Members of government
Novica Tončev
Minister without portfolio in charge of improving the development of underdeveloped municipalities
Born in 1962 in Niš. He finished primary and secondary school in Surdulica. He completed his undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Niš, the Department of Building Construction, with the highest grades.
He is currently preparing his PhD thesis at the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Niš. Tončev published several professional and scientific papers in the field of civil engineering and is currently writing a scientific paper “Modern Ceilings in Contemporary Construction”. He confirmed his knowledge in practice with many years of management of the family company Tončev Gradnja, which has been operating successfully for over 30 years.
He is a member of the Serbian Chamber of Engineers and holds licenses as a responsible contracting engineer and responsible designer.
From 1990 to 2000, he was President of the local community of Božica, and from 1996 to 2000, member of the Executive Council of the Municipal Assembly of Surdulica. In the period from 2000 to 2004, he served as Vice President of the Municipal Assembly of Surdulica, from 2008 to 2014, he was President of the Municipality of Surdulica and from 2014 to 2020, he was President of the Municipal Assembly of Surdulica.
He was elected member of the Serbian parliament on several occasions from 2014 to 2022 as a candidate of the Socialist Party of Serbia.
Tončev was elected as minister in the Serbian government for the first time in 2020 when he was charged with improving the development of underdeveloped municipalities. In his second mandate, from October 2022 to May 2024, he held the position of Minister without portfolio in charge of improving the development of underdeveloped municipalities. He held the same office during the term from May 2024 to April 2025.
Since 2023, he has been a member of the Management Board of the Development Fund of the Republic of Serbia and Deputy Chairman of the Personnel Commission of the Serbian government and a member of the Economic and Financial Committee of the Serbian government.
He has been a member of the Main Board of the Socialist Party of Serbia since 2010, and he was elected Vice President of the party in 2017 and 2024.
As a prominent football worker, Tončev held the position of Vice President of the Football Association of Serbia, was a member of the Executive Committee and a member of the Committee for Urgent Issues of the Football Association of Serbia.
He is a fan of the Radnik Football Club from Surdulica, of which he was also President.
From 2008 to 2012, he represented the Republic of Serbia in the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.
With his wife Lidija he has two sons, Stanislav and Vladislav.
