Who is Who – Mark Brnovich: Future US Ambassador to Belgrade, consumer rights advocate, and Grateful Dead fan

An American of Serbian descent, a fan of the Grateful Dead, a consumer rights advocate, and former Arizona Attorney General, Mark Brnovich will be the next U.S. Ambassador to Serbia.

His father’s family hails from Montenegro, while his mother is from an ethnically mixed village in Dalmatia. He has stated multiple times that the Brnovich family comes from the vicinity of Podgorica and has expressed a desire to return to the region to grow grapes and produce wine, as his ancestors did.

Brnovich identifies as an Orthodox Serb and once admitted that he regrets never learning to dance the traditional kolo properly.

“Unpretentious with a curious intellect, Brnovich enjoys quoting Bob Dylan, The Clash, and Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. He considers Muhammad Ali, Barry Goldwater, and Robert F. Kennedy as personal heroes and is open to listening to liberals and Democrats while maintaining a conservative worldview rooted in his Old World heritage,” wrote Phoenix New Times in an article about him.

His nomination for ambassador must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Announcing Brnovich as the future U.S. Ambassador to Serbia, former President Donald Trump described him last night as a “proud veteran of the Army National Guard and former Attorney General of Arizona.”

“As the son of refugees who fled communism, Mark will be a strong advocate for freedom and will always put America first. Congratulations, Mark!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
Brnovich ran for the U.S. Senate in 2022, but Trump supported another Republican candidate who ultimately lost to a Democrat. In an interview, Brnovich described Trump as someone who knows how to dedicate his time and thinks quickly and wittily.

Brnovich believes that unfortunate stereotypes about the former Yugoslavia and Serbia persist in the West.

“However, I think Serbia could use this to its advantage, as it is located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. I also believe the Serbian government could better promote its position on the crucial role that countries like Serbia can play in trade and security in Europe,” he said in an interview last year.

He also finds it unfortunate that Hollywood often portrays people from Eastern Europe and the Balkans as “the bad guys.”

He has visited Montenegro multiple times and, last March, posted a photo on social media with Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic.

In a 2018 interview with CdM, he stated that NATO membership “indicates that Montenegro wants to be a free country and part of the EU.”

“If you want to progress economically, you must advance in the rule of law and consistently enforce laws,” he also emphasized.

During his tenure as Arizona Attorney General, Brnovich focused mainly on consumer protection. According to his biography, he secured over $1.5 billion in settlements and judgments for Arizona consumers in consumer protection lawsuits.

His office took legal action against General Motors and Volkswagen, and one of his major achievements was securing a multimillion-dollar settlement with the corporation Theranos, which had to refund money to Arizona residents after unreliable blood tests were conducted.

He personally argued three cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

He also sued President Joe Biden’s administration after the construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall was halted.

“Neither Congress nor President Biden has done anything to secure our border and protect American security and sovereignty,” he stated at the time.

His X (formerly Twitter) account features photos with Vlade Divac and David Beckham.

Biography

Brnovich was born in Detroit in 1966 as the youngest of four children. He has attended St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Phoenix his entire life.

He served as Arizona Attorney General from 2015 to 2023. From 2017 to 2018, he was the chair of the Conference of Western Attorneys General. He has also worked as a federal prosecutor. In 2009, he was appointed director of the Arizona Department of Gaming.

He studied at Arizona State University.

He met his wife, Susan, while both were working as prosecutors in the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. They have two daughters, Milena and Sofia.