Montenegrin Prime Minister Djukanovic announces retreat from office Tuesday Oct 25,2016

The Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) announced late Tuesday night Oct 25,2016 that party leader and current prime minister Milo Djukanovic will step down from office after ruling for more than twenty-five years.

The DPS did not provide a reason for the 54-year old's decision to leave office. It was also unclear whether Milo Djukanovic would remain head of the DPS or abandon politics entirely.

According to reports, the ruling-party management proposed  Milo Djukanovic's deputy and former national security chief Dusko Markovic as a possible successor.

 His nomination is expected to be approved by the DPS's main board later on Wednesday Oct 26,2016

Note

In his step down from power, Milo Djukanovic will end an unchallenged rule that lasted a quarter of a century. He was 29 when he became prime minister in 1991, the youngest premier in Europe at the time. In 1998, he was elected president but returned to the premier position in 2002.

This is not the first time that Milo Djukanovic has stepped down as prime minister. In 2006 and 2010, he gave up the premier's office but remained party leader of the DPS. In both cases, Djukanovic returned as prime minister after a two-year hiatus.