Mihalj Kertes

Mihalj Kertes (, ; 29 August 194729 December 2022), nicknamed "Bracika", was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician. An ethnic Hungarian, he became a member of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia in 1974 and a close associate of Slobodan Milošević in the late 1980s.

He became a prominent figure during the anti-bureaucratic revolution. Kertes was a candidate in the 1989 election for the presidency of Serbia within Yugoslavia but lost in a landslide to Milošević. He joined the Socialist Party of Serbia in 1990 and became the director of the Federal Customs Bureau of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1993. Kertes provided logistic and financial support for various undercover government operations until the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević, which occurred on 5 October 2000. After the overthrow, Kertes was sentenced, tried, and acted as a witness in several trials.

Early life Mihalj Kertes was born on 29 August 1947 in Bačka Palanka, PR Serbia , FPR Yugoslavia , to a Hungarian father Mihalj , a tailor, and a Croatian mother Olga, a housewife. He became a leading figure in the town of Bačka Palanka in 1981, while his career later progressed to the level of secretary of the municipal committee of the Communist League in 1986. During the party's transformation into the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), Kertes became a supporter of Slobodan Milošević.

Rise to prominence Kertes became a prominent figure when, during the anti-bureaucratic revolution in support of Milošević's politics, he initiated the protests in Bačka Palanka and led the protesters to Novi Sad, the capital of SAP Vojvodina. The event, known as the "Yogurt Revolution", led to resignation of the provincial leadership and installation of loyalists to Milošević. His statement "How can you Serbs be afraid of Serbia when I, a Hungarian, am not afraid of Serbia?" made him particularly famous. These activities helped his progression to Serbian presidency membership, and in 1990 he was elected to the Assembly of Serbia as a member of parliament for the Grocka—a suburb of Belgrade—although he did not live there. He was linked to formation of Serbian paramilitary units in Croatia (especially in eastern Slavonia) and Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992 and 1993.

Kertes reached the ultimate and the most lucrative peak of his career when he was appointed the head of the Yugoslav Customs Office in 1993, a post he held until 6 October 2000.

In September 2007, he faced trial for abuse of office and embezzlement. Among other crimes, the prosecution charged the group, consisting of Milošević, Jovan Zebić, and Nikola Šainović with transferring 120 million German marks to Cyprus banks, where the trace was lost. Only Kertes faced trial, as Milošević and Zebić died, and Šainović had been standing trial in International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. In November 2012, the Appellate Court reached its final verdict of six years and six months in prison for Kertes for illegal transfer of money to Cyprus and embezzlement of state budget for 1.5 million dinars. The sentence was joined with the previous one of 1.5 years for his participation in the Ibarska magistrala assassination. He was absolved of charges of "joint criminal venture" with Milošević, Zebić and Šainović. However, in March 2013, the Supreme Court of Cassation reversed the verdict and ordered a reconsideration by the Appellate Court. In August 2014, he was released of all charges of embezzlement due to absolute obsolescence. Kertes also faced several trials for tobacco smuggling during the 1990s and "abuse of official role". In December 2015, the Appellate Court reached a final verdict of 2.5 years in prison in one such case. In the same year, it was reported that he had left SPS and joined the Serbian Progressive Party.

Personal life and death Kertes was an ethnic Hungarian. He died on 29 December 2022 at age 75 in Belgrade.