Hajrudin Somun, (born April 10, 1937,

Čajniče Čajniče ( sr-cyr, Чајниче, ) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 2,401 inhabitants, while the municipality has 4,895 inhabitants. Settlemen ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

) Bosnian journalist and diplomat, served as the Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1993–2003). Hajrudin Somun

Somun was born in

to father Ibrahim, an

imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

, and mother Muniba (née Sirćo), a manufacturer in a shoe factory. He was the best student in his generation in Arabic, Persian and Turkish languages (1962) at the University of Sarajevo, and specialized Arabic at the Baghdad University in Iraq (1962–65). Somun is a "respected journalist" since high school, Somun was employed at the Sarajevo leading daily

Oslobođenje ''Oslobođenje'' (; 'Liberation') is a daily newspaper in Bosnia and Herzegovina based in the capital city Sarajevo. Founded on 30 August 1943, in the midst of World War II, on a patch of territory liberated by Partisans, in what was otherwise a ...

(1965-1969), then TV Sarajevo as war reporter and commentator for international affairs (1969-1976). He first made his mark in Yugoslav journalism with a series of articles from

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also incl ...

, where he went secretly and spent time in the headquarters of the renowned Kurdish leader

Mustafa Barzani Mustafa Barzani ( ku, مەلا مسته‌فا بارزانی, Mistefa Barzanî; 14 March 1903 – 1 March 1979) also known as Mela Mustafa (Preacher Mustafa), was a Kurdish leader, general and one of the most prominent political figures in mode ...

. He reported on conflicts in the Middle East and was awarded for his TV films on the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and the Palestinian Commandos in 1974. He was also rewarded by various journalist awards in the former Yugoslavia and Bosnia. The Association of Journalists of Bosnia and Herzegovina awarded him with the Lifetime Award in 2015. Somun was appointed Middle Eastern correspondent for the Yugoslav News Agency (TANJUG), reporting from Baghdad for the Persian Gulf area (1976–79). He reported on the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1978-79 that lead to his first co-authored publication with well-known Iranian writer Reza Baraheni. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the former Yugoslavia (

SFRJ The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yugo ...

) offered him a position as counselor to the Yugoslav Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, where he served 1979–82. Somun was Advisor on International Affairs to Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina until he was posted abroad again as minister counselor to the Yugoslav Embassy in Tehran, Iran (1987-1991). He was the Director of International Liaisons and Protocol of the Winter Olympic Games 1984 in Sarajevo. He was appointed Foreign Policy Advisor to the Presidency and the first President of the independent Bosnia and Herzegovina, the late

Alija Izetbegović Alija Izetbegović (; ; 8 August 1925 – 19 October 2003) was a Bosnian politician, lawyer, Islamic philosopher and author, who in 1992 became the first president of the Presidency of the newly independent Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ...

. He was part of the Bosnian delegation at the London and Geneva Peace Conference (1992-1993), as well as at frequent international peace seeking meetings and mediation for the war-torn Bosnia. Somun was appointed first Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Ankara, Turkey in 1993 where he remained for five years. In the Bosnian Foreign Ministry he served as the head for non-European countries and spokesperson until his last diplomatic appointment as ambassador in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2002-2004). While serving in Kuala Lumpur, he wrote the book "Mahathir: The Secret of the Malaysian Success" that was a best-seller in Malaysia for several years. After retirement he lectured on history of diplomacy at the Philip-Noel Baker International University in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and today he actively publishes books, and contributes to the daily and weekly TV, papers and magazines in Bosnia and Herzegovin

an
abroad
He is currently completing a book on Kurdistan and is the Honorary Consul General of Bangladesh in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Books The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Beograd: Rad, 1976. The Roots of the Iranian Revolution, co-author with the Iranian writer Reza Baraheni, Belgrade: NIN-Politika, 1979. Beirut in Poetry (translation and interpretation of contemporary Palestinian poetry), Sarajevo: Radio-Sarajevo, 1987. Bosnia Today - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Limkokwing, 2003. Mahathir, tajna malezijskog čuda, Sarajevo: Dani, 2003. Mahathir: The Secret of the Malaysian Success, Kuala Lumpur: Pelanduk, 2003. Ghassan Kanafani: From the Country of Sad Oranges, Sarajevo: Dobra knjiga, 2012. Personal View of the World, Sarajevo: Rabic, 2012. Sarajevo: My City, co-author, Sarajevo: Rabic, 2013. Palestinian Naqba, Sarajevo: Rabic, 2015. (Palestinska nakba) Are we anti-semitic? Links between the nations of former Yugoslavia with Jews and Palestinians, Sarajevo: Rabic, 2017. (Jesmo i antisemiti? Veze naroda bivše Jugoslavije sa Jevrejima i Palestincima) (promoted in Sarajevo 19 June 2017, Zagreb, Croatia 21 June 2017 and Ljubljana, Slovenia 22 June 2017) Gasana Kanafani iz dežele žalostnih pomorandž, Hajrudin and Lejla Somun, Forma 7, Ljubljana, Slovenija, 2017.) Sefernameh from Iran (Sefernama iz Irana), Sarajevo: Dobra knjiga, 2019.(promoted in Sarajevo 14 February 2019 book review Notable articles Bosnia-Herzegovina Diaspora, Forum Bosnae, Vol. 1 No.1/2, pp 128–135, Sarajevo: Forum Bosnae, 1998. "Bosnia and Herzegovina – Turkey, 1992-1995," in A Bridge Between Cultures: Studies on Ottoman and Republican Turkey in memory of Ali Ihsan Bagis, edited by Sinan Kuneralp. The ISIS Press, Istanbul, 2006. Turkish Foreign Policy in the Balkans and "Neo-Ottomanism": A Personal Account, Insight Turkey Vol. 13 / No. 3 / 2011 pp. 33–41 How Middle East revolutions relativize theories on „neo-Ottomanism", Politeia, Year 1, No. 2, Dec 2011 Policy analysis: “Iran and the Middle East – Perspectives Resting on Old Premises”, Foreign Policy Initiative BiH and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Sarajevo, October 2016 Interviews Novo vrijeme, newsportal, Hajrudin Somun: Ekstremisti ISIS-a će formirati novu, ekstremističku državu From Sarajevo to Tehran and Back, Iranian.com by Fariba Amini Conference presentation: Debating New Turkey, 10 December 2010 OBN TV, Reflex: Political Situation in Egypt and Turkey, 29 July 2013 Federal Radio, The World Today, 4 January 2014, Liberty TV, 30 Years Since Sarajevo Winter Olympic Games, 2 February 2014, Radio Free Europe, Sarajevo Three Decades Later: Far Away from the Olympic Motto, 8 February 2014 TV1 Ukraine Crisis, 19 April 2014 HRT1 News, On ISIS and Iraq, 26 June 2014 FACE TV Face to Face Interview, 12 December 2015 OSM TV Face of the Nation Interview, 26 October 2016 TV1 Refugees and Berlin Attack, 21 December 2016 N1 - CNN - There will be no war! 2 February 219

References

External links

*http://www.vijesti.ba/tag/Hajrudin%20Somun *http://ba.n1info.com/search/1/1?q=hajrudin+somun *https://tv1.ba/?s=somun *http://balkans.aljazeera.net/search?keywords=hajrudin+somun {{DEFAULTSORT:Somun, Hajrudin 1937 births Living people Ambassadors of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Turkey Ambassadors of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Malaysia