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Imre Kern

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Imre Kern (Serbian Cyrillic: Имре Керн; born 1949) is a Serbian administrator and politician from the country's Hungarian community. He was president of the Subotica assembly's executive board from 1992 to 2002 and was the city's deputy mayor from 2020 to 2024. Kern was also a member of the Vojvodina provincial assembly from 2000 to 2004, a deputy provincial secretary in the Vojvodina government from 2002 to 2004, and a state secretary in the Serbian government from 2014 to 2020. He is a member of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ).

Early life and private career

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Kern was born in Bačka Topola, Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, in what was then the People's Republic of Serbia in the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. He completed elementary and high school in Subotica, graduated from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy in 1974, and worked for the chemical firm Zorka in Subotica from 1974 to 1992. He was responsible for the construction of a new fertilizer factory and held various leadership roles in the factory.[1]

From 2004 to 2007, Kern was the project manager for the construction of a wastewater treatment plant in Subotica. From 2007 to 2014, he was deputy director of Vojvodina's capital investment fund.[2]

Politician

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Early years in Subotica (1992–2000)

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Kern was elected to the Subotica city assembly as an independent candidate in the May 1992 Serbian local elections, the first to be held after the country's de jure return to multiparty democracy in 1990.[3][4] During the 19990s, Serbia's political culture was dominated by the authoritarian rule of Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) leader Slobodan Milošević and his allies, and many opposition parties boycotted the May 1992 elections. The Democratic Fellowship of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMDK), at the time the leading party in Serbia's Hungarian community, chose to participate on the grounds that it did not want the SPS to win by default in predominantly Hungarian areas.[5] Subotica was one of the relatively few jurisdictions where the opposition was successful: the VMDK finished first with twenty-six seats out of sixty-seven and afterward formed a coalition government with the Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina (DSHV). József Kasza of the VMDK became the city's mayor on 29 June 1992, and Kern, who was aligned with the new administration, was chosen as president of the assembly's executive board on the same day, effectively becoming prime minister of the city government.[6][7]

Due to widespread doubts about the legitimacy of the May 1992 elections, the Serbian government called new local elections for December 1992. This time, most opposition parties chose to participate. Kern was re-elected to the Subotica assembly as an independent candidate endorsed by the VMDK.[8][9] The VMDK-DSHV alliance won an increased victory in the city overall, and on 12 January 1993 Kasza was confirmed for a second term as mayor and Kern for a second term as executive board president.[10] Subotica remained one of the few cities in Serbia governed by the opposition.

The VMDK experienced a serious split in 1994, with several leading party members, including Kasza, leaving to form the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians. Kern became a member of the new party.

The Socialist Party and its allies emerged in a stronger position after the 1996 local elections in Subotica; although the VMSZ was the largest party in the new assembly, no party or alliance commanded a working majority of seats. Kasza was confirmed for a third term as mayor on 3 January 1997, but members of rival parties were chosen for deputy mayor roles.[11] Kern, who was re-elected to the assembly as a VMSZ candidate,[12] was chosen for a third term as executive board president via a secret ballot on 21 January 1997, following a contentious debate.

Kern appeared in the sixth position (out of six) on the VMSZ's electoral list for the Subotica division in the 1997 Serbian parliamentary election.[13] The list won three seats in the division, and he was not chosen for a mandate.[14][15] (From 1992 to 2000, Serbia's electoral law stipulated that one-third of parliamentary mandates would be assigned to candidates from successful lists in numerical order, while the remaining two-thirds would be distributed amongst other candidates at the discretion of the sponsoring parties.[16] It was common practice for the latter mandates to be awarded out of order. Kern could have been awarded a mandate despite his list position, but, in the event, he was not.)

The 2000 elections and after (2000–14)

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In 2000, the VMSZ joined the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS), a coalition of parties opposed to the continued rule of Slobodan Milošević and his allies. DOS candidate Vojislav Koštunica defeated Milošević in the 2000 Yugoslavian presidential election, and Milošević subsequently fell from power on 5 October 2000, a watershed moment in Serbian and Yugoslavian politics.

The DOS, led locally by the VMSZ, also won a landslide victory in Subotica in the 2000 Serbian local elections, which took place concurrently with the Yugoslavian vote. When the new assembly met on 17 October 2000, Kasza was chosen for a fourth term as mayor, and Kern was chosen for a fourth term as executive board president.[17][18]

Kern was also elected to the Vojvodina assembly for Subotica's seventh division in the 2000 provincial election, which was held concurrently with the Yugoslavian and local elections. The DOS and VMSZ won a landslide majority victory, and he served afterward as a supporter of the administration.[19]

In 2002, Kern was appointed as deputy provincial secretary for environmental protection and sustainable development.[20] He stood down as president of Subotica's executive board at the same time.

Serbia's electoral laws were reformed after the fall of Milošević; among several other changes, local elections took place under proportional representation and Vojvodina provincial elections under mixed proportional representation. Kern appeared in the second position on the VMSZ's electoral list for the 2004 Serbian local elections and was re-elected when the list won sixteen seats, placing first among the eleven parties or alliances that won assembly representation.[21][22][23] He served as a supporter of the local administration for the next four years and was not a candidate in the 2008 local elections.

Kern also appeared in the twenty-third position on the VMSZ's electoral list in the 2004 Vojvodina provincial election.[24] The party won six list seats, and he was not assigned a mandate for a second term.[25]

He was given the tenth position on the VMSZ's electoral list in the 2007 Serbian parliamentary election and the seventy-sixth position on the VMSZ-led Hungarian Coalition list in the 2008 parliamentary election.[26][27] The lists won three and four seats in the Serbian parliament, respectively, and he was not chosen for a mandate on either occasion.[28][29] (From 2000 to 2011, all Serbian parliamentary mandates were assigned to candidates on successful lists at the discretion of the sponsoring parties, irrespective of numerical order. As in 1997, Kern could have been assigned a seat on either occasion despite his list position, although he was not.)[30]

Serbia's electoral laws were again reformed in 2011, such that all parliamentary mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order.[31] Kern was a nominal VMSZ candidate in the 2012 parliamentary election, appearing in the one hundredth position on the party's list.[32] Election from this position was not a realistic prospect, and he was not elected when the list won five seats.

State Secretary, Deputy Mayor, and after (2014–present)

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Kern appeared in the thirty-seventh position on the VMSZ's list in the 2014 parliamentary election and was not elected when the list won six seats.[33] After the election, the VMSZ began supporting Serbia's government led by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in the national assembly. The VMSZ received a number of state secretary positions, and in May 2014 Kern was appointed as a state secretary in the ministry of construction, transport, and infrastructure.[34]

Kern was promoted to the eleventh position on the VMSZ's list in the 2016 parliamentary election and missed election when the list won four seats.[35] The VMSZ continued supporting the SNS government after the election, and Kern was retained for a second term as a state secretary. In this role, he worked on infrastructure projects including the Žeželj Bridge and the Obrenovac-Surčin highway, led the Belgrade-to-Novi Sad section of the Belgrade-to-Budapest high-speed rail project, and led the World Bank project, "Improvement of Land Administration in the Republic of Serbia.[36]

In the 2017 Serbian presidential election, he articulated his party's support for SNS candidate Aleksandar Vučić.[37]

The VMSZ led a successful campaign to increase its parliamentary representation in the 2020 parliamentary election, winning nine seats. Kern, who appeared in the sixteenth position on the party's list, was again not elected.[38] He appeared in the second position on the party's list in Subotica in the concurrent 2020 Serbian local elections, however, and was re-elected to the city assembly after a twelve-year absence when the party won twenty-two seats, finishing second against the SNS.[39] The SNS and VMSZ established a coalition government after the election, and on 21 August 2020 he was appointed as the city's deputy mayor.[40]

Kern was again a nominal VMSZ candidate in the 2023 parliamentary election, appearing in the 161st position on the party's list, which won six seats.[41] He did not run in the 2024 Serbian local elections, and his term as deputy mayor ended in that year.

Electoral record

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Provincial (Vojvodina)

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2000 Vojvodina provincial election: Subotica Division 7
CandidatePartyVotes%
Imre KernAlliance of Vojvodina Hungarianselected
Tibor ÁrokszállásiSerbian Radical Party
other candidates
Total
Source: [42][43]

Local (Subotica)

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2000 Subotica city election: Division 44 (Palić 1)
CandidatePartyVotes%
Imre Kern (incumbent)Democratic Opposition of Serbia (Affiliation: Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians)elected
Tibor KisCitizens' Group
Géza MadaiSubotica Civic Alliance–Reformists of Vojvodina
Erika MaleševićSocialist Party of Serbia–Yugoslav Left
Krisztián OrkityDemocratic Party of Vojvodina Hungarians
Goran UglješićSerbian Radical Party
Total
Source: [44][45]All candidates except Kern are listed alphabetically.
1996 Subotica city election: Division 44 (Palić 1)
CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Imre Kern (incumbent)Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians45.77elected in the second round
Attila SzámSocialist Party of Serbia7.54defeated in the second round
Simeon JovanovićYugoslav Left
Tibor KisCitizens' Group
Ljubinko MarjanovićSerbian Radical Party
Róbert Nagy NémédiSubotica Civic Alliance
Zoltán SkalaCitizens' Group
Đorđe ŠkrbićZajedno (Coalition Together)
Sándor SzebenyiDemocratic Fellowship of Vojvodina Hungarians
Ignacije TonkovićNew Democracy
Total
Source: [46][47][48] All candidates except Kern and Szám are listed alphabetically.
December 1992 Subotica city election: Division 44 (Palić 1)
CandidatePartyVotes%
Imre Kern (incumbent)Citizens' Groupelected in the first round
Zoran SavićSocialist Party of Serbia
Total
Source: [49][50]
May 1992 Subotica city election: Division 44 (Palić 1)
CandidatePartyVotes%
Imre KernCitizens' Groupelected in the first round
Ivica MamužićCitizens' Group
Zoran SavićSocialist Party of Serbia
Total
Source: [51][52] Mamužić and Savić are listed alphabetically.

