Nemanja Šarović (; born 28 December 1974) is a Serbian politician and journalist. A long-time member of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS) and a close associate of its leader Vojislav Šešelj, he served four terms in the National Assembly between 2004 and 2020. He left the SRS in 2020 and founded the right-wing political movement Love, Faith, Hope (LJVN), which he has led since. Since 2023, he has worked as a journalist for the opposition broadcaster KTV Television, where he became known for his satirical coverage of rallies of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). Ahead of the 2026 Serbian parliamentary election, his movement endorsed the Student List.
Early life and career Šarović was born in Belgrade. He graduated from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law, completed a legal apprenticeship, and worked for two and a half years at Belgrade's First Municipal Court before entering politics.
Political career Early years (2000–2004) Šarović led the SRS list for the Belgrade division of Palilula in the 2000 Yugoslav parliamentary election, and was not elected when the party won no seats in the division."КАНДИДАТИ СРПСКА РАДИКАЛНА СТРАНКА ЗА ИЗБОР САВЕЗНИХ ПОСЛАНИКА У ВЕЋЕ ГРАЂАНА САВЕЗНЕ СКУПШТИНЕ", Velika Srbija [Radical Party publication], September 2000, p. 3.ИЗБОРИ 2000: ВЕЋЕ РЕПУБЛИКА И ВЕЋЕ ГРАЂАНА САВЕЗНЕ СКУПШТИНЕ, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Department of Statistics (2000), p. 37. He also ran for the City Assembly of Belgrade and the Stari Grad municipal assembly in the concurrent 2000 Serbian local elections, and was defeated at both levels.
These votes were overshadowed by the presidential election, in which Slobodan Milošević of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) fell from power after losing to Vojislav Koštunica of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS). A new Serbian parliamentary election followed in December 2000, under a reformed system in which the whole country formed a single constituency and parties assigned mandates to candidates on their lists at their own discretion, regardless of list order.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, , accessed 13 April 2024. Šarović was 81st on the SRS list and was not assigned a mandate after the list won 23 seats.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 23. децембра 2000. године и 10. јануара 2001. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 Српска радикална странка – др Војислав Шешељ), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 13 April 2024.PRVA KONSTITUTIVNA SEDNICA, 22.01.2001., Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 7 December 2021. During this period, he led the SRS municipal board in Stari Grad."Serbian Radical party members arrested over anti-DOS stickers, says Seselj," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European – Political, 12 April 2001 (Source: Beta news agency, Belgrade, in Serbo-Croat 0907 gmt 12 Apr 01).
First and second assembly terms (2004–2008) Šarović was 85th on the SRS list in the 2003 Serbian parliamentary election, in which the party won 82 seats.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 28. децембра 2003. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (2. СРПСКА РАДИКАЛНА СТРАНКА - др ВОЈИСЛАВ ШЕШЕЉ), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024. He was not initially included in the party's delegation, but received a mandate on 12 February 2004 as a replacement for a member who had resigned.DRUGO VANREDNO ZASEDANJE, 12.02.2004., Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 15 June 2008. The Radicals were the largest party in the assembly but served in opposition. During this term, Šarović sat on the legislative committee and the committee on justice and administration.ДЕТАЉИ О НАРОДНОМ ПОСЛАНИКУ: ШАРОВИЋ, НЕМАЊА, , National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 December 2021. He also led the SRS list in Stari Grad in the 2004 Serbian local elections and was elected when the list won nine of 56 seats; the Democratic Party (DS) won the election, and the Radicals were in opposition at this level too.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 48 Number 24 (8 September 2004), p. 88.
In 2005, it was reported that Šarović had claimed 1,639,088 dinars in travel expenses between Belgrade and Vranje, where he worked as an SRS organiser. In a 2006 interview with the Mexican newspaper Reforma, he said that the Radicals did not oppose Serbia joining the European Union in principle, but would not accept the price of giving up sovereignty over Kosovo. He also said he had been arrested three times since the fall of Milošević.Ángel Villarino, "Entrevista / Nemanja Sarovic / 'El actual Gobierno es peor'," Reforma, 10 April 2006, p. 6.
Šarović was 21st on the SRS list in the 2007 parliamentary election and was elected when the list won 81 seats.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. јануара и 8. фебрауара 2007. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (4 Српска радикална странка - др Војислав Шешељ), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.14 February 2007 legislature, National Assembly of Serbia, accessed 5 March 2017. The Radicals again finished first but remained in opposition. During his second term, he sat on the committees on foreign affairs, economic reforms and administration.ДЕТАЉИ О НАРОДНОМ ПОСЛАНИКУ: ШАРОВИЋ, НЕМАЊА, , National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 December 2021.
