(1974-10-08) 8 October 1974 (age 49) Strumica, SR Macedonia, SFR Yugoslavia (now North Macedonia)
Political party
Social Democratic Union
Spouse
Zorica Zaeva
Alma mater
University of Skopje
Zoran Zaev (Macedonian: Зоран Заев, pronounced['zɔran'zaɛf]; born 8 October 1974) is a Macedonian economist and politician who served as prime minister of North Macedonia from May 2017 to January 2020, and again from August 2020 to January 2022.[2]
Prior to entering politics, he ran a private business in his hometown of Strumica. In the period 2003–2005, he was a Member of the Parliament of Macedonia, and then he ran for mayor of Strumica Municipality, a position he held for three terms, between 2005 and 2016. After the resignation of Branko Crvenkovski from the leadership of the centre-left Social Democratic Union of Macedonia in 2013, Zaev was appointed the new party leader.
Zaev suffered defeat in the 2014 parliamentary election, after which he made accusations of election rigging and decided for his party to act as a non-parliamentary opposition. In 2015, he published illegally obtained telephone conversations of senior government officials that contained indications of organized crime. In the same year, he signed the Pržino Agreement, which provided for a technical government to hold an early parliamentary election in 2016. Following the early election in 2016, Zaev's party formed a parliamentary majority with DUI and Alliance for Albanians, and their coalition government was elected in May 2017. As Prime Minister, he has advocated the accession of North Macedonia to the European Union.
He signed the Prespa agreement with Greece, resolving a long-standing dispute over the country name, which led to the accession protocol of North Macedonia to NATO. Zaev is one of the initiators of Mini Schengen Zone, an economic zone of the Western Balkans countries intended to guarantee "four freedoms". Zaev agreed with the major opposition party VMRO-DPMNE on early elections due to stalled EU talks and resigned in January 2020, but after the election, he began his second term as the head of the government. Zaev formally stepped down again after the local elections in October 2021, and was succeeded by Dimitar Kovačevski in January 2022.
^Caretaker gov't takes over in North Macedonia, Xinhua, 2020-01-04.
^"Heads of State, Heads of Government and Ministers for Foreign Affairs" (PDF). Protocol and Liaison Service, United Nations. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
ZoranZaev (Macedonian: Зоран Заев, pronounced ['zɔran 'zaɛf]; born 8 October 1974) is a Macedonian economist and politician who served as prime minister...
2020. It was originally scheduled for November 2020, but Prime Minister ZoranZaev called early elections after the European Council failed to come to an...
Union of Tito's Left Forces, and the Party of Free Democrats. SDSM's ZoranZaev said that the election was about "choosing whether [the country] will...
party, Gjorgi Ivanov, was elected as the new president. In June 2017, ZoranZaev of the Social Democratic Party, became the new prime minister six months...
Vulić, Croatian football player ZoranZaev, Macedonian politician Zoran Žigić, Bosnian Serb war crime suspect Zoran Živković (handballer) (born 1945)...
the naming dispute gained a new momentum, with the new prime minister ZoranZaev vowing his determination to resolve the decades-old dispute with Greece...
2020, following an agreement between the leaders of SDSM and VMRO-DPMNE, ZoranZaev and Hristijan Mickoski, to hold early parliamentary elections on 12 April...
government. The demonstrations began following charges being brought against ZoranZaev, the opposition leader, who responded by alleging that Gruevski had had...
2018 that an agreement had been reached with his Macedonian counterpart ZoranZaev on the dispute, "which covers all the preconditions set by the Greek side"...
2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020. Marusic, Sinisa Jakov (18 August 2020). "ZoranZaev to Lead North Macedonia's Government Again". Balkan Insight. Retrieved...
Republic of North Macedonia Politics of North Macedonia "Here is the salary ZoranZaev receives as Prime Minister of Northern Macedonia". 19 August 2018....
members of DUI and the Alliance for Albanians in May 2017. SDSM leader ZoranZaev became Prime Minister. Coalition talks were impacted by the storming of...
Foreign Affairs Incumbent Assumed office 30 August 2020 Prime Minister ZoranZaev Dimitar Kovačevski Talat Xhaferi Preceded by Nikola Dimitrov Chairman-in-Office...
25 January 2024 Prime Minister Emil Dimitriev (acting) ZoranZaev Oliver Spasovski ZoranZaev Dimitar Kovačevski Preceded by Trajko Veljanovski Succeeded...
in the Republic of Macedonia, and due to attempts by opposition leader ZoranZaev to form a coalition government with Albanian ethnic parties. There had...
Macedonia In office 12 May 2019 – 12 May 2024 Prime Minister ZoranZaev Oliver Spasovski ZoranZaev Dimitar Kovačevski Talat Xhaferi Preceded by Gjorge Ivanov...
that he had contacted the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, ZoranZaev, about the case. Zaev firmly denied these speculations branding them as ungrounded...
July 2020. ZoranZaev has served as the Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia again since August 2020. Prime Minister ZoranZaev announced...
government. Protests began following charges being brought up against ZoranZaev, the Social Democratic opposition leader, who responded by alleging that...
ZoranZaev executive authority returned to the government. In 2019, Ivanov was succeeded by Zaev ally Stevo Pendarovski as president. In 2020, Zaev briefly...
international community to normalise the political situation. Opposition leader ZoranZaev subsequently called for protests. A demonstration occurred in Skopje on...
two-thirds of the Assembly of the Republic. Macedonian Prime Minister ZoranZaev vowed to push forward with the changes in the Assembly, which was achieved...
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