Milojko Spajić

Milojko "Mickey" Spajić
Milojko "Mickey" Spajić
Born	September 24, 1987 (age 39); Pljevlja, SR Montenegro, SFR Yugoslavia
Occupation(s)	Financial engineer, politician
Years active	2020–present (politics)
Known for	Prime Minister of Montenegro since October 2023; former Minister of Finance and Social Welfare (2020–2022); leader of Europe Now! party

Milojko "Mickey" Spajić (; born 24 September 1987) is a Montenegrin financial engineer and politician who has been serving as the Prime Minister of Montenegro since October 2023. Prior to this role, he was the minister of finance and social welfare in the government led by Zdravko Krivokapić from 2020 until 2022.

He is the leader of the centrist political party Europe Now!. As of 2025, Spajić is recognized as the fourth youngest current head of state worldwide, ranking behind leaders from Burkina Faso, Ecuador, and Iceland.

Early life and education

Born on 24 September 1987 in Pljevlja, SR Montenegro, SFR Yugoslavia, Spajić has familial ties to Bishop Metodije Ostojić. He completed his secondary education at Pljevlja Gymnasium with top honors before advancing to higher studies in Japan at Saitama University and Osaka University, where he specialized in ecometrics through instruction in Japanese, supported by a Government of Japan scholarship. Additionally, he participated in a student exchange program at Tsinghua University. Spajić obtained his master's degree from the prestigious HEC Paris business school, also as a scholarship awardee.

Apart from his mother tongue, Serbo-Croatian, he is proficient in several languages including English, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, and French.

Financial career

Following his academic pursuits, Spajić gained professional experience on Wall Street, as well as in financial centers like Paris and Tokyo. Before transitioning into politics, he worked as a credit analyst at Goldman Sachs. Additionally, he held a partnership role at Das Capital SG, a venture capital fund based in Singapore.

2020 parliamentary election

Spajić entered politics initially as an independent expert by joining the advisory team of Zdravko Krivokapić during the 2020 Montenegrin parliamentary election. He attributed his return to Montenegro largely to the enactment of the contentious Law on Freedom of Religion, highlighting its detrimental effects on institutional credibility and investor trust, especially concerning property rights of the Serbian Orthodox Church. During the period of the 2019–2020 clerical protests in Montenegro, he actively advocated within the United States for support towards the Serbian Orthodox Church and the interests of the Serbs of Montenegro.

Minister of Finance and Social Welfare

Appointed on 4 December 2020 under Prime Minister Krivokapić's administration, Spajić took office as minister responsible for finance and social welfare. Alongside economy minister Jakov Milatović, he played a pivotal role in launching the transformative "Europe now" economic reform initiative. During a parliamentary crisis, Krivokapić suggested Spajić for the position of deputy prime minister amid efforts to remove Dritan Abazović from office. Notably, Spajić has publicly declared that he donates his entire salary as a minister.

Europe Now

In 2022, Spajić joined forces with Milatović to establish the political party Europe Now (PES), assuming the presidency while Milatović became deputy president. PES actively contested in the 2022 local elections.

2023 elections

Spajić sought to participate in the 2023 Montenegrin presidential race; however, the State Electoral Commission disqualified his candidacy due to his possession of both Serbian and Montenegrin citizenship. He explained that he had obtained Serbian citizenship in 2009 primarily to facilitate visa-free travel to Japan and is currently in the process of relinquishing it. Subsequently, Milatović was nominated as the PES candidate and went on to defeat the incumbent Milo Đukanović in the runoff, securing 58.88% of the votes.

Following the presidential contest, Spajić declared his willingness to lead PES into the 2023 parliamentary elections and was officially confirmed as the head of the party’s electoral list on 26 April. Throughout the campaign, Prime Minister Dritan Abazović and Interior Minister Filip Adžić accused him of connections with South Korean cryptocurrency developer Do Kwon, who had been detained in Montenegro in March 2023. Abazović alleged that Do Kwon sent a letter from prison implicating Spajić; PES refuted these claims, asserting that Do Kwon had signed the letter under directives from Adžić. PES ultimately garnered approximately 25% of the vote, emerging with the largest number of parliamentary seats. Do Kwon subsequently denied providing financial support to Spajić.

On 10 August 2023, President Jakov Milatović entrusted Spajić with forming a new government. Nevertheless, on 30 August, widespread protests took place across Montenegro opposing Spajić’s intention to include ethnic minority parties—previous allies of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS)—and his decision to exclude the pro-Serbian coalition For the Future of Montenegro from government formation.

Prime Minister of Montenegro

The Montenegrin parliament ratified a new government on 31 October 2023, appointing Spajić as Prime Minister.

Foreign policy

Spajić advocates for Montenegro’s accession to the European Union but believes that Western leaders demonstrate limited engagement with Montenegro’s affairs. He views NATO membership positively yet opposes sending Montenegrin troops to Baltic countries. Condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as an act of aggression, he supports sanctions against Russia while cautioning that such measures might inadvertently strengthen Moscow. Regarding Kosovo’s independence, he opposes withdrawing recognition, describing it as “a topic behind us,” and promotes enhanced cooperation between Montenegro and Serbia.

Personal life

Spajić has a daughter from a previous relationship and practices his faith as a member of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

External links