Third assembly term (2008–2012) Šarović was tenth on the SRS list in the 2008 parliamentary election, in which the party won 78 seats, and also ran in the concurrent local elections in Belgrade and Stari Grad.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 11. маја 2008. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (4 СРПСКА РАДИКАЛНА СТРАНКА - Др ВОЈИСЛАВ ШЕШЕЉ), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 52 Number 12 (30 April 2008), pp. 5, 25. After inconclusive results, the Radicals negotiated with the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and the SPS to form governments at the republic and city levels. Šarović was an SRS negotiator in Belgrade, and was rumoured to be in line for the post of city manager."Serbian Radicals, Socialists discuss formation of Belgrade city government," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 14 May 2008 (Source: Radio Belgrade in Serbian 1300 gmt 14 May 08)."Serbian Radicals, Socialists and PM's party sign deal on Belgrade," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Newsfile, 28 May 2008 (Source: Studio B TV, Belgrade, in Serbian 1100 gmt 28 May 08). The Socialists instead formed coalitions with the DS-led For a European Serbia alliance at both levels, and Šarović did not initially take up a mandate. In July 2008, he led a protest march in Belgrade's Voždovac municipality against the arrest of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić."Serbian Radical Party officials pass by Belgrade court chanting Karadzic's name," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 24 July 2008 (Source: Radio B92 text website, Belgrade, in English 1315 gmt 24 Jul 08).
When the SRS split in late 2008 and several members founded the more moderate Serbian Progressive Party under Tomislav Nikolić and Aleksandar Vučić, Šarović stayed with the Radicals and became a vocal critic of the new party."Serbian Democrats divided over cooperation with Progressives – daily," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 13 June 2009 (Source: Blic website, Belgrade, in Serbian 10 Jun 09). On 16 September 2008, he took a seat in the Belgrade city assembly and replaced Vučić as leader of the SRS group there."SRS search for new sec.-gen.", B92, 16 September 2008, accessed 15 June 2018.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 52 Number 35 (17 September 2008), p. 1. He also ran to succeed Vučić as party secretary-general, but lost to Elena Božić Talijan.Mirjana R. Milenković, "Nemanja Šarović – priznaje samo zakone Srbije, pozive za svedočenje 'na vrlo lošem srpskom' odbija", Danas, 26 May 2022, accessed 5 June 2022. He returned to the National Assembly on 28 December 2009, replacing Božić Talijan after her resignation.Информације о одржаним седницама 2009. године (28. децембар 2009. године), Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 6 June 2022. In this term, he sat on the committee for Kosovo and Metohija and was a member of Serbia's delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union assembly.NEMANJA ŠAROVIĆ, , National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 5 June 2022.
After the arrest of former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladić in 2011, Šarović described the victims of the Srebrenica massacre as "casualties of war" and said he believed Mladić was innocent of war crimes, stating: "Those who died in Srebrenica were only those who did not lower their weapons and continued to fight. War is war and these things happen.""REPORTAGEM/Mladic: Vítimas de Srebrenica 'foram baixas de guerra' -- Deputado Partido Radical," Agência Lusa – Serviço Internacional, 30 May 2011. He also served as an adviser to Šešelj, who was then on trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague."Seselj undergoes pacemaker surgery," HINA, 12 January 2012. On one occasion, the tribunal barred Šešelj from meeting Šarović, on the grounds that he was using such meetings to send out political directives."Hague rejects Seselj's mistreatment claims," Transitions Online, 23 July 2013.
Out of parliament (2012–2016)
From 2012, parliamentary mandates were awarded to candidates strictly in list order.Law on the Election of Members of the Parliament (2000, as amended 2011) (Articles 88 & 92) made available via LegislationOnline, , accessed 6 June 2021. Šarović was fourth on the SRS list in the 2012 parliamentary election and second in the 2014 election.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине, 6. мај 2012. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (2 СРПСКА РАДИКАЛНА СТРАНКА - ДР ВОЈИСЛАВ ШЕШЕЉ), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 10 July 2021.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 16. и 23. марта 2014. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (6 СРПСКА РАДИКАЛНА СТРАНКА - ДР ВОЈИСЛАВ ШЕШЕЉ), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024. He also led the SRS lists in Belgrade and Stari Grad in the 2012 Serbian local elections, and was second on the party's list in the 2014 Belgrade City Assembly election. In both Belgrade elections, he was the party's candidate for mayor.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 56 Number 21 (25 April 2012), pp. 3, 77.Službeni List (Grada Beograda), Volume 58 Number 15 (5 March 2014), p. 11."SRS: Naprednjaci pretukli radikale", Radio Television of Serbia, 13 April 2012, accessed 24 April 2024. The SRS fell below the electoral threshold in all of these elections."SRS: Žrtve tranzicije neće biti nemoćne", Radio Television of Serbia, 21 February 2014, accessed 15 June 2018.