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Hamdija Pozderac (15 January 1924 – 7 April 1988) was a Yugoslav
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
politician from
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 ...
. He was the 4th President of the People's Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina from July 1971 to May 1974. Pozderac was also the 3rd Member of the Presidency of Yugoslavia for SR Bosnia and Herzegovina from 15 May 1986 until 15 September 1987 and the 1st
President of the League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Secretary of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, Sekretar Centralnog komiteta Saveza komunista Bosne i Hercegovine) was the head of the League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovina, heading the Ce ...
from 23 May 1982 to 28 May 1984. He was forced to resign from politics due to a corruption scandal in September 1987. He was considered one of the most influential and powerful politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the
communist era A Communist Era is a sustained period of national government by a single party following the philosophy of Marxism–Leninism. Many countries have experienced such a period of Communist rule. Current communist states China The Chinese Communist P ...
. His removal from the political scene in the late 1980s is today considered one of the most controversial events that preceded the
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 ...
. Pozderac was removed due to the
Agrokomerc Affair Agrokomerc is a food company headquartered in Velika Kladuša, Bosnia and Herzegovina with former operations extending across the entire area of former Yugoslavia. The company became internationally known in the late 1980s due to a corruption sc ...
of 1987, which the Yugoslav press compared to the American
Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...
.


Early life

Pozderac was born in
Cazin Cazin ( sr-cyrl, Цазин) is a city located in Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in northwest Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Bosanska Krajina region, near the border ...
to an established
Bosnian Muslim 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 ...
family which exerted strong influence in the westernmost part of the Bosnian region of
Bosanska Krajina Bosanska Krajina ( sr-cyrl, Босанска Крајина, ) is a geographical region, a subregion of Bosnia, in western Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is enclosed by a number of rivers, namely the Sava (north), Glina (northwest), Vrbanja and Vrba ...
known for its strong resistance to the fascist
Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist It ...
regime during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. During the war, he joined the illegal Alliance of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia (SKOJ) and the anti-fascist
Partisan Partisan may refer to: Military * Partisan (weapon), a pole weapon * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line Films * ''Partisan'' (film), a 2015 Australian film * ''Hell River'', a 1974 Yugoslavian film also know ...
movement. He held various military and public posts in the Bosanska Krajina region during the war and was ordained with several military and public honors. Following the advent of
communist rule A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Comint ...
, the Pozderac family affirmed its strong position in Yugoslav politics with
Nurija Pozderac Nurija Pozderac (15 January 1892 – 12 June 1943) was a Bosnian teacher, politician, member of the Yugoslav Muslim Organization, and local liberation leader during World War II, participating in the National Yugoslav Liberation Struggle. He ...
and Hamdija's brother, Hakija, both of whom held high positions in the Yugoslav government during and after World War II. Pozderac was a close ally of
Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...
,
President of Yugoslavia The president of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, or the president of the Republic for short, was the head of state of that country from 14 January 1953 to 4 May 1980. Josip Broz Tito was the only person to occupy the office. Tito ...
for 27 years.


Education

Pozderac was highly educated, holding a philosophy degree from the
University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade ( sr, / ) is a public university in Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-b ...
. He studied in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, published several sociological studies, and was a professor of political science 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 larges ...
.


