The editorial board of the weekly "Vreme" has declared, by a majority of votes, Dr. Nenad Leibensperger, conservator of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, to be the person of the year.
The prize has been awarded for improving the work of institutions in the public interest for a quarter of a century.
In an age when rebellious students and society are fighting for institutions to do their job, doing your job as the law says becomes heroism because it comes with pressures, threats and jeopardy of material and physical existence.
Leibensperger, the man at the head of the Register of Immovable Cultural Properties at the Institute of the Republic, refused to remove the General Staff buildings from the register. And at the cost of losing his job or something worse happening.
This historian, together with his colleagues, preserved the image of an institution and immeasurably contributed to the preservation of cultural, historical and architectural values and public interest in the center of Belgrade.
In this context, Leibensperger and his colleagues resisted both the superiors and the most powerful people in this country, the combined pressure of political power and capital.
Earlier in his career, Leibensperger distinguished himself as a conscientious defender of cultural monuments and tirelessly explained the importance of remembering the anti-fascist struggle and suffering in the Great War.
An extensive conversation with Nenad Leibensperger will be published in the next issue of "Vremena", which will be published on January 8, 2026.
