Former diplomat Zoran Jolevski is the current Minister of Defense for the Republic of Macedonia. Jolevski, who is well-versed in both policy and finance, has held a variety of positions in his government, including Secretary General, and has collaborated extensively with the United Nations and other international organizations. As ambassador, his main focus has been on enhancing diplomatic and trade relations, as well as working on Macedonia’s accession to the World Trade Organization and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Organizing humanitarian help during the Kosovo War and negotiating in the Macedonian Naming Dispute, Jolevski shown his loyalty to his country during its most trying times. His management skills saved the cigarette business Prilep from bankruptcy, and he now oversees Macedonian airports. Even when he wasn’t working for the government, his knowledge was highly recognized by major politicians, and he worked as an international trade and finance consultant for not just his own government, but also for other countries. Jolevski is committed to modernizing Macedonia and integrating the country into the global economy.
Childhood and Adolescence
On July 16, 1959, Zoran Jolevski was born in Skopje, Macedonia. Saints Cyril and Methodius University awarded him a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Master’s degree in Science of Law. He pursued his schooling at Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands. He obtained his postgraduate degree from Cyril and Methodius, as well as a Ph.D. in International Economics.
Prior to joining the diplomatic service, he ran a travel firm and worked as a freelance tour director.
Career of Zoran Jolevski
Jolevski began working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1988. He began his work as the Germany and United Kingdom Desk Officer. He later became the Secretary of the Macedonian mission to the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia’s Succession.
He was named First Secretary of Macedonia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations and the World Trade Organization in 1994. During a United Nations conference on trade and development, he also served as Vice-Chairman of a committee on Regional and Multilateral Investment Treaties. He stayed in Geneva for a total of four years.
He was the secretary for WTO entry from 1998 to 1999. During the Kosovo War, he served as the Kosovo refugees’ Deputy National Coordinator for Humanitarian Issues.
From 1999 to 2004, Jolevski was the President of Macedonia’s Secretary General. He was in charge of reestablishing diplomatic relations between Macedonia and the People’s Republic of China, as well as serving as a member of the Ohrid Framework Agreement negotiation team that brought peace to the Balkans, and representing President Trajkovski at the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia session that made the necessary constitutional changes.
Following President Trajkovski’s death in 2004, Jolevski turned down an ambassadorship to become a professor at the European University of Macedonia. He stayed with the government as a consultant and later became the Chief of Party for the WTO Compliance Activity and the Macedonian Business Environment Activity.
During this time, he also maintained his official role by serving as the Economic and Foreign Policy Advisor to Nikola Gruevski, the current Prime Minister of Macedonia and the leader of the VMRO-DPMNE. He also worked as a WTO admission adviser for the governments of Serbia, Ethiopia, and Montenegro.
Jolevski was named Macedonian Ambassador to the United States in 2007. Strengthening US-Macedonian relations, expanding US investments in Macedonian enterprises, and Macedonia’s NATO membership were among his top priorities. The next year, he and then-Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice signed a Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.
In 2011, he was appointed as the first Macedonian Ambassador to the United States of Mexico. From his office in Washington, D.C., he carried out his duties. When Macedonia was recognized as a Permanent Observer of the Organization of American States later that year, he became the first permanent ambassador to the Organization of American States.
When Prime Minister Gruevski named Jolevski as Minister of Defense in 2014, his term as an ambassador came to an end. His key priorities include improving cyber security, revamping the military academy, and forging military partnerships with other NATO countries.
Major Projects of Zoran Jolevski
One of Jolevski’s most notable accomplishments is his involvement in the Macedonian Naming Dispute with Greece. After President Crvenkovski withdrew Nikola Dimitrov from negotiations in 2008, Prime Minister Gruevski urged him to take over. He attended naming talks with Greece in 2009, and his statements are credited with Greece’s willingness to accept the proposal for worldwide usage of the name “Republic of Northern Macedonia.”
Personal History and Legacy
Jolevski is married to Suzana Jolevska and they have two children, Pero (1988) and Filip (1989). (1992). Both of their sons work in the economics sector.
Zoran Jolevski Net Worth
Zoran Jolevski is one of the wealthiest politicians and one of the most popular. Zoran Jolevski’s net worth is estimated to be $1.5 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.
Trivia
Jolevski speaks English, French, Serbo-Croatian, and Bulgarian in addition to his native Macedonian. He has spoken at a number of political gatherings and educational institutions around the world.
Jolevski was scheduled to fly on the plane that killed President Trajkovski in 2004. The president had requested that he stay at home the night before.