Evening dedicated to Dragan Kujović: "Professor, philosopher and statesman, who lived the idea of ​​an independent Montenegro"

By promoting the books Gora kao sudbina and Ime za pamćenje by Dragan Kujović, through the words of former students, comrades and friends, the Cultural Center organized an "evening of remembrance" for this Kolašin native, who was "one of the most ardent advocates of an independent and sovereign state of Montenegro, as well as of Montenegrin national and linguistic identity and uniqueness, and the autocephaly of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church."

Kujović's books were edited by Veselin Konjević and Marijan Mašo Miljić, and the promotion was organized as part of the program by which Kolašin marks 20 years since the restoration of Montenegro's independence.

Kujović (1948–2010) was a philosophy professor, politician, “statesman and one of the prominent advocates of the restoration of Montenegrin independence”. He was born on 4 November 1948 in Mioska near Kolašin. He graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo in 1972, after which he worked for almost a decade “as a favorite philosophy professor at the Kolašin Gymnasium ‘Braća Selić’, leaving a strong mark on students and colleagues”. The memory of Kujović as a professor at the Kolašin Gymnasium was shared by Milosav Bato Bulatović, former president of the Municipality of Kolašin.

"The generation I belong to had the privilege of having Dragan Kujović as its professor... Kujović was not a professor with just a diary. That is why we, his students, remember him and his classes with fond emotions. He often quoted ancient philosophers and taught us not to accept knowledge superficially, but to think about ourselves, about other people and about the time we live in. Dragan was well-educated and lived the way he taught. He showed his virtues in all areas he dealt with in his life... Professor Radovan Radonjić said that in every chapter of his inimitable philosophy of life, Kujović, wise and inspired by Berk's thought that human material is a thousand times more important than all the formalities of the entire world, stands firmly on the defense of Montenegrin and universal human freedom," Bulatović reminded.

Journalist Dražen Drašković was also among the high school students Kujović taught. According to him, "the beloved professor from Kolašin managed to successfully deploy and incorporate his innate and learned philosophical wisdom into every job he did."

"In that way, he was a special professor, a special politician, a special minister, a special analyst and chronicler. A special president of the 'Gorštak' Football Club. Of course, and a special son, brother, husband, father, friend... Dragan Kujović studied and graduated in philosophy, but he was a philosopher even before he opened the doors of that amphitheater in Sarajevo. He had that highlander clarity that asked questions and sought and gave answers. That's how his work rules gradually emerged, his methodology as a philosopher and life operative," said, among other things, Drašković.

As he said, “Kujović imagined and experienced politics as a way and means to change the world around him.” According to Drašković, Kujović's “political work had the wisdom and charm of philosophy.”

"Thus he managed to turn politics, once a boring and dirty activity, into a communication of life, a communication of logic. His politics had the power of understanding and clarity. And what is most important - it made its goal clear and accessible."

Dragan's politics immediately had its visible goal... Kujović achieved something that is rare, but also very valuable in politics, especially on the Montenegrin political scene. He had such individual charisma that he dared and wanted to use arguments to oppose certain intra-party positions, and this was done within the ranks of the strongest parties in Montenegro at the time: the League of Communists of Montenegro and the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) of Montenegro," said Drašković.

Kujović began his political career in 1979 in Kolašin, and then held numerous important positions in Montenegro and the then Yugoslavia. He was a member of the Montenegrin Parliament in several convocations, Chairman of the Committee on Education and Science, Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Montenegro, and Vice President of the Parliament of Montenegro from 2001 to 2006. He also participated in the drafting of the Constitutional Charter of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, as well as in the writing of the Constitution of independent Montenegro. As a long-time official of the DPS and a member of the leadership of the Movement for an Independent European Montenegro, he left a strong political mark.

"...The arrow-like thought, born in the heart of his soul, hidden in a peaceful manner, beneath the bard Antil, had, and we see today that it has, an embodiment in the historical achievements of his and our Montenegro, especially in the restoration of independence voted on May 21, 2006... Dragan Kujović knows, ponders, weighs, interprets, analyzes the complex socio-political, sociological, cultural, historical, religious, national and mental peculiarities of Montenegrin circumstances, together with courageous and uncompromising comrades in the front for the restoration of Montenegro's independence, wisely, thoughtfully, with the measure of the possible, working on undoubtedly the most significant project and undertaking in the recent history of Montenegro," said Vladan Bulatović, president of the DPS OO and Kujović's former student.

In addition to politics, he was active in cultural and social life. He was a member of Matica Crnogorska, the Senate of the University of Montenegro, president of several social and sports organizations, and the founder of the publishing company "Grafo Crna Gora". As a publicist and editor, he published several significant books and publications.

Veselin Konjević, historian and publicist, who co-edited the books Montenegro as Destiny and Name to Remember, spoke about how they came to be. Konjević also spoke about Kujović's contribution to the process that led to the restoration of Montenegro's independence 20 years ago.

"Already on the threshold of the twentieth anniversary of the restoration of Montenegrin independence, we remember the man who devoted all his intellectual, moral and political strength and skill to the realization of that idea. The man who is the best witness that the leaders of that movement were moral and responsible people. May 21 is, therefore, a holiday of great historical self-awareness and self-knowledge of Montenegrins about what their essential state and national interest is... Kujović is, without a doubt, a man who made an exceptional contribution to that process. Dragan wisely, patiently and responsibly, but also unwaveringly and persistently, with his public appearances and his intellectuality, strongly contributed to the idea of ​​independence becoming dominant in the Montenegrin public," he said.

Kujović passed away on May 1, 2010. In his honor, the newspaper "Prosvjetni rad" established the annual "Dragan Kujović" award for contribution to the development and improvement of that publication.