Founder Miroljub Labus | Political position Centre-right | |
Founded December 15, 2002 (2002-12-15) Dissolved April 21, 2013 (2013-04-21) Merged into United Regions of Serbia Ideology Liberal conservatism
Economic liberalism | ||
G17 Plus (G17+), was a liberal-conservative political party in Serbia that existed from 2002 until 2013 when it merged into the United Regions of Serbia (URS).
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Founded as a non-governmental organization dealing with economic issues, in 2002 it transformed into a political party that became part of several ruling coalition governments in Serbia throughout the 2000s and early 2010s.
Foundation
G17 Plus was founded in 1997 as a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Serbia, then a federal unit within FR Yugoslavia. The organization consisting of economic experts enjoyed financial support of the United States through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). It was registered as a political party on 15 December 2002, with Miroljub Labus as its first president.
At its first electoral showing at the 2003 parliamentary elections, G17 Plus received 11.5% of the popular vote and 34 seats in the National Assembly.
In March 2004, G17+ formed a coalition government with the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) and New Serbia (NS). In May 2006 Miroljub Labus resigned as party leader and was replaced by Mlađan Dinkić. On October 1, 2006, the party quit the governing coalition over its failure to find and extradite ICTY fugitive Ratko Mladić.
In the 2007 elections, the party received 6.82% of the popular vote and 19 seats in the parliament.
G17+ received a single seat in the Community Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija.
In 2010, G17 Plus founded the United Regions of Serbia (URS), a coalition of political parties and groups emphasizing decentralization and regional development of Serbia. After a few years functioning as the centerpiece of the coalition, in April 2013 G17 Plus fully merged with URS, transforming it into a political party.