The latest edition of the podcast Business Club Plus, led by the President of the Economic Chamber, Branko Azeski, featured Milo Đukanović—former Prime Minister and President of Montenegro, businessman, and a key figure in the process of state independence and EU integration of the country. The conversation focused on the economic and political challenges Montenegro faced after the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, as well as on its path toward a stable economy and Euro-Atlantic structures, representing an important testimony to the role of political vision in economic transformation and to the importance of cooperation with the business community in building a competitive and stable state.

Đukanović emphasized that his initial professional ambition was tied to running a business, but his life path—shaped by historical context and political circumstances—directed him toward politics. At only 29, in 1991, he was elected Prime Minister of Montenegro, becoming the youngest prime minister in Europe at the time. In the following decades, he served multiple terms as prime minister and president, marked by key reforms, stabilization, and strategic international integration: submitting the application for European Union membership, visa liberalization, and signing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and Montenegro’s NATO membership treaty.

As one of the top students of his generation in tourism studies at the Faculty of Economics in Podgorica, Đukanović consistently underscores the importance of economic development and a strong business sector. He regularly consulted individuals with knowledge and experience in business management—especially in the tourism sector—to ensure strategic direction for economic development. In 2010, in Rome, together with then–Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, he signed the Strategic Cooperation Agreement, making Italy a strategic investor in Montenegro.

Responding to President Azeski’s question about his message to young entrepreneurs, Đukanović stated: “Macedonian businesspeople had an excellent foundation and must continue their development, both in their own country and in the region. At the core of the idea that must guide business are competitiveness, orientation and readiness for open markets, and the choice of a responsible government that will lead processes forward.”

Đukanović is the founder of five private companies and has been a shareholder in several investment entities, confirming his long-term connection to the business sector.

As a man who succeeded in preserving peace, stability, and Montenegro’s multiethnic character, and in restoring Montenegrin independence, he is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, including: the World Peace Medal from the International Association of World Educators; the “Person of the Year” award from the Sarajevo daily Dnevni Avaz and from Nezavisne Novine; the Humanitarian Award of the International League of Humanists; and the Charter of the European Center for Peace from the United Nations University for Peace.