Born in Valandovo, Ivanov finished primary and secondary school in his hometown. He lived there until the age of 27, then moved to Skopje, which has since been his permanent residence.[1]
Ivanov is married to Maja Ivanova. Together they have a son named Ivan.[2]
Political and civil society activism
Ivanov has been politically active since the Yugoslav era, when he pushed for political pluralism and market economy.
Until 1990 he was an activist in the League of Socialist Youth of Yugoslavia and a member of the last presidency of the organisation,[1] where he worked on reforming the political system and promoting political plurality and free market economy.[3]
Ivanov is considered a leading expert on civil society, specialising in political management.[4] He is the founder and honorary president of the Macedonian Political Science Association and one of the founding members of the Institute for Democracy Societas Civilis, a leading analytical centre in North Macedonia.[4]
Academic career
His professional career began in 1988, when he became an editor at the Macedonian Radio and Television, the national broadcasting station. He later taught political theory and political philosophy at the Law Faculty of the University of Skopje. In 1999, he became a visiting professor for the Southeast European programme at the University of Athens in Greece.[4]
A series of academic appointments followed, including at universities in Bologna and Sarajevo. Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje named him associate professor in 1992 and a full-time professor in 2008. In the same year, he became president of the Council for Accreditation in Higher Education in Macedonia.[4]
Published works
Цивилно општество (Civil Society)
Демократијата во поделените општества: македонскиот модел (Democracy in divided societes: the Macedonian Model)
Современи политички теории (Current political theories)
Политички теории - Антика (Political theories - Antiquity)[1]
President of the Republic of Macedonia
Campaign and election
On 25 January 2009, the strongest party in the Macedonian parliament, VMRO-DPMNE, appointed Ivanov as the party's presidential candidate for the 2009 Macedonian presidential election. 1,016 party delegates voted for his candidacy at the party's convention.[5] Although he was proposed as a candidate by VMRO-DPMNE, he is not a member of the party.[3]
In the first round of the 2009 Macedonian presidential election 343,374 (35.06%) citizens of The Republic Of Macedonia voted for Ivanov, the second being the candidate of the Social Democrats, Ljubomir Frčkoski, with 20.45% of the votes.[8]
Ivanov won the second round of the presidential election with 453,616 votes; opposition candidate Ljubomir Frčkoski got 264,828 votes.[9]
One day after his election, Ivanov reaffirmed his intention for a meeting to be realised between him and the president of Greece, Karolos Papoulias. He added that he will officialise his invitation just after taking office.[10] After a meeting with the president of the Democratic Union for Integration, Ali Ahmeti, Ivanov announced that he will also include ethnic Albanian intellectuals in his future presidential cabinet.[11]
On 16 April, Ivanov on a ceremony received the presidential certificate from the State Election Commission.[12]
Inauguration
Ivanov took office on 12 May 2009, thereby succeeding Branko Crvenkovski. After taking the oath he held his inauguration speech in the Macedonian parliament and made public his priorities - EU and NATO membership, economic recovery, inner stability, interethnic relations and good relations with the neighbouring countries, especially with Greece.[13]
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Crvenkovski, prime ministerNikola Gruevski, the first president of independent Republic of Macedonia Kiro Gligorov, military officials, leaders of the religious communities in Macedonia and foreign ambassadors in the county.
On the day Ivanov officially became president of his country, he sent a letter to the president of the United States Barack Obama in which he underlined The Republic Of Macedonia's aim to join NATO and EU and to find a "mutually acceptable solution" to the "name difference" with neighbouring Greece. He also thanked Obama for his words of support at the 2009 NATO Summit.[17]
One day after the inauguration, Ivanov together with Prime Minister Gruevski travelled to Brussels to meet with the European Union and NATO officials.[18][19]
Ivanov claims to promote a Macedonian model of a multi-ethnic society and Pax Europaea, a united Europe living in peace and respecting the diversity and identity of the nations of Europe.[20][21]
Second term
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2016)
Ivanov with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku, 10 March 2016Ivanov with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, 24 May 2017Ivanov with Brazilian President Michel Temer in Brasília, 12 December 2017
Ivanov was re-elected as President of the Republic of Macedonia for a second term in April 2014.
On 12 April 2016, Ivanov halted judicial inquiries into officials involved in a wiretap scandal. Ivanov stated to have done so in the best interest of the country, and to end the political crisis. A move that the opposition called Ivanov's coup d'état and an effective disagreement to cooperate and find a common ground solution to the problem.[23][24] His own party, the VMRO-DPMNE did not agree with his action. Opposition media called it a political manoeuvre to prevent further judicial inquiry by the special prosecutor Katica Janeva, proposed by the international community to normalise the political situation. Opposition leader Zoran Zaev subsequently called for protests.[23] A demonstration occurred in Skopje on 13 April, with the presidential offices being attacked by rioters and several people detained.[citation needed]
Awards and honours
Honours
2011- Highest decoration of the Order of “Saint Lazarus” of Jerusalem
^"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)(in Macedonian)
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