Staša Košarac ( sr-cyr, Сташа Кошарац; born 19 March 1975) is a

Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби у Босни и Херцеговини, Srbi u Bosni i Hercegovini) are one of the three constitutive nations (state-forming nations) of the country, predominantly residing in the politi ...

politician who is the current Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations. He was also a member of both the national House of Peoples and

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 ...

. Košarac is a member of the

Alliance of Independent Social Democrats The Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (; abbr. СНСД or SNSD) is a Serb political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Founded in 1996, it is the governing party in Republika Srpska, with its leader, Milorad Dodik, serving as the current p ...

Early life

Košarac was born on 19 March 1975 to

parents Milorad and Zoranka 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 ...

, where he finished elementary and then high school '' Đuro Pucar Stari'' in

Vogošća Vogošća ( sr-cyrl, Bогошћа) is a town and a municipality located in Sarajevo Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The municipality is located about 6 kilometers north of the city of Saraje ...

. In 2014, he graduated from the Faculty of Business and Industrial Management in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

Political career

Košarac is a member of the

, and got his first public position when he was 25 years old as a councilor in the Municipal Assembly of

Višegrad Višegrad ( sr-cyrl, Вишеград, ) is a town and municipality located in eastern Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It rests at the confluence of the Drina and the Rzav river. As of 2013, it has a population of 10,668 ...

. In 2004, he got elected to the

National Assembly of Republika Srpska The National Assembly of Republika Srpska (, abbr. НСРС/NSRS) is the legislative body of Republika Srpska, one of two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The current assembly is the ninth since the founding of the entity. History The Nation ...

. In 2011, he became a member of the national House of Peoples and was, later on, Chairman of the House of Peoples. In the 2014 general election, Košarac was elected to a parliamentary seat in the national

. In January 2010, he became the head of the Team for Coordination of War Crimes Investigation and Search for Missing Persons of

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Feder ...

by the decision of the

Government of Republika Srpska Government of Republika Srpska ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Влада Републике Српске, Vlada Republika Srpske) is the executive authority of Republika Srpska, along with the President of Republika Srpska. The Prime Minister is ...

. Since 23 December 2019, Košarac has been serving as Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations in the national

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

Zoran Tegeltija Zoran Tegeltija (; born 29 September 1961) is a Bosnian Serb politician serving as the 10th Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina since December 2019. He was Minister of Finance of Republika Srpska from 2010 to 2018 and m ...

Perosnal life

Košarac lives in

Istočno Sarajevo Istočno Sarajevo ( sr-cyr, Источно Сарајево, lit. "East Sarajevo") is the ''de jure'' capital city of Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It consists of a few suburban areas of pre-war Sarajevo which are now includ ...

with his wife Sanja and their three children. On 28 November 2020, it was confirmed that he tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, amid its pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 7 December 2020, Košarac's wife Sanja accused him of threatening and

cheating Cheating generally describes various actions designed to subvert rules in order to obtain unfair advantages. This includes acts of bribery, cronyism and nepotism in any situation where individuals are given preference using inappropriate cr ...

on her.

References

External links

Staša Košarac
at vijeceministara.gov.ba {{DEFAULTSORT:Košarac, Staša 1975 births Living people Politicians from Sarajevo Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Alliance of Independent Social Democrats politicians Government ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina