MALI Siniša
Minister of Finance, Government of the Republic of Serbia
Siniša Mali was born in Belgrade on August 25, 1972.
After graduating from the Fifth Gymnasium in Belgrade, Minister Mali enrolled in the Faculty of Economics at the University of Belgrade. He graduated top of his class and was honoured as the “student of the generation” for his exceptional academic achievements. Furthermore, he received a Master of Arts degree from the same Faculty.
Minister Mali obtained Master of Business Administration degree in 1999 at the Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, through the Ron Brown Scholarship Program. During his studies, he worked as an assistant professor in five different academic fields pertaining to business and finance.
In 2001, Minister Mali served as the Assistant Minister for Privatization in the Ministry of Economy and Privatization. Later that same year, he was transferred to the Privatization Agency where he was appointed Director of the Centre for Tender Privatization. He remained in that position until the end of 2003.
For many years, Minister Mali worked as a financial advisor and consultant in the private sector. He worked for several privately owned companies specializing in the field of provision of financial advisory services. He worked for “Deloitte & Touche” in Belgrade and Prague as a consultant where he advised clients in numerous successful mergers, acquisitions and restructuring projects.
In April 2014, Minister Mali was elected by the Belgrade City Assembly as the 73rd Mayor of Belgrade after previously serving as the President of the Temporary City Council. Prior to becoming Mayor, he served as a Special Adviser for Economic and Financial Affairs to the Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Mr. Aleksandar Vučić.
During his tenure, the City of Belgrade for the first time in history received a credit rating which, according to the “Moody's” credit rating agency, amounts to BA3. Minister Mali is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a member of the CFA Institute, Serbian Business Angels Network, Fulbright Alumni Association of Serbia, and the British-Serbian Business Club. Furthermore, Minister Mali is a licenced Portfolio Manager with the Securities Commission of the Republic of Serbia.
In 2014, he received “The Best European” award (Nagrada Najevropljanin) from The First European House in Belgrade for his dedicated work on the development and reconstruction of Belgrade. While Minister Mali served as the Mayor of Belgrade, the City was honoured as the "Most Tolerant City in the Region" by the European Movement in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In June 2017, as a VI class student, Minister Mali completed the Advanced Security and Defence Studies in the Serbian Armed Forces.
Mali was sworn in as the Minister of Finance on May 29, 2018. As a Minister, Mali is also Serbia’s Governor in the World bank, Serbia’s EBRD Governor and Serbia’s Governor in the Asian Infrastructure Investment bank. He is also President of the Coordination body for countering shadow economy and President of the Coordination body for prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing.
He was appointed Minister of Finance as a renowned and eminent financial expert who has worked for the most prominent consulting companies in the world. He was praised for his accomplishments at the helm of the City of Belgrade, having managed to implement a comprehensive financial consolidation strategy which cut the City’s debt in half and substantially reduced the budget deficit.
Minister Mali is actively engaged in various sports. He was awarded the honorary fifth-degree black belt in Taekwondo for his contribution to the overall improvement of sports. Also, he regularly participants in the annual Belgrade Marathon. He completed Athens Marathon in November 2018. In September 2019 he ran Berlin Marathon. He was awarded the Order of the Great Martyrs of Kragujevac of the first degree. It was handed to him with the blessing of the Serbian Patriarch Irinej, in October 2019, by Bishop of the Diocese of Šumadija, Jovan.
Mr Mali is fluent in English, understands Greek and is currently learning Chinese.
He has three children - Teodor, Viktor and Lola.
Published articles
• „Reform Of Public Enterprises In Belgrade As The Platform For Investment Activism”, Ekonomika preduzeća january-february, 2016
• „Public Sector Restructuring On The Municipal Level: The Case Of City Of Belgrade“, Ekonomika preduzeća, january-february 2015
• „Value Creation Through Restructuring-key value drivers and value creation models“, Organization and Management, 2012
• „Sponsorship Strategy“, Marketing, 1997
• „Management Buy-Outs – What Is It And How To Use It“, World of Finance, 1996
• „Trade Exhibitions as a Promotion Tool“, Contemporary Trade, 1996