Ivan Đurić was born in Belgrade on October 30, 1947. He grew up in a family of university professors and in an environment that nurtured his intellectual curiosity. His father, Dr. Dušan Đurić, was a professor at the Faculty of Medicine, while his mother, Ivana Bogdanović, taught at the Faculty of Philology. Additionally, his grandfather, Milan Bogdanović, was a renowned literary critic, and his uncle, Bogdan Bogdanović, was a famous architect and former mayor of Belgrade.
Together with his twin sister Dušanka, Ivan completed elementary school at "Sveti Sava" and high school in Belgrade. Known as Iva to his family, he developed a passion for historical studies from an early age. His high school thesis titled "Sveti Sava" attracted significant attention, even drawing coverage in the newspaper "Borba."
In 1966, Ivan enrolled in the history program at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. During his second year, the then-head of the history department, Professor Georgije Ostrogorski, appointed him as a librarian at the Byzantine Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU), where Ivan would later become a collaborator. Under the guidance of this prominent Byzantinist, Ivan graduated in 1971 with a thesis on "Byzantine Acts in Medieval Serbia."
He completed his postgraduate studies in 1974 with a focus on "The Phokas Family," a Byzantine aristocratic family that played a crucial role in Byzantine governance during the 9th and 10th centuries. An anecdote about the defense of this thesis is still recounted today at the Faculty of Philosophy. When the daily newspapers announced the defense of his master's thesis, biology students mistakenly attended, thinking the topic would be about seals (fokas in Serbian).
Department of History at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade
In the same year, Ivan was appointed as an assistant at the faculty. He earned his doctorate with a dissertation titled "The Era of John VIII Palaiologos." Following an invitation to serve as an associate professor at universities in Paris and Nice, he spent time in France. Upon his return, he was appointed an associate professor in the Department of Byzantine Studies. Through his scholarly contributions, he gained recognition in international academic circles. His most significant work, The Twilight of Byzantium, has been translated into several languages, while his perspectives on history are articulated in his book History: Refuge or Guiding Light?
During the political crisis in the former Yugoslavia in the late 1980s, Ivan began to engage politically. He became the editor of the newspaper Democracy Today and the president of the Liberal Forum (1990), advocating for Serbia to become a democratic nation and emphasizing the importance of aligning with modern Europe. He often reflected on his decision to enter politics, stating, "But I am still primarily a historian." At the urging of numerous friends and colleagues, Ivan ran for president of Serbia in the first multiparty elections in 1990. He was the joint candidate for the United Democratic Initiative (UJDI) and the Alliance of Reform Forces in Serbia (SRSS). Unprepared and lacking financial resources for an electoral campaign, he secured third place with 300,000 votes, following then-president Slobodan Milošević and opposition candidate Vuk Drašković.
Poster for the Presidential Elections of 1990
After the elections, he became the president of the Reformist Party of Serbia. However, due to daily media attacks and threats directed at him and his family, he was compelled to leave Serbia and move to France. His political writings, primarily published in foreign journals, were compiled into the book Power, Opposition, Alternative, edited by Dr. Latinka Perović in 2009.
Ivan was married to Maja Danon, an English professor, with whom he had a daughter named Marija. He lived and worked in Paris until his untimely death from a brief and severe illness on November 23, 1997.
Following his death, in October 2003, his family donated his personal archive to the Historical Archive of Belgrade. This collection, housed in 33 boxes, reflects the life and work of Ivan Đurić, as well as the era in which he lived.
Ivan Đurića (privatna arhiva)
Ivan Đurić u emisiji RTV Beograd "Vizantijski svet Južnih Slovena - Blizu ili daleko od Carigrada" 1987.
Portret Ivana Đurića, rad Čedomira Vasića (privatna zbirka)
Plakat za predsedničke izbore 1990.godine