Brnabic adds: “Hopefully this will blow over in three or four days, and then I won’t be known as the gay minister, I’ll be known as the minister of public administration and local government”.
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Serbian future Public Administration Minister Ana Brnabic gestures during the parliament session in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016.
“I am only interested in her results in the hard work that lies ahead”, Vucic said, while announcing the composition of his new Cabinet.
In the largely unchanged government, Ana Brnabic, ex-manager of Serbia’s subsidiary of an worldwide wind park developer, was a new appointment, named minister for state administration.
Vucic said he was aware the decision might draw public attention in a country where gays often face harassment.
Prime Minister-designate Aleksandar Vucic, a former extremist-turned reformist, has promised to boost gay rights as part of efforts to move closer to European Union membership.
‘This is a huge step in creating a society of equal opportunities which identifies the equality and expertise of people regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or any other personal characteristic, ‘ a spokesperson said. 150 people were injured when hard-line nationalists attacked a gay pride parade in Belgrade in 2010, prompting the government to ban the parade for three years.
Predrag Azdejkovic, the editor of gay magazine Optimist, said a gay government minister was “something new and totally wonderful”. “It’s a good message to them: this is your country, stay, you are accepted here”. “She has exquisite energy and I am looking forward to working with her”. “She is welcome in the Serbian government”, Vucic told reporters when asked about Brnabic’s sexuality. He is due to present his programme to the parliament at a session on Tuesday.
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Vucic and an alliance led by his Serbian Progressive Party won an April 24 election with 48.24 percent of the vote, securing a comfortable majority of 131 deputies in the Balkan republic’s 250-seat parliament.
