Konstantin Samofalov

Samofalov was born in Belgrade, in what was then the Socialist Republic of Serbia in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. His great-grandfather was a Don Cossack military officer in the Imperial Russian Army in World War I who later fought for Pyotr Wrangel's White Army in the Russian Civil War; he left Russia for the last time in 1920 and arrived in Belgrade in 1923. Samofalov participated in protests against Slobodan Milošević's government in 1999 and in a 2017 article for Danas recounted how he had been physically attacked by regime supporters at some events.[https://www.danas.rs/dijalog/licni-stavovi/vucicev-ministar-i-peta-kolona/ Konstantin Samofalov, "Vučićev ministar i peta kolona"] m, Danas, 23 August 2017, accessed 11 September 2018. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law in 2007[http://otvoreniparlament.rs/poslanik/7565 KONSTANTIN SAMOFALOV], Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 11 September 2018. and graduated in advanced defence and security studies from the Military Academy of Serbia's University of Defence in 2012.[http://www.radwb.eu/2013/people/47-konstantin-samofalov Samofalov Konstantin], Regional Academy for Democracy, accessed 11 September 2018. He was written about his own and his family's experience in the Serbian Armed Forces.[https://www.danas.rs/dijalog/licni-stavovi/zasto-sam-odbio-priznanje-vojske/ Konstantin Samofalov, "Zašto sam odbio priznanje Vojske"], Danas, 5 June 2018, accessed 11 September 2018.

He is a Senior Network Member at the European Leadership Network (ELN).{{Cite web|title=Senior Network|url=https://www.europeanleadershipnetwork.org/networks/network-members/|access-date=2020-09-21|website=www.europeanleadershipnetwork.org|language=en-GB}}

Samofalov joined the Democratic Party (DS) in 2000 and served as president of its youth branch. In the 2004 Serbian local elections, he appeared on the party's electoral lists for both the Belgrade city assembly and the Vračar municipal assembly.Službeni list (Grada Beograda), 8 September 2004 (Volume 48, Issue 24), pp. 3, 32. He was given the sixty-sixth position on the Belgrade list and the fifty-first on the Vračar list. The DS won both elections; Samofalov was given a city assembly mandate and served for the next four years.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), 29 November 2004 (Volume 48, Issue 34), p. 2.In the 2004 local elections, the first one-third of mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order while the remaining two-thirds were distributed amongst other candidates at the discretion of the sponsoring parties or coalitions. See Law on Local Elections (June 2002) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602214900/https://www.legislationline.org/download/id/884/file/0d8d99ead530542ed63af7e60f5fa07d.pdf |date=2021-06-02 }}, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 33/2002; made available via [http://www.legislationline.org/topics/country/5/topic/6 LegislationOnline], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603055629/http://www.legislationline.org/topics/country/5/topic/6 |date=2021-06-03 }}, accessed 7 April 2024. Samofalov received one of his party's "optional" mandates.

In January 2005, Samofalov took part in a media prank with other members of the DS's youth wing, leaving alarm clocks, car radios, and cellphones on the doorstep of Serbian prime minister Vojislav Koštunica, calling on him to "wake up, hear the news, and communicate with the nation." (This was in reference to the prime minister's perceived aloofness.) They also attempted to award Koštunica with a diploma for "extraordinary efforts to lead Serbia back into the darkness" for his refusal to extradite war crimes suspects to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)."Wake up! Talk to us! Serbs tell prime minister," Reuters News, 24 January 2005.

Samofalov received the 204th position out of 250 on the DS's electoral list in the 2007 Serbian parliamentary election.[http://arhiva.rik.parlament.gov.rs/arhiva-izbori-za-narodne-poslanike-2007.php Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. јануара и 8. фебрауара 2007. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 Демократска странка - Борис Тадић)], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422032348/http://arhiva.rik.parlament.gov.rs/arhiva-izbori-za-narodne-poslanike-2007.php |date=2021-04-22 }}, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024. The list won sixty-four mandates and afterward formed an unstable coalition government with G17 Plus and Koštunica's Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS). Samofalov was included in his party's assembly delegation and served as a government supporter.[https://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/21988/Spisak-poslanika-za-Skupstinu-Srbije "Spisak poslanika za Skupštinu Srbije"], Politika, 13 February 2007, accessed 24 December 2024.[http://www.parlament.gov.rs/national-assembly/composition/members-of-parliament/legislature-archive/14-february-2007-legislature.489.html 14 February 2007 legislature], National Assembly of Serbia, accessed 11 September 2018. (From 2000 to 2011, parliamentary mandates were awarded to sponsoring parties or coalitions rather than to individual candidates, and it was common practice for the mandates to be assigned out of numerical order. Samofalov's low position on the list – which was in any event mostly alphabetical – had no specific bearing on his chances of election.)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 [http://www.legislationline.org/topics/country/5/topic/6 LegislationOnline], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603055629/http://www.legislationline.org/topics/country/5/topic/6 |date=2021-06-03 }}, accessed 7 April 2024. In his first parliamentary term, he was a member of the legislative committee and the committee on defence and security.ДЕТАЉИ О НАРОДНОМ ПОСЛАНИКУ: САМОФАЛОВ, КОНСТАНТИН], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115082959/http://www.parlament.sr.gov.yu/content/cir/sastav/poslanici_detalji.asp?id=1173 |date=2008-01-15 }}, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 13 March 2025.

