Government Removes Belgrade Rector From Governing Boards
University of Belgrade Rector Vladan Djokic and two vice rectors have been removed from the governing boards of two state institutions for spatial planning. No reasons were given.
Serbia’s government has removed University of Belgrade Rector Vladan Djokic and two vice rectors from the same university from their seats on the governing boards of two state institutions in the field of spatial planning. The decisions were made at a session held Thursday, August 13, 2026, and were published in the Official Gazette on Friday, August 15, 2026.
Two people were removed from the Governing Board of the Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning of Serbia in Belgrade. Nebojsa Bojovic had chaired that board, with Djokic serving as a member. In a separate decision, Dejan Filipovic was removed from his post as acting chairman of the Governing Board of the Agency for Spatial Planning and Urbanism of the Republic of Serbia. Both decisions were signed by First Deputy Prime Minister Sinisa Mali.
What the Decisions Actually Say
The text concerning the institute is reduced to a single sentence, with no explanation given:
Prof. Dr. Nebojsa Bojovic, chairman, and Prof. Dr. Vladan Djokic, member, are relieved of their duties on the Governing Board of the Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning of Serbia in Belgrade.
The same wording, again without reasons, appears in the second decision, the one concerning the Agency for Spatial Planning and Urbanism. Neither document states why the appointments ended.
Who Are the Removed Professors?
All three men hold leadership posts at the University of Belgrade. Djokic is rector and a full professor at the Faculty of Architecture. Bojovic is vice rector for international cooperation and a full professor at the Faculty of Traffic and Transport Engineering. Filipovic is vice rector for teaching and a professor at the Faculty of Geography.
As a result, a single government move touches the rector and two vice rectors at once, even though it formally concerns only their board membership at two institutions outside the university itself.
Two Institutions, One Field
The Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning of Serbia and the Agency for Spatial Planning and Urbanism of the Republic of Serbia are separate bodies, but they cover the same territory: spatial planning, urban design and land-use regulation. The faculties the removed professors come from, architecture, traffic engineering and geography, belong to disciplines tied to that same field.
The published decisions give no indication of who will take the vacated seats.
Two Days Between the Session and the Announcement
The session at which the decisions were adopted was held Thursday, August 13. The public learned of them two days later, when the Official Gazette published both acts on Friday, August 15.
The decisions do not say whether this was a routine end of term or something else. Until an official explanation is given, the only certainty is what the Gazette itself shows: three names, two boards and one date of session.
