AlijaIzetbegovicBiography

Alija Izetbegovic was a Bosniak activist and the first presidentof Bosnia and Herzegovina. Read on to know more about AlijaIzetbegovic'sprofile,childhood,lifeandtimeline.

QuickFacts

FamousasPoliticalActivist,FirstPresidentofBosnia&Herzegovina

Nationality Bosniak

Politicalideology

PartyofDemocraticAction

Bornon 08August1925AD

ZodiacSign Leo

Bornin Šamac,BosniaandHerzegovina

Diedon 19October2003AD

Placeofdeath Sarajevo

Spouse: HalidaRepovac

Children BakirIzetbegović

Education UniversityofSarajevo

Works&Achievements

AlijaIzetbegovićwasthefirstPresidentofBosnia&Herzegovina.

Alija Izetbegovic, the first president of the Bosnia-Herzegovinawas a Bosnian activist who ruled the nation during one of thebloodiest phases of its history. Born into an aristocratic butimpoverishedfamily,hemovedtoSarajevo,which laterbecamethe center of his political activities. After being part of manypolitical organizations,hispolitical growthwason the riseafterhe formed the ‘Party of Democratic Action’ and was elected asthe President of the country. However, what followed wasintense political turmoil which included the fallout of theKingdom of Yugoslavia. Despite numerous peace efforts, hecould not stop a bloody war which extended for four yearsbetween the variousethnic groups.Thismild-manneredMuslimleaderspenthalfofhispresidency in fighting for thesurvivalofhis own country. Later, backstabbed by the other Muslimleaders and facing contempt of the western leaders, he wasalso partly blamed for the civil war which rocked the Balkans.However, the thousands of mourners who attended his funeraland the letters of condolences, which flooded Bosnia from theleaders of almost 80 countries after his death, bears testimonyto the fact that he was one of the most loved and respectedEuropeanMuslimleadersintheworld.

Childhood&Early LifeIzetbegovicwasbornon8August1925 inBosankiSamacintheNorthernpartofBosniatoanaccountantfatherinadistinguished family.He was the descendant of SlavicOttoman aristocrats who fled to Bosnia after SerbiaattainedindependencefromtheOttomanEmpire.

Izetbegovic moved to Sarajevo the following year andreceivedhiseducationfromSarajevoLawSchool.

At the age of sixteen, in 1940, he co-founded anorganization, Mladi Muslimani (Young Muslims) whichhelpedtherefugeesduringWorldWarII.

Izetbegovic refused to implement the piece plan createdby Portugal diplomat Cutiliero in 1992. He initiallyendorsed the plan but later on withdrew his signature onthe suggestion of Clinton administration. Clinton laterexplained that "they" (Madeline Albright and othermembersoftheAdministration)forcedhim.Theresultwasa bloody civil war in Bosnia resulting in around 100,000deaths, mostly Serbs and Muslims. Consequently, theCrime against Piece was removed from the list of crimesprosecuted by the International Criminal Tribunal forformerYugoslavia inHague, inorder toavoidprosecutionof themembersofClintonadministration includingClintonhimself.

CareerWhen theMladiMuslimanihad tochoosebetween theSSHandschar (a SS Mountain Division of Nazi Germanyincluding Bosniaks) and the Partisans (a Communistresistance group led by Josip Broz Tito), IzetbegovicsupportedtheSSdivision.

In 1946, after the war, he was arrested for his activitiesduring the course of war and was sentenced to threeyearsofimprisonment.

After being free, he obtained a law degree fromSarajevoUniversityandremainedinactivepolitics.

In1970’s,Izetbegovicpublishedamanifestotitled,‘IslamicDeclaration’, which expressed his views on relationshipsbetween Islam, society and state. The authoritiesinterpreted this manifesto as a call to introduce shariaLawinBosniaandbarreditspublication.

The declarations still remains controversial and the

passages from the declaration were often quoted by theopponents of Izetbegovic as an open call to Islamicfundamentalism.Izetbegovicdeniedalltheallegations.

Izetbegović authored one of his prominent works,‘IslambetweenEastandWest’in1980.

In1983, IzetbegovicalongwithhisotherBosniakactivistswere tried for indulging in hostile activities, spreadinghostile propaganda and making a visit to the Muslimcongress in Iran. They were sentenced to fourteen yearsofimprisonment.

However, following persistent requests from human rightsorganizations like Amnesty International and HelsinkiWatch, theBosnianSupremeCourt reduced the sentenceofIzetbegovictotwelveyears.

In 1988, he was pardoned and released after five yearsthoughtheimprisonmentcosthishealthdearly.

In 1989, Izetbegovic and other Bosnian activistsestablished a political party ‘Party of Democratic Action’.Following this, the ethnic groups in Bosnia, Serbs andCroats also established their own ethnically-basedparties.

In the general election that followed, Alija Izetbegovic’sDemocraticActionPartywonthemajorityof theseatsandAlija Izetbegovic was elected as the President of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

In1991,theKingdomofYugoslaviawhichincludedBosniaand Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro,Slovenia and Serbia (autonomous provinces of VojvodinaandKosovo) fellapartwithSlovenia,Serbia,Croatia,andMacedonia declaring independence. It was followed by abloodywarwhichwent on till 1994despite several peaceattemptsmadebyIzetbegovic.

Izetbegovic’s strong relationship with Iran resulted in thelatter providing arms and ammunitions to Bosnian.Muslims the militants recruited by Iran even enteredBosniatofightSerbsandCroats.

In 1995, Izetbegovic along with his enemies werepersuaded by the international community to take part inpeace talks held atWright-PattersonAir ForceBase nearDayton,Ohio.There, theyagreed toend thewarwith theNATOpeacekeeping teamwasgiven the responsibilityofmaintainingtheceasefire.

Izetbegovic became the Member President of PresidencyofBosniaandHerzegovina.

The power of his party decreased after a HighRepresentative was sent to look after the affairs of thestate by the international community. It enjoyed morepowerthanthepresidents.

InOctober 2000, Izetbegovic announced his retirement attheageof74duetobadhealth.

PersonalLife &LegacyIzetbegovic married four times; his first wife lives inTurkeywithwhomhehadonesonand twodaughters.Hemarried Melika and Amira under the Sharia code of law.The name of his fourth wife was not revealed to thepublic.

Izetbegovic passed away in Sarajevo, Bosnia &HerzegovinaonOctober2003duetoheartdisease.