File:Konstantin Samofalov na sednici Skupštine Srbije (cropped).jpg in 2009]]

The DS–DSS alliance broke down in early 2008, and a new election was held in May of that year. Samofalov received the 190th position on the DS's For a European Serbia (ZES) coalition list – which was, again, mostly alphabetical – and was given a mandate for a second term after the list won 102 seats.[http://arhiva.rik.parlament.gov.rs/arhiva-izbori-za-narodne-poslanike-2008.php Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 11. маја 2008. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 ЗА ЕВРОПСКУ СРБИЈУ - БОРИС ТАДИЋ)], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422032344/http://arhiva.rik.parlament.gov.rs/arhiva-izbori-za-narodne-poslanike-2008.php |date=2021-04-22 }}, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.[https://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/aktuelno.69.html:216976-U-klupama-novi-poslanici R. Ognjanović, "U klupama novi poslanici"], Novosti, 10 June 2008, accessed 29 June 2022. The election did not produce a clear winner; after protracted negotiations, the ZES alliance formed a new coalition government with the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), and Samofalov continued to serve as a government supporter. He did not seek re-election to the Belgrade city assembly in the 2008 local elections, which were held concurrently with the parliamentary vote, but was included in the ZES list for the Vračar municipal assembly and received a mandate for that body after the list won a majority victory.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), 30 April 2008 (Volume 52, Issue 13), p. 5.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), 11 July 2008 (Volume 52, Issue 23), p. 6.For the 2008 local elections, all mandates were assigned to candidates on successful lists at the discretion of the sponsoring parties or coalitions. See Law on Local Elections (2007), {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603022044/https://www.legislationline.org/documents/id/4326 |date=2021-06-03 }}, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 35/2000; made available via [http://www.legislationline.org/topics/country/5/topic/6 LegislationOnline], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603055629/http://www.legislationline.org/topics/country/5/topic/6 |date=2021-06-03 }}, accessed 7 April 2024.

Samofalov continued to serve on the legislative committee and the defence and security committee in his second parliamentary term. He was also a deputy member of the administrative committee and the committee on justice and administration, a deputy member of Serbia's delegation to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA), where Serbia has observer status, and a member of Serbia's parliamentary friendship groups with Germany, the Sovereign Order of Malta, and the United States of America.[http://www.parlament.gov.rs/%D0%9A%D0%9E%D0%9D%D0%A1%D0%A2%D0%90%D0%9D%D0%A2%D0%98%D0%9D_%D0%A1%D0%90%D0%9C%D0%9E%D0%A4%D0%90%D0%9B%D0%9E%D0%92.285.245.html КОНСТАНТИН САМОФАЛОВ], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709194323/http://www.parlament.gov.rs/%D0%9A%D0%9E%D0%9D%D0%A1%D0%A2%D0%90%D0%9D%D0%A2%D0%98%D0%9D_%D0%A1%D0%90%D0%9C%D0%9E%D0%A4%D0%90%D0%9B%D0%9E%D0%92.285.245.html |date=9 July 2011 }}, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 13 March 2025. He led Serbia's delegation to the NATO assembly for a 2010 meeting in Riga and a 2012 meeting in Tallinn. In June 2010, he defended Serbia's policy of military neutrality and said that the country's ZES-led administration would not actually seek to join NATO."Serbian ruling parties admit differences, deny rift over NATO, Kosovo talks," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 22 June 2010 (Source: Večernje novosti website, Belgrade, in Serbian 18 Jun 10). In the same year, he responded to NATO's announcement of a troop reduction in Kosovo and Metohija by saying, "negotiations with Albanians should start as soon as possible so that the historical conflict between Serbs and Albanians comes to an end.""Macedonia: Kosovo, Russian officials clash over security of Serbs in Kosovo," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 22 October 2010 (Source: RTK TV, Priština, in Albanian 1730 gmt 21 Oct 10).

