Most people would think twice before abandoning a high-flying executive lifestyle in Paris in exchange for an insecure, meagerly paid job in one of Europe's poorest countries. Yet this is exactly what Bozidar Djelic, a partner with consultancy McKinsey & Company, did when he accepted an offer to become Finance Minister in post-Milosevic Serbia. "I did not hesitate for a moment," Djelic recalls from his modest office in downtown Belgrade. "I have no doubt that this government can pull the country back on its feet."
After four lost wars and years of economic sanctions, Serbia needs all the...