Mladjan Dinkic was always an unusual kind of central bank governor. I once spent an hour with him in the historic offices of the Serbian National Bank, where he keenly debated everything from monetary policy to corruption to politics. Most central bank governors measure their words carefully. Mr Dinkic had no such inhibitions.
Credited with bringing stability to Serbia’s financial system and making the dinar convertible, Mr Dinkic was also a frustrated politician – something a central bank governor should never be. He holds the position of vice-president of the think tank G17 Plus that recently became a political party.
In the end, this political obsession proved to be his downfall. New central bank legislation was introduced in July that meant the governor could no longer belong to a political party.
Dovidenja (goodbye) Dinkic; dobar dan (hello) Kori Udovicki, the Yale-educated, former IMF expert on Yugoslavia who takes over the position. As a former minister for mines and energy, Ms Udovicki has experience dealing with the toughest of unions. The governorship of the central bank should be restful by comparison.
Brian Caplen
