Macedonian Public Policy Expert and former Parliamentarian, Tanja Tomic Opens Up About Life in Politics & Her Life as a Civil Servant

I had the honor of meeting Tanja Tomic, then a Member of the Macedonian Parliament in 2013. We sat beside one another at a dinner in Washington, DC and she expressed that one of her favorite parts about being a parliamentarian was meeting her constituents. It was almost time for the Orthodox Christian Easter, and Tanja shared how much her Christian faith meant to her.

Born in Skopje, Macedonia, Tanja Tomic is one of Macedonia’s leading public policy experts. She has been elected to various leadership positions, both municipally and nationally. Early on, she desired to be a medical doctor as a child, due to a drive to help people, but instead, Tanja got into politics with the same spirit to help people and make a difference in her country.

Tanja speaking at the 5th anniversary of the Progres Institute.

Originally trained in Civil Engineering for her undergraduate studies at the University of St. Cyril and Methodius, Tanja went on to receive her post-graduate degree in Human Resource Management. Upon completion of her studies, Tanja has held various leadership professional positions from being the Head of the Youth Department in Macedonia’s Agency for Youth and Sports; to the Assistant for Foreign Policy in the Office of the President of Macedonia, to Executive Director of Progress, a think tank that focuses on public policy issues; to being an elected member of Macedonia’s Parliament.

As a national legislator, Tanja analyzed gender-responsive budgeting, met with constituents, worked to draw attention to issues of public importance through public appearances, participated in creation and mobilizing support for her party, the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, policies, and researched and prepared presentations for regulatory impact analysis.

Tanja discussing Parliamentary issues at a bilateral meeting with a foreign delegation.

In all her professional roles, Tanja also worked tirelessly on the municipal level of government in her local area. She held the elected position of Municipal Council for the Municipality of Kisela Voda from 2000- 2005. She was also elected Member of the City Council of Skopje from 2005-2009. She also fights for causes close to her heart, AIDS and persuading women to run for public office. From 2012 – 2013 Tanja was the Coordinator of the Inter Parliamentarian Caucus for the fight against AIDS. And in 2014, she was the Coordinator of the Women’s Parliamentarians Club in the Macedonian Parliament.

She speaks 4 languages: Macedonian, English, Serbian, and German. And today, Tanja works as a freelance consultant, where she is a trainer at the Political Academy and the School on Gender Activism, schools supported by the PROGRES Institute, FES Macedonia and the Olof Palme Foundation. She trains women in politics across the globe for the ODIHR DEM Unit, the United States’ National Democratic Institute (NDI); and for the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) Women’s Democracy Network.

When Tanja isn’t engaged in public policy you can find her reading a book, sightseeing and exploring new places or exercising.

“I would tell a woman considering running for public office that it’s OK to be afraid, but do it anyway...”

Tanja at a protest for justice.

Tanaja apart of a panel for the Regional Academy for Democracy.

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Seele Magazine: What did you want to be as a child? Did you grow up wanting to be involved in politics and work in government?

Tanja Tomic: I had a great wish to be a doctor as a child, because I love helping people. I guess I got into politics for the same reason; I wanted to improve the life of people in Macedonia. It started with creating and lobbying for youth policies and a wish to change our education system. I never thought it would become my profession and that I would be so passionate about it.

SM: What makes Macedonia a unique country? Why should people visit?

TT: Macedonia is unique by its historic and natural sights, the delicious traditional food and most especially, its people. According to NASA, Kokino is the fourth oldest astronomic observatory in the world; Ohrid Lake is the oldest and one of the deepest lakes in Europe and Ohrid City is known as Balkan Jerusalem because it used to have 365 churches (one for each day of the year); Mother Theresa of Calcutta was born in Skopje; Vrelo Cave and Matka Canyon; lots of old Monasteries dating back to the 9th century. There are a lot more sights, but one of the things that’s makes it worth the visit are the hospitable Macedonians that will welcome you with some of the most mouthwatering meals you would have ever tasted.

SM: What was it like being Director of the Progress Institute? Did that think-tank role prepare you for running for office?

TT: It was an inspirational job. I got a chance to work on some great policies, cooperate with empowering people and transfer my knowledge to young leaders from different political parties. It did prepare me for running for office in a sense of building my self-esteem, network of supporters, coalitions and giving me knowledge in inclusive creating of policies.

SM: What did you enjoy most about serving on the municipal level of the city of Skopje as an elected member? Why is the municipal level of a city's government important for a state and for a country?

TT: I enjoyed most the fact that I could influence the solving of everyday problems of the citizens of Skopje. I was lucky enough to be elected in a term with a non-party mayor who had a sense to listen to good proposals from elected council members without regard of what political party they were coming from. That is the most important role of municipal level politics: solving problems that directly improve the life of its citizen, whether it’s paving streets, building sewage and water supply systems, providing lighting of the streets etc.

SM: In all of the roles and positions you've held, what do you enjoy the most and what have you learned?

TT: I enjoyed working with different people, learning about them and their problems and trying to help. One of the things I learned is that if you help and support voters and stand up for them, they’re going to do the same for you. They will always value your efforts if they see that you’re really trying to help, even if you don’t always manage to achieve the goal. It’s important to be honest and sincere to them.

I’m also very happy to have had a chance as a Member of Parliament to be part of and for a certain time lead the Women Parliamentarians Club at the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia. It was very inspiring to witness the power of women’s cooperation. Every time the women Parliamentarians managed to come to a joint proposals that would improve the life of women in the country, that proposal was always adopted by the Parliament. Of course, we didn’t always manage to come to a joint position, but we were always ready to negotiate and keep moving forward as much as possible.

“Having faith is the thing that pushes you to get things done and keep fighting for your beliefs...”

SM: What are you doing now that your time as a parliamentarian has ended? Have you ever considered running for President of Macedonia?

TT: I work as a freelance consultant trying to transfer as much knowledge to future decision makers as I can. It is important to me to keep contributing to the society in any way I can. I’m also the editor to a webpage that gathers all the gender data in one place (laws, research, analysis, documents etc.) and also provides a place for women to get promoted, no matter if they’re in business, politics, culture, NGO or any other sphere.

It’s too early for me to think about running for President, since I believe you should never run for a position if you’re not ready for it and I feel I’m not ready. I still have a lot more to learn for such a responsible position, but I would very much like to see a woman President in Macedonia soon.

SM: Why should women run for office? What advice do you have for any woman that is scared to try?

TT: The only way to have their voice heard and to change the thing that annoys them is to run. They can never expect the men in office to think about women’s problems since they have different needs and priorities.

I would tell a woman considering running for public office that it’s OK to be afraid, but do it anyway. When growing up we were scared to try riding a bike, swimming, giving birth birth, passing exams, etc. and we still do it and succeed. It’s OK to fail a few times while trying, but it’s important to never give up. If they manage to change even a small piece of legislation it’s a step forward for all women and nothing can measure up to the satisfaction you’ll feel when someone tells you, “Thank you, for what you did”

SM: What does your faith mean to you and how does it get you through challenges?

TT: It’s my fuel. It’s what gets me going and keeps me going. It’s sometimes a challenge to keep the faith with all the disappointments around us and we have to rebuild it on everyday basis, but having faith is the thing that pushes you to get things done and keep fighting for your beliefs.