View source for Mihalj Kertes

{{Short description|Yugoslav and Serbian politician (1947–2022)}}
{{For|the film director with the same Hungarian name|Michael Curtiz}}
{{EngvarB|date=February 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Mihalj Kertes
| native_name         = Михаљ Кертес
| native_name_lang    = sr
| image               = Mihalj Kertes.jpg
| office              = Director of the Federal Customs Bureau of [[FR Yugoslavia]]
| term_start          = 1993
| term_end            = 6 October 2000
| office1             = [[Minister without portfolio (Serbia)|Minister without portfolio]]
| term_start1         = 14 July 1993
| term_end1           = 18 March 1994
| predecessor1        = ''Position established''
| successor1          = [[Vekoslav Šošević]]
| office2             = Member of the Presidency of [[SR Serbia]]
| president2          = [[Slobodan Milošević]]
| term_start2         = 8 May 1989
| term_end2           = 28 September 1990
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1947|08|29|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Bačka Palanka]], PR Serbia<!-- DO NOT LINK, see [[MOS:GEOLINK]] for further guidance -->, FPR Yugoslavia<!-- DO NOT LINK, see [[MOS:GEOLINK]] for further guidance -->
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2022|12|29|1947|08|29|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Belgrade]], Serbia
| party               = {{ubl|[[League of Communists of Yugoslavia|SKJ]] (1974–1990)|[[Socialist Party of Serbia|SPS]] (1990–2015)|[[Serbian Progressive Party|SNS]] (2015–2022)}}
| children            = 2
| nickname            = Bracika
}}
'''Mihalj Kertes''' ({{lang-sr-Cyrl|Михаљ Кертес}}, {{langx|hu|Kertész Mihály}}; 29 August 1947{{spaced en dash}}29 December 2022), nicknamed "Bracika", was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician. An ethnic [[Hungarians in Serbia|Hungarian]], he became a member of the [[League of Communists of Yugoslavia]] in 1974 and a close associate of [[Slobodan Milošević]] in the late 1980s.
He became a prominent figure during the [[anti-bureaucratic revolution]]. Kertes was a candidate in the [[1989 Serbian presidential election|1989 election for the presidency of Serbia within Yugoslavia]] but lost in a landslide to Milošević. He joined the [[Socialist Party of Serbia]] in 1990 and became the director of the Federal Customs Bureau of [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] in 1993. Kertes provided logistic and financial support for various undercover government operations until the [[overthrow of Slobodan Milošević]], which occurred on 5 October 2000. After the overthrow, Kertes was sentenced, tried, and acted as a witness in several trials.
== Early life ==
Mihalj Kertes was born on 29 August 1947 in [[Bačka Palanka]], PR Serbia<!-- DO NOT LINK, see [[MOS:GEOLINK]] for further guidance -->, FPR Yugoslavia<!-- DO NOT LINK, see [[MOS:GEOLINK]] for further guidance -->, to a Hungarian father Mihalj ({{Langx|hu|Mihály}}), a tailor, and a Croatian mother Olga, a housewife.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web |date=2 April 2001 |title=The Milosevic charge sheet |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/monitoring/media_reports/1256551.stm |access-date=7 September 2007 |publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref name="vreme" /> He attended primary and middle school, as well as the Higher School of Management, with a major in social work, in his hometown.<ref name=":0" />
== Career ==
=== Early period ===
He started working as a social work clerk in municipal administrations and became a member of the [[League of Communists of Yugoslavia]] in 1974.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=29 December 2022 |title=Preminuo Mihalj Kertes, nekadašnji direktor Uprave carina |url=https://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/530796/kertes-uprava-carina-preminuo |access-date=29 December 2022 |website=Politika |language=sr}}</ref> He became a leading figure in the town of Bačka Palanka in 1981,<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=29 December 2022 |title=Umro Mihalj Kertes |url=https://rs.n1info.com/vesti/preminuo-mihalj-kertes/ |access-date=29 December 2022 |website=N1 |language=sr-RS}}</ref> while his career later progressed to the level of secretary of the municipal committee of the Communist League in 1986.