Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia (1998–2000)

Before the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia

On 24 March 1998, Bojić was sworn in as one of five deputy prime ministers of Serbia in a coalition government led by Mirko Marjanović. This administration had two deputy prime ministers each from the Socialist Party of Serbia and the Serbian Radical Party; Bojić was the sole JUL representative in the role.^[18]

Bojić asserted in June 1998 that the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) was perpetrating "terrorism" in Kosovo and that the government of Serbia was defending its territory and citizens via its conflict with the organization. He further asserted that the Serbian government was committed to defend the rights of national minorities, that the KLA was intent on the secession of Kosovo, and that "the Albanian separatist movement, in continuity, has in fact carried out the greatest ethnic cleansing and exodus of Serbs in the past one hundred years."^[19] He later welcomed the arrival of an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe mission in Kosovo, saying that it would confirm that there were no grounds for ethnic Albanian revolt.^[20]

As tensions increased in Kosovo throughout 1998, various western governments accused the Serbian state of conducting massacres against Albanians in the province, and some diplomats and politicians recommended air strikes against Serbia as a means of resolving the situation. Bojić responded by inviting international forensic experts into Kosovo to investigate all alleged massacres, including those against Serbs, and said he was confident that massacres were being staged by the KLA to provoke intervention from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).^[21]

In October 1998, Bojić and Serbian information minister Aleksandar Vučić met with the editors-in-chief of Serbia's independent media organizations to order that they stop broadcasting international programs; Vučić advised the media representatives that an official ban would follow.^[22] The ministers added that this was a temporary measure due to "the threat of NATO intervention" in Kosovo.^[23] Serbia subsequently passed a restrictive law on public information; in response, the Council of the European Union banned Bojić and other Serbian politicians associated with the legislation from entering European Union member states.^[24]

In January 1999, Kosovo Verification Mission leader William Walker accused Serb forces of responsibility for the Račak massacre, an accusation that was ultimately a leading factor in NATO's decision to bomb Yugoslavia later in the year. Bojić responded that Walker's statement was aimed at provoking a military intervention against Serbs.^[25] In the same period, he rejected suggestions for an international conference on Kosovo and urged western powers to force Albanian delegates to form a united negotiating team "so we can finally sit down at a table like human beings and arrange to bring this sad drama to an end."^[26]

During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia

Bojić delivered several public speeches condemning the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, which lasted from 24 March – 10 June 1999. In one speech, at Lebane in southern Serbia, he asserted that Serbs had become more resolute in their desire to maintain Kosovo as an integral part of Serbia and called on Montenegrins to follow "the holy duty of defending the fatherland." He also stated, "We are also here today, at this magnificent rally, to send out a message to the new Adolf Hitler: death to fascists, death to invaders and Serbia will never surrender!"^[27] Bojić later joined other government officials to take part in human shield tactics to prevent NATO from bombing Belgrade's bridges.^[28] After a NATO bomb struck a hospital in Niš, Bojić described the attack as deliberate and charged NATO with genocidal aggression.^[29]

Following the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia

The NATO military campaign ended on 10 June 1999. Shortly after this time, many Kosovo Serbs fled the province fearing reprisals; Bojić urged them to return, saying, "Kosovo and Metohija belong to us - and will do so in the future only if we return there."^[30]

Several protests were held against Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević following the NATO campaign, and Bojić, as a prominent ally of Milošević, was a frequent target of attacks.^[31] In September 1999, he sued leaders of the opposition Alliance for Change movement for libel following a public rally in which he was subjected to a "mock trial" and blamed for difficulties in Serbia's health system.^[32] In 2000, he filed similar charges against opposition political leader Zoran Đinđić.^[33]

Bojić was appointed to a second term Chamber of Republics in May 2000.^[34]

In May 2000, Bojić and fellow deputy prime minister Vojislav Šešelj signed a decree mandating the seizure of the opposition media outlet RTV Studio B by the Serbian state. Bojić and Šešelj asserted that the station was promoting terrorist activities and that it had repeatedly called for elected officials to be overthrown, charges that the studio's editor-in-chief dismissed as "nonsense."^[35] The takeover led to significant protests.^[36]

Minister of Health (2000)

Bojić received additional ministerial responsibilities as Serbia's minister of health on 12 July 2000.^[37] In this capacity, he banned smoking in all medical institutions and promoted the importation of medicines from China.^[38] In September 2000, he announced that no doctor would be permitted to work in state and private institutions at the same time.^[39] In the same period, the opposition Democratic Party accused Bojić of "persecuting" five doctors who were members of their party and who had criticized the country's health care situation at public meetings.^[40]

The Fall of Milošević and after

In July 2000, Bojić announced the JUL's support for a constitutional change that would permit Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević to seek re-election.^[41] The change was approved, and a Yugoslavian general election was called for September 2020. The reforms to Yugoslavia's electoral system also saw the introduction of direct elections for the Chamber of Republics; the SPS and JUL ran a joint list of candidates for this body, and Bojić was included in the third position.^[42]

The 2000 Yugoslavian election saw the defeat of Slobodan Milošević by Democratic Opposition of Serbia candidate Vojislav Koštunica, an event that precipitated large-scale changes in Yugoslavian and Serbian politics. Notwithstanding Milošević's defeat, the SPS-JUL alliance won seven seats in the Chamber of Republics. Bojić was re-elected and served as an opposition member in the parliament that followed.^[43][44] He resigned as both health minister and deputy prime minister on 9 October 2000.^[45] (Technically, he remained in office until 24 October.) He was also dismissed as head of the Dedinje clinic in the same period.^[46] A newspaper report from this period described Bojić as "considered by many to be the most reviled of Milošević's supporters."^[47]

The Democratic Opposition of Serbia won a landslide majority in the December 2000 Serbian parliamentary election, and in May 2001 the ministry of the interior filed charges against Bojić for abuse of an official position.^[48] Charges could not move forward at the time, however, as Bojić still had parliamentary immunity by virtue of his seat in the Yugoslavian parliament.^[49] The DOS made various attempts to revoke Bojić's parliamentary immunity in 2001 and 2002, although these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.^[50] The Chamber of Republics ceased to exist in 2003.