Hristijan Mickoski (Macedonian: Христијан Мицкоски, pronounced ['xristijan 'mit͡skɔski]; born 29 September 1977) is a Macedonian politician, university professor and president of VMRO-DPMNE. In 2016, he became the director of JSC "Power Plants of Macedonia", and in the period 2015—2017 he was energy advisor to prime ministers Nikola Gruevski and Emil Dimitriev. As the sole candidate, he was elected leader of VMRO-DPMNE at the party's 16th congress in Valandovo. He is expected to become the nation’s next Prime Minister.
Hristijan Mickoski | |
|---|---|
Христијан Мицкоски | |
.jpg) Mickoski in 2023 | |
| Prime Minister-designate of North Macedonia | |
| Assuming office TBD | |
| President | Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova |
| Succeeding | Talat Xhaferi |
| Leader of the Opposition of North Macedonia | |
| Assumed office 23 December 2017 | |
| President | Gjorge Ivanov Stevo Pendarovski Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova |
| Preceded by | Nikola Gruevski |
| President of VMRO-DPMNE | |
| Assumed office 23 December 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Nikola Gruevski |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 29 September 1977 Skopje, SR Macedonia, Yugoslavia |
| Political party | VMRO-DPMNE (1997–present) |
| Spouse | Roza Mickoska |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje |
| Occupation | Mechanical engineer • Politician |
Early life and education
Mickoski was born on 29 September 1977 in Skopje, then in Socialist Republic of Macedonia, part of SFR Yugoslavia.[1] He was the president of ELEM, the state-owned electricity producing company. He became a PhD (his father was his supervisor) and an associate professor at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje.[2][3]
Political career
After the resignation of Nikola Gruevski, Mickoski became the new leader of the VMRO-DPMNE party in December 2017,[4] and thus leader of the opposition in the country. Mickoski has stated that he and his party are in favour of joining the European Union and NATO but not with "capitulation".[5] However the veracity of his pro-EU and pro-NATO orientation has been met with doubt by some political observers.[6][7] Mickoski has close ties with the Hungarian and Serbian presidents Viktor Orbán and Aleksandar Vučić.[8] He and the party he leads became one of the main participants of the 2022 North Macedonia protests against the French proposal for the start of the negotiation process of North Macedonia and the EU.[9]
After the VMRO-DPMNE gained a plurality of seats in the Assembly of North Macedonia and entered into a coalition agreement with the VLEN Coalition and ZNAM following the 2024 North Macedonian parliamentary election, Mickoski was formally asked by President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova to form the next government on 6 June.[10]
Controversies
According to the Makfax news agency, Hristijan Mickoski as a student was a candidate of the Liberal Democratic Party for the presidency of SSUKM.[11] This information was provided by some dissatisfied party members when he was elected party secretary general in July 2017. Some members of VMRO-DPMNE accused that he was not a member of the party until 2010.[11]
In August 2022, Mickoski vowed to leave politics forever, if Bulgarians were recognised in the country's constitution, a mandatory requirement included in the negotiating framework with the EU.[12] In September he initiated the holding of a referendum under which the friendship treaty between Bulgaria and North Macedonia would be denounced.[13] According to VMRO-DPMNE founder Ljubčo Georgievski, Mickoski resembles an ideological heir of the Serbian Chetniks Movement in Macedonia.[14]
Personal life
Mickoski is married to Roza Mickoska, a Macedonian language teacher in the gymnasium Orce Nikolov.[15]