Muhamed "Mo" Sacirbey (born 20 July 1956), born as Muhamed Šaćirbegović, is a Bosnian-American lawyer, businessman, and
diplomat
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
. He rose to prominence in the 1990s when
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 ...
appointed him to be their ambassador to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
. Sacirbey also served briefly as
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
of the
Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Република Босна и Херцеговина) was a state in Southeastern Europe, existing from 1992 to 1995. It is the direct lega ...
.
Early life
Muhamed Sacirbey was born ''Muhamed Šaćirbegović'' in
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 ...
,
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
. Both of Sacirbey's parents were doctors. His father Nedžib Šaćirbegović (1926–2021) was a member of the organisation "Young Muslims" (''Mladi Muslimani'') and a close friend of
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 ...
, the first and only
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of the
Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Република Босна и Херцеговина) was a state in Southeastern Europe, existing from 1992 to 1995. It is the direct lega ...
. Izetbegović and Sacirbey's father were imprisoned for opposing 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 ...
government of SFR Yugoslavia following
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 ...
.
In 1963, the family left SFY Yugoslavia due to his father's and mother's anti-communist politics (both had spent time in prison for their activities) and lived for a while in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
and
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
before settling in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in 1967. The Šaćirbegović family lived in
Parma, Ohio
Parma is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, located on the southern edge of Cleveland.
As of the 2020 census, its population was 81,146. Parma is the seventh largest city in the state of Ohio, the largest suburb in the state, and ...
, a suburb of
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, and became
naturalized
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
citizens in 1973. It was at this point that the family name was changed to Sacirbey. Sacirbey attended
Valley Forge High School
Valley Forge High School is located in Parma Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. It is one of three high schools in the Parma City School District, which is one of the largest school districts in the state of Ohio, serving the cities of Parma, Pa ...
in
Parma Heights, Ohio
Parma Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States and a western suburb of Cleveland. Parma Heights is surrounded on the north, east and south by the larger city of Parma, Ohio, Parma. The cities of Brook Park a ...
. "Mo" was elected student council representative even before he became U.S. citizen, became a highly acclaimed football player as well as academically recognized - he was accepted to Harvard among other highly acclaimed universities.
Sacirbey attended
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
in
on a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
scholarship
A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need.
Scholarsh ...
and subsequently received a law degree from
Tulane Law School
Tulane University Law School is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans
New Orleans ( , ,[MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...]
at
Columbia Business School
Columbia Business School (CBS) is the business school of Columbia University, a Private university, private research university in New York City. Established in 1916, Columbia Business School is one of six Ivy League business schools and is one ...
. Sacirbey served as legal counsel to
Standard & Poor's
S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. S&P is con ...
. Most of Sacirbey's professional career was spent as an investment banker on
Wall Street
Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...
.
Sacirbey has a younger brother Omar, who is a journalist in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. In the 1990s, a street was named after their mother, Aziza, in Sarajevo.
Bosnian War
When 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 ...
began in April 1992, Sacirbey was asked to assist the fledgling state gain admission to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
. He became Bosnia's first ambassador to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
. He began his term on 22 May 1992, the day that Bosnia and Herzegovina was admitted to the UN. During the war, he made many impassioned pleas for the lifting of the arms embargo against the
Bosnian government
The Politics of Bosnia and Herzegovina takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, whereby executive power is exercised by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Legislative power is vested in both the Cou ...
and made repeated calls for the
UN to protect the so-called safe areas from indiscriminate attacks. He traveled the world in a bid for support. Former President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
, who in private referred to him as "Ambassador Mo" wrote of Sacirbey in his book "My Life": "Holbrooke and his team landed in the Croatian coastal city of
Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, enterta ...
, where they briefed the
Bosnian foreign minister, Muhamed Sacirbey, on our plans. Sacirbey was the eloquent public face of Bosnia on American television, a handsome, fit man who, as a student in the United States had been a starting football player at Tulane University. He had long sought greater American involvement in his beleaguered nation and was glad the hour had finally come."
In May 1995, the foreign minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Irfan Ljubijankić
Irfan Ljubijankić (26 November 1952 – 28 May 1995) was a Bosnian facial surgeon, classical music composer, politician and diplomat. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 30 October 1993 until ...
was assassinated. Sacirbey was appointed to replace him for a brief period. Sacirbey also had become Bosnia's Agent before the
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
leading the country's genocide case against Serbia/Montenegro from outset from 1993 to 2001. Sacirbey was also instrumental in seeing the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal ...
(ICTY) and was informal representative as well as witness many years later from 2003 until 2009.
In November 1995, he accompanied the Bosnian delegation to the peace negotiations in
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...