Political activity

Pozderac's politics centered on his involvement in the
Communist Party of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...
that he ideologically followed. He held various high positions in the government of
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 ...
and
SFR Yugoslavia 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 Yug ...
in the 1970s and 1980s and exerted considerable influence on the politics of the communist party. He was president of the Federal Constitutional Commission of Yugoslavia which he held for nearly 20 years. His political ascendance began with economic revitalization of the
Bosanska Krajina Bosanska Krajina ( sr-cyrl, Босанска Крајина, ) is a geographical region, a subregion of Bosnia, in western Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is enclosed by a number of rivers, namely the Sava (north), Glina (northwest), Vrbanja and Vrba ...
region, than impoverished region of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina. Pozderac provided the political backing to
Agrokomerc Agrokomerc is a food company headquartered in Velika Kladuša, Bosnia and Herzegovina with former operations extending across the entire area of former Yugoslavia. The company became internationally known in the late 1980s due to a corruption sca ...
, at the time small local food manufacturer which would later become one of the largest food manufacturing corporations in the former Yugoslavia. Agrokomerc proved to be the key to the economic prosperity of the region. While his primary goal was economic reform of then impoverished SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he relatively successfully implemented, Pozderac also played an important role in confronting nationalists from Serbia through a series of controversial and risky political moves. The reason he is today considered one of the most important Bosnian politicians is his significant role in constitutional amendments in the 1970s which recognized
Bosnian Muslims 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 ...
as one of the constituent ethnic groups of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina and SFR Yugoslavia. Although his political orientation was left of center, and while he continually confronted nationalist politics of ethnic groups in former Yugoslavia, Pozderac inevitably contributed to the establishment of the process that led to the emergence of the modern Bosniak nation. A series of political attacks were reportedly staged against Pozderac by the Serbian lobby in Bosnia who tried to discredit and remove him from the political scene. One attempt was made by
Vojislav Šešelj Vojislav Šešelj ( sr-Cyrl, Војислав Шешељ, ; born 11 October 1954) is a Serbian politician, founder and president of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS); he was convicted of war crimes by the International Criminal Tribuna ...
in the early 1980s, who learned that one of the students of Pozderac 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 larges ...
plagiarized portions of his dissertation, but was not punished for by Pozderac. Because the student
Brano Miljuš Branko "Brano" Miljuš is a Serbian politician and academic from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Former high-ranking official of the Yugoslav Communist League' (SKJ) Bosnia-Herzegovina branch, he was most recently a member of Alliance of Independent Socia ...
was a high-ranking individual within the Communist party, controversy ensued but Šešelj's efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.


Sarajevo process

The most controversial process however was the so-called "Sarajevo process" in 1983. The Sarajevo process centered on convicting
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 ...
for having written the ''
Islamic Declaration The ''Islamic Declaration'' ( bs, Islamska deklaracija) is an essay written by Alija Izetbegović (1925–2003), republished in 1990 in Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia. It presents his views on Islam and modernization. The t ...
''. Pozderac reaffirmed his political opposition to Serbian nationalism and in particular to the politics of
Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...
, who was allegedly seeking to revert the constitutional amendments of the 1970s that awarded the
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
the status of a constituent ethnicity. The "Sarajevo process" backfired as the Serbian lobby insisted that Bosnia was a "dark
vilayet A vilayet ( ota, , "province"), also known by #Names, various other names, was a first-order administrative division of the later Ottoman Empire. It was introduced in the Vilayet Law of 21 January 1867, part of the Tanzimat reform movement init ...
" where all those who oppose the government will be prosecuted and where Bosnian Muslim communists were prosecuting Muslim believers. Others interpreted the "Sarajevo process" as Pozderac's way of removing political amateurs who could end up disrupting the process of Bosnian
independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
. Izetbegović would later supersede Pozderac becoming the President of the Presidency of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1990.


