Ana Brnabic—the first woman and the first lesbian to hold the office of prime minister of Serbia, or to be a leader of any Eastern European country—has stepped down after seven years in power, in a reshuffle of President Alexander Vucic's government, The Los Angeles Blade noted.
Brnabic—who is also the longest-serving person to have held the office—will assume the role of speaker of parliament, while Vucic has named ally Milos Vucevic as her successor.
She is still the most prominent LGBTQ+ person in the conservative, Eastern Orthodox country.
The government introduced a civil-union bill in 2020; however, it was shelved months later amid backlash from legislators and a veto threat by Vucic. Beyond that, Brnabic's government introduced a ban on discrimination against intersex people and removed regulations that barred LGBTQ+ people from accessing IVF or donating sperm.
Brnabic's move follows openly gay Irish leader Leo Varadkar saying he has "no regrets" about stepping down as he officially resigned, PinkNews noted. Simon Harris has been confirmed as that country's newest prime minister.
—Andrew Davis
