Abdulah Skaka (born 5 December 1983) is a Bosnian politician and economist who served as the 38th

mayor of Sarajevo This is a list of people who have served as mayor or president of the city council of the city of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sarajevo has had 38 different mayors in 39 different mayorships since the position was created on 22 ...

from 2017 to 2021. Since 2013, he has been a member of the

Party of Democratic Action The Party of Democratic Action ( bs, Stranka demokratske akcije; abbr. SDA) is a Bosniak nationalist, conservative political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. History The Party of Democratic Action (SDA) was founded on 26 May 1990 in Sarajevo, ...

Early and personal life

Skaka was born on 5 December 1983 in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

SR Bosnia and Herzegovina The Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Социјалистичка Pепублика Босна и Херцеговина), commonly referred to as Socia ...

, SFR Yugoslavia, the oldest of six children to Dr. Uzeir Skaka (died 2015) and Amra. His paternal grandfather, also named Abdulah, was a co-founder of the

in 1990. The Skaka family first arrived to Sarajevo around 1665, when his ancestor opened the cities first barber shop in the Stari Grad municipality. Since 2009, he has worked as the general manager of SKY Media company in Sarajevo. Skaka lives in Stari Grad with his wife and two children.

Political career

Skaka joined the

in 2013 and was elected by 16 out of the 28 members of the Sarajevo City Council to become the 38th mayor of the city on 6 February 2017, replacing

Ivo Komšić Ivo Komšić (born 16 June 1948) is a Bosnian doctor, professor, politician and former mayor of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was a key figure in the talks that led to the end of the Bosnian War with the Dayton Agreement, and ...

. In July 2019, he awarded former American senator Bob Dole the Key to the City of

for his 96th birthday, inviting him to the visit the city again for his 97th birthday in 2020. After four years and following the 2020 municipal elections, on 8 April 2021, Skaka was succeeded by Benjamina Karić as mayor of Sarajevo.

Controversies

Skaka claimed to have graduated from the School of Economics and Business at the

University of Sarajevo The University of Sarajevo ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Univerzitet u Sarajevu'' / Sveučilište u Sarajevu / Универзитет у Сарајеву) is a public university located in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the largest ...

in 2011, although in October 2018 it was found that he actually attended the

University of Travnik University of Travnik ( Bosnian: Univerzitet u Travniku, UNT) is a private university located in Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The university was established in 2007. The motto of the university is— "Science to Success". Courses The univers ...

. He also been criticized for his lack of knowledge of regional politics and politicians, such as once claiming on television that Bosnian politician

Stjepan Kljuić Stjepan Kljuić (born 19 December 1939) is a Bosnian Croat former politician who was the Croat Member of the Presidency of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina before and during the Bosnian War. Kljuić was also the President of the Croatian D ...

was the former Croatian president

Stjepan Mesić Stjepan "Stipe" Mesić (; born 24 December 1934) is a Croatian lawyer and politician who served as President of Croatia from 2000 to 2010. Before serving two five-year terms as president, he was prime minister of SR Croatia (1990) after the fir ...

, apparently confusing the two. On 28 February 2020, it was revealed in a leaked recording that Skaka's election for Sarajevo mayor was not legitimate and that decisive votes had been bought. Publishing of the leaked recording resulted in a series of calls for his resignation or suspension, including petition by citizens, several calls for resignation or suspension by politicians or political parties present in the Sarajevo City Council, and by intellectuals.

References

External links

Abdulah Skaka
at Facebook {{DEFAULTSORT:Skaka, Abdulah 1983 births Living people Politicians from Sarajevo Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Muslims Politicians of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Party of Democratic Action politicians Mayors of Sarajevo