Fehim Škaljić (born 9 September 1949) is a retired
Bosnian politician. He was member of
Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2014–2018.
Previously, Škaljić was Speaker of the
Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Škaljić is a President of the Board of the
Bosniak Institute
The Bosniak Institute is an institution of culture and scholarship in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has a museum and a gallery, a cultural centre and a library, a publishing house and a cultural centre. The institute is the result of its ...
, a philanthropic and research foundation established by the late
Bosniak
The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...
intellectual and politician
Adil Zulfikarpašić.
Career
Škaljić studied
mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...
and political science at the University of Sarajevo. He has had a career in both business and politics.
As a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, he was part of the delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Central European Initiative
The Central European Initiative (CEI) is a forum of regional cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe, counting 18 member states. It was formed in Budapest in 1989. The body was developed on the basis of earlier experiences with The Alps-Adriatic ...
(CEI), the oldest forum of regional cooperation in Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe.
At CEI, Škaljić focused on facilitating greater regional cooperation via business and tourism initiatives.
He also served on the BiH Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on the election of the BiH Council of Ministers and the Transport and Communication Committee.
As Speaker of the Parliament of the Federation of BiH (
FBiH House of Peoples) Škaljić succeeded in passing important legislation including updates to the Law on notaries of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and initiating changes to the FBiH Constitution.
From 2000-2004, he served as the Mayor of
Stari Grad, Sarajevo
Stari Grad ( sr-cyrl, Стари Град , ; lit. "Old Town") is a municipality of the city of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the oldest and most historically significant part of Sarajevo. At its heart is the Baščaršija, the old tow ...
. In this capacity, Škaljić lead a number of infrastructure and cultural projects that helped the city recover from the destruction caused by
Bosnian war
The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
1992-1995. Mr. Škaljić was part of a team that helped reconstruct the
Gazi Husrev Bey Library, originally built in 1537 and completely destroyed in the latest war. He is also credited with the reconstruction of the Austro-Hungarian Music Pavilion (bos. Muzički paviljon u Sarajevu); the first phases of the reconstruction of the
National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina (NUL) (Bosnian language, Bosnian, Croatian language, Croatian and Serbian language, Serbian: ''Nacionalna i univerzitetska biblioteka Bosne i Hercegovine'' / Национална и у ...
.
Škaljić initiated several de-mining project in Sarajevo and helped re-establish links to the Bosnian Serb community. For his service to the community, Mr. Škaljić was recognized with several prizes and honors.
Family
The Škaljić family emigrated to
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
from
Škaljari
Škaljari ( sr-cyrl, Шкаљари) is a small town in the municipality of Kotor, Montenegro. It is located just south of Kotor
Kotor ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town ...
, their settlement in the
Bay of Kotor during the
Battle of Perast
The Battle of Perast ( sr, Перашка битка) was a battle for control over Venetian held Perast (modern day Montenegro) fought in 1654 between defending forces of Venetian Republic from Perast accompanied by hajduks and attacking forces ...
(1654) fought between the Venetian Republic and Ottoman Empire. From 14th century, Kotor existed as an independent republic, known as ''Republic of Cattaro'', occasionally falling under protectorate regimes of the Croats, Bosnians or Hungarians. The Venetians ruled the area for the longest period of time, almost four centuries starting in 1420. Their legacy is the most enduring and it’s what won Kotor and Perast their place in the UNESCO World Heritage sites list.
Once in Sarajevo, the family bought large portions of land "stretching from the outskirts of Sarajevo to
Rogatica in Eastern Bosnia". They excelled in trade. According to 18th century chronicler Mula Mustafa Bašeskija, the Škaljić's were known as
''merchants of the German-speaking world
''.
Other Škaljić's were political leaders, religious and legal scholars. One of Sarajevo's streets still bears the family name—'Škaljića sokak'.
Fehim Škaljić's great-grandfather was
Nezir Škaljić
Nezir Škaljić (23 February 1844 – 10 March 1905) was a Bosnian politician who served as the third Mayor of Sarajevo (1889–1905) Škaljić was a jurist, previously serving as judge of Bosnia's Supreme Court and President of the Commercia ...
, 3rd
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 ...
, 1899 - 1905.
Other Škaljić family members include
Abdulah ef. Škaljić, the Balkan linguist and author of the book ''Turcisms in Serbo-Croatian language'' (bos. Turcizmi u srpsko-hrvatskom jeziku), first published in 1966. The book has since been published in ten editions, and is still considered "a unique and irreplaceable" source for the study of
South Slavic language and culture.
Fehim Škaljić is married and has three children.
Notes
*Official website of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skaljic, Fehim
Living people
1949 births
Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Politicians from Sarajevo
Bosnia and Herzegovina Sunni Muslims