Why is Milan Knežević, the president of the Montenegrin Democratic People's Party, considered "Vučić's man" in that country
President of the Montenegrin Democratic People's Party (DNP) Milan Knezevic and the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić they have close, allied relations, so Knežević repeatedly emphasized that Vučić helps the Serbian people in Montenegro the most, that Serbia is the "most brotherly country" and that Vučić's policy is on the path of peace.
Of course, he congratulated him on his victory in the elections and supported Vučić Serbian progressive party.
Supporters see him as a politician who consistently fights for the rights of Serbs, as an opponent of the long-term dominance of the Montenegrin Democratic Party of Socialists and a man who, in their opinion, was the target of a politically motivated process in the case of a "coup". Critics see him as a promoter of Serbian nationalism, a politician close to the interests of Belgrade and Moscow and one of the people who deepened identity divisions in Montenegro.
Knežević believes that Montenegro's attitude towards Serbia and Vučić is unfair and that the Serbian people and Serbia are unjustifiably presented as a problem, while other influences are not reacted in a similar way.
He criticized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro for its "frustration" towards Serbia and Vučić, and assessed that a "private state" was created in 2006, referring to the referendum on the independence of Montenegro, which he considers irregular.
In June, he appealed to Vučić to postpone his arrival in Montenegro to the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Tivat "due to security", while mentioning the criminal Radoj Zvicer. He stated that Vučić's failure to attend the Summit would be a bad message, but he told him to be careful, even riding the cable car. According to the statement of the President of the Serbian Parliament, Ana Brnabić, Knežević allegedly told her that "it is better for Vučić to go to Gaza than to Montenegro."
Knežević praised Vučić as a "master of media perception" and supported reconciliation with Serbia.
Knežević launched an institutional and political initiative to withdraw the decision on the recognition of Kosovo's independence in Montenegro. The initiative started at the local level in the municipalities, and its goal is the adoption of the resolution in the republican parliament.
By the decision of the local assembly of May 12, the recognition of the self-proclaimed independence of Kosovo is no longer valid in the territory of the municipality of Zeta, and initiatives have been launched to adopt the same declarations in other municipalities where the government is held by coalitions gathered around Serbian parties, including Pljevlja, Andrijevica, Berane and Herceg Novi.
Knežević also points out that efforts should be made to standardize the Serbian language as official in the Constitution of Montenegro, and equal to Montenegrin.
On several occasions, he advocated the liberalization of the rules for dual citizenship of Montenegro and Serbia.
Knežević's name was strongly linked to the case known as the "coup" when the Montenegrin prosecutor's office claimed that on the day of the 2016 parliamentary elections, there was a conspiracy aimed at forcibly occupying institutions and preventing Montenegro from joining NATO.
Knežević's name was also included in the indictment. The higher court in Podgorica sentenced Knežević and Mandić to five years in prison each, but the Court of Appeal later overturned the verdict and ordered a new trial.
In the repeated proceedings, all the accused were acquitted, and these. In 2008, the Court of Appeal confirmed the acquittal and dismissed the charges against Knežević with final force and effect.
At the same time, Vučić regularly highlights Knežević as a close ally, friend and brave leader of the Serbs in Montenegro.
After Knežević's arrest in Zeta at the end of 2025, Vučić called him "our friend and brother, the leader of the Serbian people in Montenegro" who was arrested for defending the will of the people from the referendum in 2006. He wished him freedom and a joint Christmas.
Vučić also praised Knežević's courage:
"Everyone in Montenegro must be silent, only Milan Knežević is an exception," Vučić once praised Knežević.
He also called him a "hard nut" who "does not calculate and does not issue principles."
Knežević was born in 1980 in Podgorica, and apart from the position of president of the Democratic People's Party, he is a long-time member of the Parliament of Montenegro and one of the former leaders of the Democratic Front (DF) political alliance.
Knežević started his political career in the Socialist People's Party of Montenegro.
In 2022, Vučić awarded Knežević with the Order of the Serbian Flag, first degree, on the occasion of Serbia's Statehood Day.
The order was awarded to Knežević for special merits and strengthening of relations between Serbia and Montenegro.
Knežević also considers himself a writer, and has published several collections of poetry and a novel. His literary work is often imbued with themes of identity, history, Serbian-Montenegrin relations and traditionalism.
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