Is a shake-up coming at the top of the BIA, a loyalist replacing a loyalist?

Since Vučić no longer has anyone willing to go to prison in his place, and since the examples of Selaković, Vesić, and Toma Mona demonstrate how disposable half-loyal and obedient figures ultimately become

The Security Intelligence Agency (BIA) has come under criticism from President Aleksandar Vučić amid Serbia’s prolonged socio-political crisis. As things stand, the former Prime Minister and current president of the Serbian Progressive Party, Miloš Vučević, could soon become head of the BIA.

Information suggesting that Vučević could potentially become the new director of the BIA was disclosed by the president of the Democratic Party, Srđan Milivojević.

Milivojević told that there are still individuals within the security sector who remain loyal to the oath they took to the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia.

“These honorable people did not swear an oath to the mafia insignia of the Serbian Progressive Party. As top professionals, they are doing everything in their power to prevent a complete collapse and breakdown of the security services, which is presented as inevitable under this kind of personnel policy,” said Milivojević.

He added that it was precisely from such individuals that he received information indicating that the leader of the regime is dissatisfied with the way Vladimir Orlić is managing the Security Intelligence Agency.

“Student protests have not been extinguished, BIA engagement is turning into a constant fiasco and an embarrassment for the service, and our security capacities are unable to respond to what the law and the Constitution require or to the security challenges of the present time. The removal of Vladimir Orlić is no longer in question,” he emphasized.

Also, Milivojević explained that since Vučić no longer has anyone willing to go to prison in his place, and since the examples of Selaković, Vesić, and Toma Mona demonstrate how disposable half-loyal and obedient figures ultimately become, the only individual ambitious enough, and insufficiently aware of the implications of such an appointment is Miloš Vučević.

“I remind you that he will be remembered as the prime minister who held office for the shortest period since the introduction of multiparty politics, less than eight months, a duration shorter than the shelf life of a jar of pickles. The BIA has already been sufficiently humiliated by the fact that it was previously run by Aleksandar Vulin, Dijana Hrkalović, and various obedient figures associated with Milan Radoičić and Zvonko Veselinović,” Milivojević said.

According to Milivojević, appointing Vučević as director of the BIA would represent an even more alarming version of the same scenario Vučić enacted when he appointed Milorad Grčić to head EPS.

“The consequences of such a decision would be far more serious than anything we have witnessed so far, more serious even than Russian services running a training camp for saboteurs in central Serbia for months, preparing them to overthrow the government in Moldova. Not to mention the role of the BIA in marijuana production at Jovanjica, the largest drug production facility in Europe. In all these cases, Serbia was humiliated and compromised,” Milivojević emphasized.

He believes that with Vučević at the helm of the BIA, Serbia would be placed in such jeopardy that reforming the service would be impossible without dissolving it and establishing an entirely new intelligence and security agency.

“Especially concerning is the fact that such a service would be led by the president of the political wing of organized crime in Serbia, which the SNS undoubtedly represents. Given Vučević’s capacities and character, the only positive aspect of this scenario is that it would not take long to determine who would be the first to abandon Vučić when political pressure becomes untenable,” Milivojević concluded.

Since this information has not been officially confirmed, it remains unclear whether such a decision is realistic. Questions also remain regarding the potential reasons for dismissing the current BIA director Orlić, who has repeatedly demonstrated loyalty to the ruling party, as well as what changes might occur within the agency should Miloš Vučević assume leadership.

Predrag Petrović from the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) recalled that Vučić has on several occasions over the past year expressed dissatisfaction with the BIA’s performance.

“Let us recall his statement that at the beginning of the protests, following the collapse of the canopy in Novi Sad, the BIA was unaware of what was being discussed at student plenums, even though the agency was at that time headed by a proven loyalist, Orlić, who was appointed in June 2024. I would not be surprised if Vučević were to replace Orlić at the head of the Security Information Agency,” Petrović said.

He added that the situation should be viewed within the broader context of Vučić’s dissatisfaction with the way the security services and the broader security apparatus responded to the protests.

“This pattern of dismissals would be part of a broader trend in which loyalists are replaced by super-loyalists, individuals who are effectively accomplices, connected through unprofessional conduct and violations of the law. Vučević would fit into that pattern quite well,” Petrović explained.

Petrović further noted that Vučević is held in high regard not only by Vučić, but also by his brother.

“As for the condition of the BIA itself, it was already poor, and that trend would certainly continue, albeit at an accelerated pace. The agency’s actions might become more visibly repressive, but even without changes at the top, the overall trajectory of the security apparatus indicates further deterioration,” Petrović stated.

Retired SBPOK inspector Predrag Simonović told that such claims are entirely plausible, given the personnel appointments to leadership positions within the security sector during 2025 and earlier.

“We are witnessing that educational background and previous professional experience are largely irrelevant when it comes to appointments to leadership positions. Drawing a parallel with developments in the Ministry of the Interior in the previous period, I conclude that extremely obedient managers were removed in order to appoint even more obedient and loyal individuals, particularly those who distinguished themselves in suppressing student protests. I see no reason why Vučević could not become head of the BIA, nor do I consider him less qualified as a security expert than Gašić, Vulin, or Orlić,” Simonović said.

He believes that no substantive changes would occur within the BIA, just as no meaningful changes occurred in the Ministry of the Interior.

“Over the past 12 years, suitable personnel have been systematically hired, particularly since employment could be approved with the consent and signature of the BIA director. The media have published the names of public figures whose children work at the agency, raising questions about how they could have passed security vetting at all,” Simonović noted.

He emphasized that every leadership change sends a message that power is centralized in the hands of one individual and that no one within the services is indispensable.

“Clearly, the BIA failed to meet expectations in suppressing student protests, and the appointment of a new leader may be intended to change that. I must also mention the most recent hearings in the Jovanjica case, where, according to media reports, a former BIA chief in Zvezdara, who is among the accused, told the court that he acted on behalf of the agency and with its knowledge. It is now up to the Prosecutor’s Office, and possibly the new BIA leadership, to determine how this case will proceed,” Simonović concluded.

It is worth recalling that in early October 2025, Vučić stated that during the first six months of the protests the BIA had not been present at student plenums and emphasized the “incompetence” of the agency, remarking that his younger son could obtain video recordings from the plenums. /Nova/