Djordje Staničić was born on September 4, 1953. He finished elementary school and 5th Belgrade High School in Belgrade. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Belgrade in 1978. He began his professional career in 1979 at the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities of Yugoslavia (SCTM) as Head of Legal and General Services. Since 1982 he acted as the Secretary of the SCTM Committee for Communal Services and Housing and later as senior advisor for various areas of interest to local self-governments. From 1991 to August 1992 he was Director of Legal Affairs at SIND Bank in Belgrade. From August 1992 to August 1993 he acted as Deputy Director, and from August 1993 till the end of 1994 as a Director for Financial Affairs of MB agency of PKB Bank in Belgrade. In 1995 he founded and co-owned private consulting firm MENDE Ltd and was its Director until February 1997.

At the 31st Assembly in 2001, he was elected for the Secretary General of the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities. He was the leader of the national delegation of Serbia and Montenegro to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, and the titular member of the ad-hoc working group of local and regional elected representatives of Southeast Europe (within CLRAE). He is a member of numerous national supervisory boards for decentralization of public services in Serbia.