Dragan Vladisavljević, a former director of Serbia’s Military Intelligence Agency (VOA), has been appointed the country’s new ambassador to Russia.
The appointment decree was signed by then-Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on September 25, two days before Vučić submitted his resignation as president. The decree was subsequently published in Serbia’s Official Gazette.
Vladisavljević had previously served as Serbia’s ambassador to Azerbaijan, a position he assumed in May 2021. He was recalled from that post earlier this month, alongside several other Serbian ambassadors.
In Moscow, he will replace Momčilo Babić, who was also recalled from his position earlier in September.
Vladisavljević, born in 1962 in Lapovo, began his career as a military pilot before moving into military intelligence and diplomacy. He graduated from the Air Force Military Academy in Zadar in 1985 and later completed General Staff training in Belgrade.
He held several positions within Serbia’s Military Intelligence Agency, including head of its Analysis and Assessments Department. In 2009, he became deputy director of the agency, and in 2012 he was appointed director, a position he held until his retirement in 2014.
From 2015 to 2021, Vladisavljević headed the Serbian government’s Office for Negotiations with Prishtina. He subsequently served as ambassador to Azerbaijan until his recall this month.
His appointment in Moscow comes as Serbia continues to maintain close relations with Russia while pursuing membership in the European Union. Belgrade has not aligned with EU sanctions against Russia following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, despite repeated calls from Brussels for Serbia to align its foreign and security policy with that of the bloc.
The Serbian Foreign Ministry’s website had still listed Babić as ambassador to Russia in its most recent available information, while the new appointment decree takes effect following its publication in the Official Gazette.