<ref name="lopusina">{{cite book|url=http://www.lopusina.com/knjiga.html|title=Tajni ratnici ex-Jugoslavije|first=Marko|last=Lopušina|language=Serbian|isbn=978-86-505-0056-9|year=2003|publisher=Evro|access-date=7 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928101928/http://www.lopusina.com/knjiga.html?id=17|archive-date=28 September 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="glas">{{cite web|author=Zorica Vulić|url=http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.rs/arhiva/2000/05/21/srpski/P00052006.shtm|title=Ko je ovaj čovek? Mihalj Kertes|publisher=Glas javnosti|date=20 May 2000|access-date=7 September 2007|language=sr}}</ref><ref name="danas">{{cite web|url=http://www.danas.rs/20070319/dijalog1.html#1|title=Deda Mraz na optužnici|publisher=Danas|date=19 March 2007|access-date=7 September 2007|language=Serbian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725141312/http://www.danas.rs/20070319/dijalog1.html#1|archive-date=25 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the party's transformation into the [[Socialist Party of Serbia]] (SPS), Kertes became a supporter of [[Slobodan Milošević]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> He took part in the [[1989 Serbian presidential election]], but lost to Milošević in a landslide.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 December 2019 |title=Pre 30 godina Milošević je došao na vlast |url=https://www.telegraf.rs/vesti/politika/3127534-pre-30-godina-milosevic-je-dosao-na-vlast-dan-kad-je-mu-je-narod-dao-moc-da-kroji-sudbinu-srba |website=Telegraf}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Zlatoje|last=Martinov|year=2000|title=U podnožju demokratskih propileja: izbori u Srbiji, 1990–2000|page=19|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QhhNAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>
=== Rise to prominence ===
Kertes became a prominent figure when, during the [[anti-bureaucratic revolution]] in support of Milošević's politics, he initiated the protests in Bačka Palanka and led the protesters to [[Novi Sad]], the capital of [[Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina|SAP Vojvodina]]. The event, known as the "Yogurt Revolution", led to resignation of the provincial leadership and installation of loyalists to Milošević.{{Sfn|Thomas|1999}} His statement "How can you Serbs be afraid of Serbia when I, a [[Hungarians|Hungarian]], am not afraid of Serbia?" made him particularly famous.{{sfn|Dobbs|2000}}{{dead link|date=July 2024}} These activities helped his progression to Serbian presidency membership, and in 1990 he was elected to the [[Assembly of Serbia]] as a member of parliament for the [[Grocka]]—a suburb of [[Belgrade]]—although he did not live there.<ref name="glas" /><ref name=":1" /> In 1991, he temporarily withdrew from the public eye and, under the auspices of the State Security, on the eve of the [[War in Croatia]], he travelled across Serb-populated areas in [[Croatia]] and [[Herzegovina]], distributing weapons to local Serbs. In July 1991, he made another historic statement in [[Nikšić]]: "Here we will build a great Serbian state, with the border on the left shore of [[Neretva]] and [[Dubrovnik]] as the capital".<ref name="vreme" /> Subsequently, he was installed as the head of the state security department of the Federal Ministry of Interior, and as the assistant to Federal Minister of Interior [[Petar Gračanin]] (1992–93).<ref name="glas" /> Prime Minister [[Milan Panić]] removed him from his position after an incident at the London Conference, when it was discovered that he induced [[Vladislav Jovanović]] to carry a [[Covert listening device|secret listening device]], and that he was listening on the other end.<ref name="vreme">{{cite web|title=Čudesni svet Bracike Kertesa|url=http://www.vreme.com/arhiva_html/520/12.html|publisher=Vreme|date=20 December 2000|access-date=7 September 2007| language=Serbian}}</ref>{{Sfn|Cohen|2001|p=211}} He was linked to formation of [[Serbian paramilitary]] units in Croatia (especially in [[SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia|eastern Slavonia]]) and [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] in 1992 and 1993.{{sfn|Dobbs|2000}}
