1. Zoran Zaev suffered defeat in the 2014 parliamentary election, after which he made accusations of election rigging and decided for his party to act as a non-parliamentary opposition.
31 Facts About Zoran Zaev
1. 2.
Zoran Zaev signed the Prespa agreement with Greece, resolving a long-standing dispute over the country name, which led to the accession protocol of North Macedonia to NATO.
3.
Zoran Zaev is one of the initiators of Mini Schengen Zone, an economic zone of the Western Balkans countries intended to guarantee "four freedoms".
4.
Zoran Zaev agreed with the major opposition party VMRO-DPMNE on early elections due to stalled EU talks and resigned in January 2020, but after the election, he began his second term as the head of the government.
5.
Zoran Zaev formally stepped down again after the local elections in October 2021, and was succeeded by Dimitar Kovacevski in January 2022.
6.
Zoran Zaev's parents are from the Strumica village of Murtino.
7.
The family lived in the village, and moved to Strumica when Zoran Zaev was four years old.
8.
Zoran Zaev obtained a master's degree at the same faculty.
9.
Zoran Zaev was employed in his family's business in 1997, where in 2001 he was appointed director, and held that position until 2003.
10.
From 2000 to 2003, Zoran Zaev chaired the board of the public utility enterprise of Strumica.
11.
Zoran Zaev joined the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia in 1996.
12.
Zoran Zaev was a member of the Macedonian parliament from SDSM from 2003 to 2005.
13.
Zoran Zaev served as the party's vice president between 2006 and 2008.
14.
Zoran Zaev won three consecutive local elections and served as mayor of Strumica from 2005 to 2016.
15.
Zoran Zaev subsequently accused Gruevski of wiretapping and illegally spying on at least 20,000 people in the country.
16.
The public prosecutor, on the other hand, accused Zoran Zaev of blackmailing Gruevski and detained five people connected with that case.
17.
In that role, Zoran Zaev took part in June 2015 in a meeting with Gruevski and Johannes Hahn, the European Union's enlargement commissioner, in order to overcome the political crisis.
18.
Zoran Zaev threatened to boycott the election because of Gruevski's obstruction of the Przino Agreement and the reforms in the judiciary system and the media.
19.
On multiple occasions Zoran Zaev has been noted to use anti-Bulgarian rhetoric in order to boost his chances during elections.
20.
Zoran Zaev posted a picture of this banner on his personal Facebook page.
21.
Zoran Zaev promised economic growth and an end to corruption by announcing a "responsible, reformist and European government".
22.
We heard allegations asserting Zoran Zaev as condemning Serbia for a genocide.
23.
Prospects for improved relations between the two countries have risen since Zoran Zaev-led government took power in Skopje in May 2017.
24.
Specifically, Zoran Zaev declared that the Alexander the Great Highway, the E-75 motorway that connects Skopje to Greece, could be renamed to "Friendship Highway".
25.
Zoran Zaev announced that the deal includes recognition of Macedonian in the United Nations and that the citizens of the country will be called, as before, Macedonians.
26.
Zoran Zaev has a relative good relationship with Albania and the Albanians of North Macedonia.
27.
Zoran Zaev pointed out that trade between Tirana and Skopje increased by 11.5 percent last year and that both countries have considerable capacity to do other tasks.
28.
On 10 October 2019, together with Aleksandar Vucic, President of Serbia, and Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania, Zoran Zaev signed the so-called Mini Schengen deal on regional economic cooperation, including on the free movement of goods, capital, services, and labour between their three countries, while they await progress on EU enlargement.
29.
Under the deal, SDSM leader Zoran Zaev will be installed as prime minister, and will serve in that position until no later than 100 days from the next parliamentary elections.
30.
On 31 October 2021, shortly after Skopje local election results were revealed, Zoran Zaev announced that he will be stepping down as the prime minister of North Macedonia and as president of SDSM.
31.
On 23 December 2021, the Assembly of North Macedonia approved Prime Minister Zoran Zaev's resignation, forcing the entire government to dissolve and a new government to be elected in three weeks.