. The settlement came to be known as the
Dayton Agreement
The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement or the Dayton Accords ( Croatian: ''Daytonski sporazum'', Serbian and Bosnian: ''Dejtonski mirovni sporazum'' / Дејтонски мир ...
. During the talks, Sacirbey actually delivered his resignation as foreign minister to protest what he perceived as accommodation of Serbia's strongman
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 ...
and legitimization of ethnic cleansing. Subsequently, Sacirbey alleged that a "yellow light" had been given to Milošević by US and European representatives to overrun the UN and NATO protected "safe areas" of
Srebrenica
Srebrenica ( sr-cyrl, Сребреница, ) is a town and municipality located in the easternmost part of Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a small mountain town, with its main industry being Salt mine, salt mining a ...
,
Žepa
Žepa ( sr-cyr, Жепа) is a village located in the municipality of Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013 census, it has a population of 133 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Rogatica itself on the banks of short ...
and
Goražde
Goražde ( cyrl, Горажде, ) is a city and the administrative center of Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of Drina river. As of 2 ...
. He has testified to such effect before the ICTY.
Sacirbey also represented Bosnia to the
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
negotiations on the International Criminal Court (ICC), and after successfully working to incorporate "gender based" crimes and eliminate the death penalty (with an accomplished team of young jurists incorporated into his delegation), was a subsequent signatory on the Rome Treaty. Sacirbey had been an advocate and active in the establishment of the ICC and became Vice-Chair of the Prep Committee on the ICC.
Legal difficulties
After the war, Sacirbey continued to serve as ambassador to the UN until late 2000. Upon leaving this position, rumors of financial irregularities in the Bosnian UN mission began to circulate. In 2001, the
Bosnian government
The Politics of Bosnia and Herzegovina takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, whereby executive power is exercised by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Legislative power is vested in both the Cou ...
began to investigate Sacirbey on suspicion "of abuse of office" for purportedly expending funds for purposes not authorized including Bosnia's "genocide case" against Serbia/Montenegro before the International Court of Justice.
Sacirbey denied allegations of any improper use of funds and said the entire affair was fabricated by political opponents in Bosnia and the United States. He also stated he spent up to $800,000 of his own money to cover Bosnia's diplomatic expenses. Although there was no indictment, formal charges or even formal investigation, on 29 January 2002, the Bosnian government formally asked the US to extradite Sacirbey. Sacirbey had offered to deliver himself should such be requested. However, he was arrested on 25 March 25 2003 at his home in
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
. Sacirbey spent the next sixteen months at the
Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York. He was released on 27 July 2004 with a six-million-dollar bail, and the recommendation of the
Bosnian Chairman of the Council of Ministers (i.e. the Prime Minister) who referred to Sacirbey as "an honorable person", whether or not allegations of abuse of office may have been accurate.
Sacirbey from the outset contended that the U.S. Government was dictating the extradition request upon obedient Bosnian authorities, including misrepresenting the status of any "investigation" in Bosnia or alleged abuse of office. On 19 January 2005, he was certified by a federal magistrate in New York as extraditable. Sacirbey appealed his certification by filing a
habeas corpus
''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...
petition on 21 March 2005 before a federal district judge. In September 2006, the district judge denied his petition for habeas corpus relief and ruled that he was extraditable. Sacirbey appealed the decision to the
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate juri ...
.
On 9 December 2009, the appeals court ruled that Sacirbey could not be extradited. Further, the Court cited Sacirbey's exemplary service and questionable political circumstances of the case. Finally, the Court concluded that the US Government had no obligation to extradite Sacirbey, should not have pursued the matter in the first place and on the basis of evidence/case presented not to repeat the mistake.
Works
A Convenient Genocide in a Fishbowl, by Mohammed Sacerbey
Further reading
US Court Rules Former Bosnian Foreign Minister Eligible for ExtraditionLegal document from the US District Court*
ttp://www.icty.org/x/cases/perisic/trans/en/090616IT.htm Sacirbey testimony to the International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia 16 June 2009.br>
Sacirbey testimony to the International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia 17 June 2009.*
ttp://www.icty.org/x/cases/perisic/trans/en/090619ED.htmS Sacirbey testimony to the International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia 19 June 2009.*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sacirbey, Muhamed
1956 births
Living people
Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina Muslims
American people of Bosniak descent
Politicians of the Bosnian War
Diplomats from Sarajevo
People from Staten Island
Tulane University alumni
Yugoslav emigrants to the United States
Columbia Business School alumni
Permanent Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations
Foreign ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina
People from Parma, Ohio
American Muslims