Kertes reached the ultimate and the most lucrative peak of his career when he was appointed the head of the Yugoslav Customs Office in 1993, a post he held until 6 October 2000.<ref name=":1" /> The position allowed him to impose whatever tax was necessary on goods, and the customs duties functioned as a state budget in shadow.{{sfn|Dobbs|2000}} They were a financial source for a vast range of operations, including funding the paramilitary units in the Croatian and Bosnian wars, money laundering in foreign off-shore banks, and filling private pockets of people close to Milošević.{{sfn|Dobbs|2000}} He had Milošević's trust throughout his tenure.<ref name="vreme" /> [[Sanctions against Yugoslavia|UN sanctions meant that]] the entire lucrative turnover of goods, especially such as tobacco and oil, had to be effectively smuggled, a privilege that was given only to a select few. Milošević's son, [[Marko Milošević|Marko]], had an effective monopoly of dealing [[Philip Morris USA|Phillip Morris]] cigarettes in [[FR Yugoslavia]].{{sfn|Dobbs|2000}} From his position, Kertes distributed an enormous number of gifts, chiefly vehicles and luxury goods, and the beneficiaries ranged from underdeveloped villages, through various state and local officials, to various special police, military and paramilitary units.{{sfn|Dobbs|2000}} During his reign, he was a man of unlimited power in his hometown Bačka Palanka.{{sfn|Dobbs|2000}} Apart from his love of fishing using nets and dynamite, he is also remembered for driving an armoured limousine to his mother's house through the town. He had the power to sack whoever he did not like, and provided benefits to loyalists. The town provided around 800 customs officials out of 2300 the country's total during his mandate.{{sfn|Dobbs|2000}}
=== Fall from power ===
After the [[overthrow of Slobodan Milošević]] on 5 October 2000, activists of the [[Democratic Opposition of Serbia]] broke into the customs headquarters, where they found Kertes and his associates [[paper shredder|shredding]] documents. Other items found in the suite included US$&nbsp;1.3&nbsp;million in various currencies, 18&nbsp;pounds of drugs, about 50 weapons, and ten bulletproof luxury cars. After a brief detention, Kertes was permitted to leave the office, but subsequently faced various charges.{{sfn|Dobbs|2000}} After two retrials, in February 2007, Kertes was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for providing a truck to [[Special Operations Unit (Serbia)|the executioners]] of opposition politicians in the 1999 [[Ibarska magistrala assassination]].<ref>{{cite web |date=16 February 2007 |title=Milosevic commander convicted in '99 attack |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/16/world/europe/16iht-serbia.4622563.html |access-date=29 December 2022 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>
In September 2007, he faced trial for abuse of office and [[embezzlement]]. Among other crimes, the prosecution charged the group, consisting of Milošević, [[Jovan Zebić]], and [[Nikola Šainović]] with transferring 120&nbsp;million [[German mark]]s to [[Cyprus]] banks, where the trace was lost. Only Kertes faced trial, as Milošević and Zebić died, and Šainović had been standing trial in [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]] in The Hague.<ref>{{cite web |date=5 September 2007 |title=Milosevic Ally's Trial Opens |url=http://www.birn.eu.com/en/102/15/4067/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710204206/http://birn.eu.com/en/102/15/4067/ |archive-date=10 July 2011 |access-date=7 September 2007 |publisher=Balkan Investigative Report Network}}</ref> In November 2012, the Appellate Court reached its final verdict of six years and six months in prison for Kertes for illegal transfer of money to Cyprus and embezzlement of state budget for 1.5&nbsp;million dinars. The sentence was joined with the previous one of 1.5 years for his participation in the Ibarska magistrala assassination. He was absolved of charges of "joint criminal venture" with Milošević, Zebić and Šainović.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/hronika/aktuelno.291.html:403500-Kertesu-smanjena-kazna |title=Kertesu smanjena kazna |trans-title=Kertes's sentence reduced |date= 29 October 2012 |publisher=Tanjug |access-date=25 December 2015}}</ref> However, in March 2013, the [[Supreme Court of Cassation (Serbia)|Supreme Court of Cassation]] reversed the verdict and ordered a reconsideration by the Appellate Court.