Agrokomerc Affair

Attacks on Pozderac culminated with the "
Agrokomerc Affair Agrokomerc is a food company headquartered in Velika Kladuša, Bosnia and Herzegovina with former operations extending across the entire area of former Yugoslavia. The company became internationally known in the late 1980s due to a corruption sc ...
" that began in 1987. In the 1980s
Agrokomerc Agrokomerc is a food company headquartered in Velika Kladuša, Bosnia and Herzegovina with former operations extending across the entire area of former Yugoslavia. The company became internationally known in the late 1980s due to a corruption sca ...
, one of the leading food manufacturers, was engulfed in questionable banking deals where the corporation issued numerous high interest
promissory note A promissory note, sometimes referred to as a note payable, is a legal instrument (more particularly, a financing instrument and a debt instrument), in which one party (the ''maker'' or ''issuer'') promises in writing to pay a determinate sum of ...
s without the proper financial equity. Such practices were reportedly common within the Yugoslav system. The difference with Agrokomerc was that the director of the corporation,
Fikret Abdić Fikret Abdić (born 29 September 1939) is a Bosnian politician and businessman who first rose to prominence in the 1980s for his role in turning the Velika Kladuša-based agriculture company Agrokomerc into one of the biggest conglomerates in S ...
, lost the sense of scale as the corporation issued in excess of $500 million in "worthless" promissory notes. The problem became more acute as the press reported on it as the biggest economic affair in former Yugoslavia triggering the 250% inflation rate in Yugoslavia. Pozderac, who contributed to the initial growth of Agrokomerc, was indicted of being aware of the financial dealings of the company. However such accusations were never proven. The political blow to Pozderac came from Abdić's statement that he was in possession of audio tapes with conversations that would prove Pozderac's involvement in the scandal. While tapes were never actually presented, the political pressure on Pozderac culminated in September 1987, at which point he resigned from
politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
. Abdić would later join Alija Izetbegović in 1990 to form 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, ...
(SDA) and win the popular vote for the
Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina The presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Predsjedništvo Bosne i Hercegovine, separator=" / ", Предсједништво Босне и Херцеговине) is a three-member body which collectively serves as head of state of ...
in the
1990 Bosnian general election General elections were held in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 18 November 1990, with a second round of voting in the House of Peoples elections on 2 December.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p330 These we ...
.


Legacy

Historical significance of Pozderac for the
history of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes referred to simply as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe on the Balkan Peninsula. It has had permanent settlement since the Neolithic Age. By the early historical period it was inhabited by Illyrians and Ce ...
is today still debated among historians. He is criticized for his ideological following of the
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
doctrines and for setting processes that did not honor certain liberties viewed in the
western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and state (polity), states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.
as the core democratic principles, such as the
freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
. He was also criticized for being a cog of
nepotism Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, an ...
and although he did not subscribe to that tactic himself he certainly took advantage of it. As a result, Pozderac was criticized for contributing to the continued presence of Pozderac family on the political scene in
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 ...
. One however needs to view these issues from the context within which Pozderac operated. Being part of the communist system, Pozderac saw political ascendance possible only within the system. If one adds to this, the
patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...
ic nature of the
Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
, his strong leadership was proven to be the only potent power that could make the difference in
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 ...
of the
communist era A Communist Era is a sustained period of national government by a single party following the philosophy of Marxism–Leninism. Many countries have experienced such a period of Communist rule. Current communist states China The Chinese Communist P ...
. He was the follower of the conviction that political, legal, philosophical, religious, literary, artistic and other progress is based on the economic progress. Pozderac is credited for implementing processes that led the economic revitalization of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which contributed to strengthening the cultural independence and identity Bosnia within
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
. Pozderac cannot be viewed as a movement leader but as a patient and principled
politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
who saw the opportunity for change by working within the system. His legacy certainly can be credited with contributions to the constitutional recognition of
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
(historically revived as
Bosniaks 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 ...
in 1993) as a constituent people within Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with the already recognised
Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...
and
Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
, and his persistent position in protecting those rights. He has also continually worked on protection of the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina within Yugoslavia and while he did begin some processes for which he would be criticized, many consider that without his involvement in the Yugoslav politics at the time, Bosnia may have not had the political nor other potency to pursue to
independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
in the 1990s.


References


External links


Bosnia in 1980s
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20050111214107/http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,965639,00.html 1987 ''Time'' magazine article about the Agrokomerc scandal {{DEFAULTSORT:Pozderac, Hamdija 1924 births 1988 deaths Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Muslims Bosnia and Herzegovina politicians Yugoslav politicians People from Cazin Pozderac family University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy alumni League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovina politicians Bosnia and Herzegovina people of World War II Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia members Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia members Chairmen of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina