Serbian strongman hospitalized with heart condition

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has been admitted to a military hospital in the capital city of Belgrade after experiencing cardiovascular problems, his office said in a statement on Saturday.

Vucic's media adviser, Suzana Vasiljevic, said the president's health is stable, but he is being kept in the hospital for precautionary reasons. According to Serbian media, the 49-year-old suffers from high blood pressure.

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A former ultra-nationalist during the 1990s war in the former Yugoslavia, Vucic became prime minister in 2014 and was elected president in 2017. Though the Serbian president only serves a ceremonial role under the constitution, Vucic is the most powerful politician in the country.

He still maintains an iron grip on the Serbian Progressive Party, which came to power seven years ago promising to take Serbia into the European Union. Vucic's government has since faced accusations of curbing media freedoms and democracy and has strengthened Serbia's relations with Slavic ally Russia.

dv/mm (AP, Reuters)

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