Ljubo Bešlić (27 July 1958 – 3 September 2021) was a

Bosnian Croat The Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina (), often referred to as Bosnian Croats () or Herzegovinian Croats () are the third most populous ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina, ethnic group in the country after Bosniaks and Serbs of Bosnia and H ...

politician who served as the 33rd mayor of Mostar from 2004 to 2021. He was a member of the

Croatian Democratic Union The Croatian Democratic Union ( hr, Hrvatska demokratska zajednica, lit=Croatian Democratic Community, HDZ) is the major conservative, centre-right political party in Croatia. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Croa ...

(HDZ BiH).

Early life and career

Bešlić was born on 27 July 1958, in

Mostar Mostar (, ; sr-Cyrl, Мостар, ) is a city and the administrative center of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is sit ...

PR 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 ...

FPR 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 Yugo ...

. He graduated in 1982 from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the

University of Mostar The University of Mostar ( hr, Sveučilište u Mostaru; la, Universitas Studiorum Mostariensis) is the largest public university located in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Previously it was called the University Džemal Bijedić of Mostar, n ...

. Bešlić then worked as a professor at the High School of Mechanical Engineering in Mostar, and then at the printing house "Rade Bitanga" of Mostar as the head of the maintenance service.CIN
/ref> He was actively involved in

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

(1972–1990) at the Velež Mostar Handball Club. From 1992 to 1995, Bešlić served in the

Croatian Defence Council The Croatian Defence Council ( hr, Hrvatsko vijeće obrane or HVO) was the official military formation of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, an unrecognized entity that existed in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1991 and 1996. The HVO wa ...

during 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 ...

. In 1996, he got involved in the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

-led

arms reduction Arms control is a term for international restrictions upon the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation and usage of small arms, conventional weapons, and weapons of mass destruction. Arms control is typically exercised through the u ...

programmes. He took part in the establishment of the Ministry of Defence of the

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Republika Srpska. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists ...

and then worked in the same ministry as head of the Technical Department in the Logistics Sector. Bešlić was an active member of the

(HDZ BiH) since 2004. In 2015, he was appointed chair of the Cantonal Committee of HDZ BiH. From 2006 to mid-2009, he was the President of the Association of Municipalities and Cities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Mayor of Mostar (2004–2021)

A member of

HDZ BiH The Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( hr, Hrvatska demokratska zajednica Bosne i Hercegovine or HDZ BiH) is a Christian democratic, nationalist political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina, representing the Croats of Bosnia and ...

, Bešlić was appointed deputy mayor of Mostar by the City council in early 2003, and then mayor in mid-December 2004, following the 2004 municipal elections. He was appointed mayor of

for a second term on 18 December 2009. Bešlić was the first mayor of a united Mostar after the war; during his first term the reconstructed

Stari most Stari Most ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Stari most, Стари мост, Old Bridge), also known as Mostar Bridge, is a rebuilt 16th-century Ottoman bridge in the city of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina that crosses the river Neretva and connects the two p ...

(Old Bridge) entered the

UNESCO World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. Following an appeal by his HDZ BiH party, in November 2010 the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

annulled the electoral legislation on Mostar which had been imposed in 2001 by the international

High Representative The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European Union (EU). The position is currently held b ...

. In the absence of a legal basis, since the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

had not acted to replace such legislation, local elections could not take place in Mostar in 2012 and 2016. In the absence of a city council, Bešlić remained as acting mayor for eight additional years, during which he affirmed that he considered resigning multiple times, also due to his deteriorating health.RFE/RL
/ref> During this time, he shared the administrative duties with Izet Šahović, head of Mostar's Finance Department, a bureaucrat and member of the

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 ...

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). In October 2019, the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

ruled against

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 ...

in a case on the absence of electoral rights for the residents of Mostar. In July 2020, the Bosnian Parliament amended the electoral law to allow for local elections in Mostar to be held in December 2020. Bešlić, due to his health issues (he was in need of a heart transplant) did not run as candidate councilor. He was succeeded as mayor by fellow HDZ BiH member

Mario Kordić Mario Kordić (born 28 June 1972) is a Bosnian Croat politician serving as mayor of Mostar since 2021. He is a member of the Croatian Democratic Union The Croatian Democratic Union ( hr, Hrvatska demokratska zajednica, lit=Croatian Democr ...

on 15 February 2021, marking the end of Bešlić's seventeen-year mayorship.

Personal life

Bešlić was married to Dubravka Bešlić, with whom he had three children. He died on 3 September 2021, in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

from a heart transplant complication. He was 63. Bešlić has been subject to a heart transplant earlier in February.

References

External links

Mostar mayors
at mostar.ba {{DEFAULTSORT:Bešlić, Ljubo 1958 births 2021 deaths Croat politicians from Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina politicians Mayors of Mostar Council of Europe people