References

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  1. ^ Kern Imre (Имре Керн), City of Subotica, accessed 30 July 2025.
  2. ^ Kern Imre (Имре Керн), City of Subotica, accessed 30 July 2025.
  3. ^ Magyar Szó, 23 May 1992, p. 8.
  4. ^ Magyar Szó, 3 June 1992, p. 10.
  5. ^ Milan Milošević, "Round Table of the Government and Opposition", Vreme, 18 May 1992, accessed 18 May 2025.
  6. ^ Magyar Szó, 24 June 1992, p. 14.
  7. ^ Magyar Szó, 30 June 1992, p. 7.
  8. ^ Magyar Szó, 15 December 1992, p. 12.
  9. ^ Magyar Szó, 23 December 1992, p. 7.
  10. ^ Magyar Szó, 13 January 1993, pp. 1, 5.
  11. ^ Magyar Szó, 4 January 1997, pp. 1, 7.
  12. ^ Magyar Szó, 19 November 1996, p. 5.
  13. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. и 28. септембра и 5. октобра 1997. године – ЗБИРНЕ ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (5 Суботица), Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 February 2024.
  14. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. и 28. септембра и 5. октобра 1997. године – РЕЗУЛТАТИ ИЗБОРА (Извештај о укупним резултатима избора за народне посланике у Народну скупштину Републике Србије, одржаних 21. и 28. септембра и 5. октобра 1997. године (Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. и 28. септембра и 5. октобра 1997.) године, Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 February 2024.
  15. ^ PRVA SEDNICA, 03.12.1997., Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 30 July 1997.
  16. ^ Guide to the Early Election Archived 2022-01-16 at the Wayback Machine, Ministry of Information of the Republic of Serbia, December 1992, made available by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, accessed 14 July 2017.
  17. ^ Magyar Szó, 28 September 2000, p. 7.
  18. ^ Magyar Szó, 18 October 2000, p. 1.
  19. ^ Извештај о укупним резултатима избора за посланике у Скупштину Аутономне Покрајине Војводине одржаних 24. септембра и 8. октобра 2000. године, Provincial Election Commission, Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Republic of Serbia, accessed 30 March 2025.
  20. ^ Kern Imre (Имре Керн), City of Subotica, accessed 30 July 2025.
  21. ^ Službeni List (Opštine Subotica), Volume 40 Number 39 (8 September 2004), p. 2.
  22. ^ Službeni List (Opštine Subotica), Volume 40 Number 43 (20 September 2004), pp. 1-3.
  23. ^ In the 2004 local elections, the first one-third of mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order. See Law on Local Elections Archived 2021-06-02 at the Wayback Machine, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 33/2002; made available via LegislationOnline, accessed 29 May 2021. Kern was automatically re-elected.
  24. ^ РЕШЕЊЕ О УТВРЂИВАЊУ ЗБИРНЕ ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ ЗА ИЗБОРЕ ЗА ПОСЛАНИКЕ У СКУПШТИНУ АУТОНОМНЕ ПОКРАЈИНЕ ВОЈВОДИНЕ, 19. СЕПТЕМБРА 2004. ГОДИНЕ, Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.
  25. ^ Convocation 2004 - 2008, Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, accessed 3 December 2021.
  26. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. јануара и 8. фебрауара 2007. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (8 Савез војвођанских Мађара - Јожеф Каса), Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.
  27. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 11. маја 2008. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (7 МАЂАРСКА КОАЛИЦИЈА - ИШТВАН ПАСТОР), Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.
  28. ^ R. Ognjanović, "U klupama novi poslanici", Novosti, 10 June 2008, accessed 29 June 2022.
  29. ^ "Spisak poslanika za Skupštinu Srbije", Politika, 13 February 2007, accessed 24 December 2024.
  30. ^ Serbia's Law on the Election of Representatives (2000) stipulated that parliamentary mandates would be awarded to electoral lists (Article 80) that crossed the electoral threshold (Article 81), that mandates would be given to candidates appearing on the relevant lists (Article 83), and that the submitters of the lists were responsible for selecting their parliamentary delegations within ten days of the final results being published (Article 84). See Law on the Election of Representatives, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 35/2000, made available via LegislationOnline, Archived 2021-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 7 April 2024.
  31. ^ Law on the Election of Members of the Parliament (2000, as amended 2011) (Articles 88 & 92) made available via LegislationOnline, Archived 2021-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 6 June 2021.
  32. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине, 6. мај 2012. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (9 VAJDASАGI MAGYAR SZОVETSЕG - PАSZTOR ISTVАN - САВЕЗ ВОЈВОЂАНСКИХ МАЂАРА-ИШТВАН ПАСТОР), Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.
  33. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 16. и 23. марта 2014. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (5 Vajdasagi Magyar Szovetseg - Pasztor Istvan - Савез војвођанских Мађара - Иштван Пастор), Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.
  34. ^ Kern Imre (Имре Керн), City of Subotica, accessed 30 July 2025.
  35. ^ Избори за народне посланике 2016. године – Изборне листе (6 Vajdasági Magyar Szövetség-Pásztor István - Савез војвођанских Мађара-Иштван Пастор), Archived 2021-04-26 at the Wayback Machine, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.
  36. ^ Kern Imre (Имре Керн), City of Subotica, accessed 30 July 2025.
  37. ^ "Kern Imre: A VMSZ Aleksandar Vučićot támogatja", Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians, 25 March 2017, accessed 30 July 2025.
  38. ^ ИЗБОРИ ЗА НАРОДНЕ ПОСЛАНИКЕ НАРОДНЕ СКУПШТИНЕ, 21. ЈУН 2020. ГОДИНЕ – Изборне листе (4 Vajdasági Magyar Szövetség-Pásztor István – Савез војвођанских Мађара – Иштван Пастор), Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 27 October 2021.
  39. ^ Službeni List (Grada Subotice), Volume 56 Number 39 (10 June 2020), p. 4.
  40. ^ "Stevan Bakić novi gradonačelnik Subotice, zamenik Imre Kern", subotica.com, 21 August 2020, accessed 30 July 2025.
  41. ^ "Ko je na listi SVM za parlamentarne izbore u Srbiji", N1, 8 November 2023, accessed 20 April 2024.
  42. ^ Извештај о укупним резултатима избора за посланике у Скупштину Аутономне Покрајине Војводине одржаних 24. септембра и 8. октобра 2000. године, Provincial Election Commission, Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Republic of Serbia, accessed 30 March 2025.
  43. ^ Velika Srbija [Serbian Radical Party publication], Volume 11 Number 1201 (September 2000), p. 6.
  44. ^ Magyar Szó, 15 September 2000, p. 7.
  45. ^ Magyar Szó, 28 September 2000, p. 7.
  46. ^ Magyar Szó, 30 October 1996, p. 7.
  47. ^ Magyar Szó, 9 November 1996, p. 7.
  48. ^ Magyar Szó, 19 November 1996, p. 5.
  49. ^ Magyar Szó, 15 December 1992, p. 12.
  50. ^ Magyar Szó, 23 December 1992, p. 7.
  51. ^ Magyar Szó, 23 May 1992, p. 8.
  52. ^ Magyar Szó, 3 June 1992, p. 10.
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