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/hronika/aktuelno.291.html:422441-Ukinuta-presuda-Mihalju-Kertesu |title=Ukinuta presuda Mihalju Kertesu |trans-title=Verdict for Mihalj Kertes reversed|publisher=Tanjug  |date=3 March 2014 |access-date=25 December 2015}}</ref> In August 2014, he was released of all charges of embezzlement due to absolute obsolescence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/hronika/aktuelno.291.html:503724-Kertes-i-definitivno-slobodan |title=Kertes i definitivno slobodan|trans-title=Kertes definitely free |publisher=Tanjug |date=2 August 2014 |access-date=25 December 2015}}</ref> Kertes also faced several trials for tobacco smuggling during the 1990s and "abuse of official role". In December 2015, the Appellate Court reached a final verdict of 2.5 years in prison in one such case.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/hronika/aktuelno.291.html:581030-Kertesu-sest-meseci-manje-za-sverc-cigareta |title=Kertesu šest meseci manje za šverc cigareta |trans-title=Kertes gets six months less for cigarette smuggling |date=12 December 2015|publisher=Tanjug |access-date=25 December 2015}}</ref> In the same year, it was reported that he had left SPS and joined the [[Serbian Progressive Party]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mihalj Kertes |url=https://www.istinomer.rs/akter/mihalj-kertes/ |access-date=29 December 2022 |website=Istinomer |language=sr-RS}}</ref>
== Personal life and death ==
Kertes was an ethnic Hungarian.{{sfn|LeBor|2012|p=}}<ref name=glas /> His nickname was "Bracika".<ref name=":0" /> He was married and had two children.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=29 December 2022 |title=Preminuo Mihalj Kertes |url=https://www.danas.rs/vesti/drustvo/umro-mihalj-kertes/ |access-date=29 December 2022 |website=Danas |language=sr-RS}}</ref> He died on 29 December 2022 at age 75 in Belgrade.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Nastevski |first=Aleksandar |date=29 December 2022 |title=Umro Mihalj Kertes |url=https://nova.rs/vesti/politika/umro-mihalj-kertes/ |access-date=29 December 2022 |website=NOVA portal |language=sr-RS}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Stojanović |first=Milica |date=30 December 2022 |title=Key Wartime Ally of Slobodan Milosevic Dies in Serbia |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2022/12/30/key-wartime-ally-of-slobodan-milosevic-dies-in-serbia/ |access-date=30 December 2022 |website=Balkan Insight |language=en-US}}</ref>
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== Citations ==
* {{cite book |last=LeBor |first=Adam |title=Milosevic: A Biography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=emfbmGIPSi4C&pg=PT65|year=2012|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4088-2770-3}}
* {{cite news |last=Dobbs |first=Michael|date=29 November 2000|title=Crash of Yugoslavia's Money Man| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A524-2000Nov28?language=printer|newspaper=The Washington Post}}
* {{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Robert|title=Serbia Under Milosevic: Politics in the 1990s|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IDzmXEDJFX8C&pg=PA46|date=1999|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers|isbn=978-1-85065-367-7|pages=46–}}
* {{cite book |last=Cohen |first=Lenard| title=Serpent in the Bosom: The Rise and Fall of Slobodan Milošević |url=https://archive.org/details/serpentinbosomth00cohe|url-access=registration|year=2001|publisher=Westview Press|isbn=978-0-8133-2902-4}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-gov}}
{{Succession box
| title  = [[Minister without portfolio (Serbia)|Minister without portfolio]]
| years  = 14 July 1993 – 18 March 1994
| with   =
| before = {{Nobold|''Position established''}}
| after  = Vekoslav Šošević
}}
{{Succession box
| title  = Director of the Federal Customs Bureau of FR Yugoslavia
| years  = 1993–2000
| with   =
| before =
| after  =
}}
{{end}}
{{Presidency of SR Serbia (1989-1990)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kertes, Mihalj}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:2022 deaths]]
[[Category:Government ministers of Serbia]]
[[Category:Hungarians in Vojvodina]]
[[Category:League of Communists of Serbia politicians]]
[[Category:People from Bačka Palanka]]
[[Category:Serbian people of Croatian descent]]
[[Category:Serbian people of Hungarian descent]]
[[Category:Serbian Progressive Party politicians]]
[[Category:Socialist Party of Serbia politicians]]
[[Category:Politicians of Vojvodina]]