Danijel Kalezić is a prominent human rights advocate and the Executive Co-Director of ERA – LGBTI Equal Rights Association for the Western Balkans and Turkey, the largest regional LGBTIQ+ network in the region. With over 17 years of activism, Danijel has been a driving force behind numerous national and regional reforms advancing the rights of LGBTIQ+ persons, HIV prevention, and broader democratic values across Southeast Europe.
Danijel began his public activism in 2008 and co-founded Queer Brigade in 2010 – the first grassroots LGBTIQ+ visibility initiative in Montenegro – which paved the way for the establishment of Queer Montenegro. As President of its Governing Board from 2012 to 2022, he led the launch and institutionalization of Montenegro Pride in 2013 and has remained the main coordinator of the Pride Rally.
At the regional level, Danijel has been deeply involved in building alliances across the Western Balkans and Turkey. Since assuming the role of Executive Co-Director of ERA in 2022, he has spearheaded organizational and political development efforts, coordinated regional advocacy campaigns, and strengthened donor partnerships. He has played a central role in establishing ERA’s advocacy presence in Brussels, aligning regional priorities with EU policies on human rights, anti-discrimination, and enlargement. Through this, he regularly engages with EU institutions, embassies, and international partners, advocating for stronger conditionality and monitoring of LGBTIQ+ rights in the EU accession process.
Danijel also represents the region in global advocacy spaces. Since 2023, he has served as a member of the Executive Board of ILGA-Europe, contributing to the organization’s strategic direction and governance. As ILGA-Europe’s national expert for Montenegro since 2010, he contributes to the annual Rainbow Europe Index, shaping how the region is perceived and assessed in global equality benchmarks. His expertise has also been recognized by the Council of Europe, where he serves as an expert on LGBTIQ+ rights in the Western Balkans, with a focus on legal harmonization, institutional reforms, and alignment with CoE standards.
On the national level, Danijel co-authored and led the key legal and policy frameworks, including Montenegro’s Law on Life Partnership of Same-Sex Persons, and the initiative for drafting the Law on Legal Gender Recognition based on self-determination – the first of its kind in the region. He was also a member of the official working groups for the Strategy for the Improvement of the Quality of Life of LGBTI Persons (2019–2023 and 2024–2028), and two National HIV/AIDS Strategies. Despite systemic resistance and political volatility, he has remained a consistent voice for policy accountability, especially in the context of EU accession and Chapters 23 and 24 reforms.
Danijel is also a long-time election observer and democracy advocate, participating in multiple international observation missions through ENEMO and CeMI, including in Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Hungary, and the Western Balkans. These experiences further connect his LGBTIQ+ advocacy with broader struggles for democratic integrity, the rule of law, and civic participation.
He has also supported the founding of organizations such as Spectra (trans-led) and Stana (LBTQ women), ensuring a more inclusive and intersectional movement. His work is widely published and includes co-authorship of numerous human rights reports, strategic documents, and public policy proposals used by governments and international organizations.
In recognition of his impact, Danijel was selected as a scholar of the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) in 2015, focusing on leadership in human rights. Recognized both locally and internationally, Danijel has received awards, including the Justice in the Balkans Award (2010), the UBRZAJ Human Rights Activism Award (2015), and the Friend of the City of San Diego Award (2015), presented by the city mayor as recognition of his work on human rights.
As one of the most visible and outspoken openly gay public figures in the region, Danijel combines activist courage with institutional expertise — building bridges between grassroots communities and international mechanisms, and pushing for a Europe where LGBTIQ+ persons are not just protected by law, but fully equal in life.