Serbia's electoral system was reformed in 2011, such that all parliamentary mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order.Law on the Election of Members of the Parliament (2000, as amended 2011) (Articles 88 & 92) made available via [http://www.legislationline.org/topics/country/5/topic/6 LegislationOnline], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603055629/http://www.legislationline.org/topics/country/5/topic/6 |date=2021-06-03 }}, accessed 6 June 2021. Samofalov received the sixty-first position on the DS's Choice for a Better Life list in the 2012 parliamentary election and was re-elected when the list won sixty-seven mandates.[http://arhiva.rik.parlament.gov.rs/arhiva-izbori-za-narodne-poslanike-2012.php Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине, 6. мај 2012. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 ИЗБОР ЗА БОЉИ ЖИВОТ- БОРИС ТАДИЋ)], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422032340/http://arhiva.rik.parlament.gov.rs/arhiva-izbori-za-narodne-poslanike-2012.php |date=2021-04-22 }}, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024. The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) won the greatest number of seats and afterward formed a new administration with the SPS and other parties, while the DS moved into opposition. In his third parliamentary term, Samofalov was a member of the defence and security committee, a deputy member of the foreign affairs committee and the committee on Kosovo and Metohija, a deputy member of Serbia's delegation to the NATO PA, and a member of the friendship groups with Croatia, Germany, Montenegro, Turkey, and the United States of America.[http://www.parlament.gov.rs/%D0%9A%D0%9E%D0%9D%D0%A1%D0%A2%D0%90%D0%9D%D0%A2%D0%98%D0%9D_%D0%A1%D0%90%D0%9C%D0%9E%D0%A4%D0%90%D0%9B%D0%9E%D0%92.285.245.html КОНСТАНТИН САМОФАЛОВ], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709194323/http://www.parlament.gov.rs/%D0%9A%D0%9E%D0%9D%D0%A1%D0%A2%D0%90%D0%9D%D0%A2%D0%98%D0%9D_%D0%A1%D0%90%D0%9C%D0%9E%D0%A4%D0%90%D0%9B%D0%9E%D0%92.285.245.html |date=9 July 2011 }}, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 13 March 2025.

He was also re-elected to a second term in the Vračar municipal assembly in the 2012 local elections when the DS won a majority victory in the municipality.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), 25 April 2012 (Volume 56, Issue 21), p. 27.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), 12 June 2012 (Volume 56, Issue 35), p. 6.

The DS became divided into rival factions after the 2012 election, and in early 2014 former leader Boris Tadić formed a breakaway group that was originally called the New Democratic Party (NDS). This party contested the 2014 parliamentary election in a fusion with the Greens of Serbia (Zeleni) and in alliance with other parties. Samofalov sided with Tadić in the split and received the twenty-third position on the new coalition's list, narrowly missing re-election when the list won eighteen seats.[http://arhiva.rik.parlament.gov.rs/arhiva-izbori-za-narodne-poslanike-2014.php Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 16. и 23. марта 2014. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (11 БОРИС ТАДИЋ - Нова демократска странка - Зелени, ЛСВ - Ненад Чанак, Заједно за Србију, VMDK, Заједно за Војводину, Демократска левица Рома)], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809054831/http://arhiva.rik.parlament.gov.rs/arhiva-izbori-za-narodne-poslanike-2014.php |date=2020-08-09 }}, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 3 April 2024. The New Democratic Party formally constituted itself as the Social Democratic Party later in the year, with Samofalov as one of its founding members."Former Serbian president's party changes name," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 7 October 2014 (Source: Blic website, Belgrade, in Serbian 0000 gmt 6 Oct 14).

In the 2016 parliamentary election, the SDS ran on a coalition list with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV). Samofalov was a spokesperson for the SDS during the campaign, accusing Aleksandar Vučić's SNS-led government of “erosion of media freedom, destruction of democratic institutions, and devastation of the Serbian economy.”Andrew MacDowell, "Serbia's Ruling Pro-European Party Appears Headed for a Win," New York Times, 25 April 2016, p. 3. He received the thirty-fourth position on the coalition's list and was not elected when the list won thirteen seats.[http://arhiva.rik.parlament.gov.rs/izbori-za-narodne-poslanike-2016-izborne-liste.php Избори за народне посланике 2016. године – Изборне листе (7 БОРИС ТАДИЋ, ЧЕДОМИР ЈОВАНОВИЋ - САВЕЗ ЗА БОЉУ СРБИЈУ – Либерално демократска партија, Лига социјалдемократа Војводине, Социјалдемократска странка)], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426183241/http://arhiva.rik.parlament.gov.rs/izbori-za-narodne-poslanike-2016-izborne-liste.php |date=2021-04-26 }}, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.

