Jerko Ivanković Lijanović (born 15 November 1969) is a Bosnian businessman and politician. He is a member of the

People's Party Work for Prosperity People's Party Work for Prosperity ( Bosnian and Croatian: ''Narodna stranka Radom za Boljitak''; abbr. NSRzB) is a multi-ethnic party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was founded and is run by Mladen Ivanković-Lijanović, from Široki Brijeg , ...

, and has served as Federal Minister of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Forestry from 2011 to 2015. Since September 2020, Lijanović has been serving a 7-year sentence for abuse of office in the

Zenica prison The Zenica prison (''Kazneno-popravni zavod zatvorenog tipa Zenica'', ''KPZ Zenica'', ''K.P. DOM'', ''Zenička kaznionica'') is a closed-type prison located in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was opened in 1886. It was the largest prison in Yu ...

Personal life

Ivanković was born in

Široki Brijeg , , nickname = , motto = , image_map = BiH municipality location Široki Brijeg.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location o ...

in 1969. His nickname ''Lijanović'' came from his father Stipe Ivanković Lijan. 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 ...

he went to the Agricultural-Food School. He started his career in his family's firm ''Lijanovići d.o.o.'', of which he still holds 66 percent of the shares. Lijanović is married and has three children.

Political career

Lijanović is the Vice president of the

, which was founded by his brother Mladen. In 2000, he was elected member of the Federal House of Peoples. At the 2006 general election, Lijanović was elected to the national

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. In 2010, he ran as a candidate for the office of Croat member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but won only 8% of the vote. In 2011, Lijanović's party went into a coalition with the

Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Bosnian: ''Socijaldemokratska partija Bosne i Hercegovine'' (SDP BiH) / Социјалдемократска партија Босне и Херцеговине), also simply known as the S ...

, and he was appointed Federal Minister of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Forestry in the Federal government of

Nermin Nikšić Nermin Nikšić (; born 27 December 1960) is a Bosnian politician who served as the 8th Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2011 to 2015. He is the current president of the Social Democratic Party and is a former membe ...

. Lijanović served as minister until March 2015. In 2014, he ran again for the Bosnian parliament but did not garner enough votes. Lijanović ran again for the Presidency at the 2018 general election, but only won 1% of the vote.

Judicial proceedings and sentence

Lijanović was arrested in 2014 together with his three brothers and father for organised crime, money laundering, tax evasion and for fabricating or destroying his financial records. In 2018, he was sentenced to nine years in prison. In October 2019, the Federal Supreme Court confirmed his conviction for

abuse of office Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

with illegalities in awarding incentives to agricultural producers in

Tuzla Canton The Tuzla Canton ( bs, Tuzlanski kanton; hr, Tuzlanska županija; sr, Тузлански кантон) is one of 10 cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of two entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The cantonal seat is the c ...

from 2011 until 2014, and ordered confiscation of the unlawful proceeds in the amount of BAM 650,000. On 29 September 2020, Lijanović started to serve his seven-year sentence in the

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lijanović, Jerko Ivanković 1969 births Living people People from Široki Brijeg Bosnia and Herzegovina businesspeople People's Party for Work and Betterment politicians Members of the House of Representatives (Bosnia and Herzegovina)