Aleksander Tijanić, Director General of the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation (RTS)

EBU leaders have expressed their profound regret at the sudden death of Aleksander Tijanić, the Director General of the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation (RTS), who died last evening (28 October) outside his Belgrade home.

Tijanić was a well-known columnist and editor-in-chief of several prominent television stations before taking on the directorship at RTS in 2004. He also served as the Republic of Serbia's Minister of Information from 1994 to 1996.

Over two consecutive mandates he is credited with turning RTS into one of the most respected public media services in the Balkans.

After receiving the news, EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre said: "We are all shocked and saddened by this, and Mr Tijanić's family and friends are in our thoughts.”

She added: “We hope that RTS will uphold his legacy and further defend the crucial role that it plays as a public broadcaster by delivering a high quality service to citizens."

Mr Tijanić made his last public appearance at a debate on the draft law on public service media in Belgrade (23 October). He gave a speech strongly advocating the importance of creating a legal framework that would ensure the editorial independence of public service broadcasting in Serbia.

Boris Bergant, consultant and former EBU Vice-President, commended Tijanić's contribution to European public service media.

"This is a very sad moment for all of us, particularly regarding his role in establishing a modern and professional RTS,” he said. “He will be fondly remembered by the EBU Community, and for hosting the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, in Belgrade."

RTS has come under growing political and financial pressure recently, including a Serbian government proposal to abolish the licence fee in favour of state contributions, commercial income and other revenues.

Editor's note (31 October): RTS has appointed Nikola Mirkov as Acting General Manager. The funeral ceremony for Aleksander Tijanić will be held on Friday 1 November.