He did not seek re-election to the Vračar municipal assembly in 2016. In the 2018 Belgrade city election, the SDS participated in an opposition coalition with the DS and other parties. Samofalov received the eleventh position on the coalition's list, which failed to cross the electoral threshold for assembly representation.[http://www.beograd.rs/images/file/5965f0e03ccb069632819186a259f2c2_8632520719.pdf ИЗБОРНА ЛИСТА, КАНДИДАТА ЗА ОДБОРНИКЕ СКУПШТИНЕ ГРАДА БЕОГРАДА, 4. МАРТ 2018. ГОДИНЕ (Коалиција: ДА ОСЛОБОДИМО БЕОГРАД – Демократска странка (ДС), Социјалдемократска странка (СДС), Нова странка (НОВА) и Зелена еколошка партија – Зелени (ЗЕП – Зелени)], City of Belgrade, accessed 11 September 2018.

The SDS participated in an opposition boycott of the 2020 parliamentary election, accusing the Vučić administration of undermining Serbia's democratic institutions. This notwithstanding, it contested the concurrent municipal election in Vračar as part of an alliance of opposition parties; Samofalov led the alliance's list and was elected when it won six out of sixty-three seats, finishing third against an alliance led by the SNS.Sluzbeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 64 Number 72 (10 June 2020), p. 11.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 64 Number 79 (22 June 2020), p. 4. Due to the opposition boycott, he was one of the most prominent elected officials among Serbia's opposition parties during the next two years.

The opposition boycott ended in 2022, and the SDS contested that year's parliamentary election on a coalition list with the New Party (NOVA) and other parties. Samofalov received the fourth position on the coalition's list in the parliamentary contest and the twenty-seventh position on its list in the concurrent election to the Belgrade city assembly.[https://nova.rs/vesti/politika/zujovic-na-tadicevoj-listi-za-beograd/ "Žujović na Tadićevoj listi za Beograd"], Nova, 7 March 2022, accessed 13 March 2025.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 66 Number 35 (18 March 2022), p. 16. The SDS coalition failed to cross the threshold at either level; Samofalov later said that the party had been the victim of "brutal" electoral fraud, particularly in the Belgrade vote.[https://www.021.rs/story/Info/Srbija/303218/Samofalov-Lista-Ajmo-ljudi-brutalnom-kradjom-dovedena-ispod-cenzusa.html "Samofalov: Lista 'Ajmo ljudi' brutalnom krađom dovedena ispod cenzusa"], 021.rs, 17 April 2022, accessed 13 March 2025. He was a vocal critic of Dragan Đilas in this period, accusing him of being an ally of Aleksandar Vučić and a Trojan horse in ranks of the opposition.[https://www.istinomer.rs/izjava/djilas-je-vucicev-dubler-i-jedan-od-njegovih-najblizih-saveznika/ "Đilas je Vučićev dubler i jedan od njegovih najbližih saveznika"], istinomer.rs, 21 July 2023, accessed 13 March 2025.

Samofalov left SDS in late June 2023 and shortly thereafter joined the Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP) led by Dragan Đilas.{{Cite web |last=Pašić |first=Danijela |date=2023-06-28 |title=Konstantin Samofalov podneo ostavku na funkciju i napustio SDS |url=https://n1info.rs/vesti/konstantin-samofalov-podneo-ostavku-na-funkciju-i-napustio-sds/ |access-date=2023-08-23 |website=N1 |language=sr-RS}}{{Cite web |date=2023-07-20 |title=Konstantin Samofalov pristupio SSP-u Dragana Đilasa, saznaje Danas - Politika - Dnevni list Danas |url=https://www.danas.rs/vesti/politika/konstantin-samofalov-pristupio-ssp-u-dragana-djilasa-saznaje-danas/ |access-date=2023-08-23 |language=sr-RS}} In leaving the SDS, he said, "It's time to redefine relations within the opposition [...] I believe that it is high time that we direct our focus towards the same goal, instead of futile mutual fights and accusations that only benefit Aleksandar Vučić."{{Cite web |last=Pašić |first=Danijela |date=2023-06-28 |title=Konstantin Samofalov podneo ostavku na funkciju i napustio SDS |url=https://n1info.rs/vesti/konstantin-samofalov-podneo-ostavku-na-funkciju-i-napustio-sds/ |access-date=2023-08-23 |website=N1 |language=sr-RS}} He resigned his seat in the Vračar municipal assembly on 4 September 2023.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 67 Number 63 (12 September 2023), pp. 19-20.

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Category:1982 births

Category:Living people

Category:Members of the National Assembly (Serbia)

Category:Members of the City Assembly of Belgrade

Category:Deputy Members of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly

Category:Democratic Party (Serbia) politicians

Category:Social Democratic Party (Serbia) politicians

Category:Serbian people of Russian descent

Category:Party of Freedom and Justice politicians