy the support of the majority, unless you take up the trouble of going into
great lengths explaining yourself, elaborating on your actions and backing them with good
arguments. Implementing changes is not easy, and the very paradox of transition is that the
process should be stepped up at the time of greatest difficulty, because if you stop even for a
second, everything will be lost.
I should not be the one to speak about the National Bank of Serbia's performance over these
125 years and its achievements in the 21st century; you are the only valid judges of our
work. By preserving stability in prices and ensuring a sound and stable financial system, the
National Bank of Serbia is creating conditions for the country's macroeconomic stability in
general. Our greatest contribution lies in preventing political and economic challenges, which
are not at all negligible, from halting the process of transition and turning Serbia's
development clock far back in time.
On this solemn occasion, the National Bank of Serbia wishes to announce the completion of
a very important project. Aware that tradition and history should serve as a beacon of light in
our relentless struggle for better future, the National Bank of Serbia has digitalized the
18831919 issues of the official gazette of the Kingdom of Serbia titled Srpske novine and posted
them on its website. It is in Srpske novine that the first law on the National Bank was
published on 19 January 1883 according to the Julian calendar, or 31 January according to
the new calendar. Similar to today's legally-mandated practice of publishing Statutes and
other regulations in the Official Gazette, at the time, the National Bank published in Srpske
novine its annual revenue and expenditure statements, announcements of
placing/withdrawing banknotes in/from circulation and daily exchange rate lists.
Making one of Serbia's cultural treasures available to the public is yet another proof of the
National Bank of Serbia's social responsibility. We will continue to digitalize old and rare
books constituting part of the NBS Library and Archives so as to protect them and save them
for future generations. Tradition helps us learn, deepens our understanding of the
significance of the development of key institutions the National Bank of Serbia undoubtedly
is, and teaches us of the enduring values and crucial importance of preserving them!
I wish to thank all of the assembled once again for lending solemnity to our today's
celebration in hope that the jubilant atmosphere and recalling our tradition and history will
reinforce us in our determination to live up to the challenges the present moment puts before
us and make Serbia, its legislation and social structure closer not only to the original ideas of
more than a century ago, but to modern European ideas as well, as they are practically the
same!