Zoran Živković (, ; born 22 December 1960) is a Serbian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Serbia from 2003 to 2004 and as the Mayor of Niš from 1997 to 2000. Živković served as mayor of Niš from 1997 to 2000. He played a significant role during the protests and the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević. After the assassination of Zoran Đinđić, he headed the Government of Serbia for a year. His reign was marked by a state of emergency period and the Operation Sabre, an action aimed at finding those responsible for political assassinations and combating organized crime. Živković later formed the liberal New Party and served as its president until his resignation in 2020. After that, he became executive director of the Center for development of civil society MilenijuM. Early life and education Živković was born in Niš, Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia where he attended High School Bora Stanković, subsequently enrolling at the Belgrade Business School, where he received a Diploma in Economics and Social science. He worked as an entrepreneur before engaging in politics. Political career Early years Zoran Živković entered politics in 1992 by joining the Democratic Party (DS) and became a member of Serbian Parliament and the party's Deputy Leader under the leadership of Zoran Đinđić. In late 1996, Živković lead the civil protests of the opposition against the electoral fraud in Niš and became the first democratic Mayor of Niš in 1997. 2000–2004 In 2000, Živković contributed greatly to the mobilization of the democratic opposition of Serbia during October 5 overthrow of Milošević from power. In November 2000, Živković became the Federal Minister of Interior of FR Yugoslavia and served until 2003, when the position was abolished following the constitutional formation of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. After the assassination of Zoran Đinđić, Živković was elected as the 7th Prime Minister of Serbia and decisively lead his reformist Government through the state of emergency period and promoted offensive measures on cracking down organized crime and corruption, but his Government collapsed as a consequence of the controversial arrests, government scandals, and unrest within the coalition. After eleven months of heading the Government of Serbia, weakening public support saw Živković stepping down from the Democratic Party leadership position, following the loss of power in parliamentary elections held in December 2003 and successful challenge for party leadership by Boris Tadić, who emerged as the