Sven Alkalaj (; born 11 November 1948) is a Bosnian

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 ...

who has served as Bosnia and Herzegovina ambassador to the United States since June 2023. He previously served as the Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations from 2019 to 2023. Alkalaj also served as the country's

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 ...

from 2007 until 2012. He held the post of executive secretary of UNECE between 2012 and 2014 as well. Alkalaj served as the first Bosnia and Herzegovina ambassador to the United States from 1994 to 2000. He is one of the most prominent

Bosnian Jews The history of Jews in Bosnia and Herzegovina spans from the arrival of the first Bosnian Jews as a result of the Spanish Inquisition to the survival of the Bosnian Jews through the Holocaust and the Yugoslav Wars. Judaism and the Jewish com ...

Sephardic Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...

origin and has been a longtime member of the

Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina The Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, Stranka za Bosnu i Hercegovinu) is a Bosniak nationalist political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The party fervently opposed the continued power in hands of ethnic entities such as the Federation of B ...

Early life and education

Alkalaj was born to a

Sephardic Jewish Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

father and 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 ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

mother. The Alkalaj are a prominent Bosnian Jewish family, who settled 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 ...

up to five hundreds of years ago when they fled the

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...

. He was raised Jewish. Alkalaj graduated in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

from 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 ...

in 1974. He returned to the university and in 1987 earned a degree in international relations and economics, with a focus on Latin America. In 2016, he was awarded a PhD in International Relations and International Law by the

University of Travnik University of Travnik ( Bosnian: Univerzitet u Travniku, UNT) is a private university located in Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The university was established in 2007. The motto of the university is— "Science to Success". Courses The univers ...

, with a dissertation on the "Policy of the United Nations Security Council in the Process of International Recognition and Peace-Building in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992–2010)".

Managerial career

From 1975 until 1985, Alkalaj worked at Petrolinvest as a commercial manager in

. He would later work at

Energoinvest Energoinvest (full name: Energoinvest, d.d. - Sarajevo) is a multidisciplinary engineering and energy company with headquarters in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. History Energoinvest was established as a small design office under the name of ...

, firstly as a regional manager for the Middle and Far East in Sarajevo from 1985 until 1988, and then as a managing director in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

from 1988 until 1994.BiH Mission to the UN
CV

Diplomatic career

Joe Biden arrives at Sarajevo International Airport 2009-05-19

Following the

breakup of Yugoslavia The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

and the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992, from 23 June 1994 until 14 June 2000, Alkalaj served as the first Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United States in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, also accredited to the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

from 2000 to 2003. In 1999, Alkalaj also attended the Executive Development Program and Corporate Finance Program of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

's Graduate School of Business Administration. From 2004 until 2007, Alkalaj was posted in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

as the Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and the Head of Mission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization 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 ...

(NATO). From 11 January 2007 until 12 January 2012, Alkalaj served as

in the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and second cabinets of

Nikola Špirić Nikola Špirić (, ; born 4 September 1956) is a Bosnian Serb politician who was the 7th Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 11 January 2007 until 12 January 2012. He was also the Minister of Finance and Treasury ...

, representing the

(SBiH), then led by

Haris Silajdžić Haris Silajdžić (; born 1 October 1945) is a Bosnians, Bosnian politician and Academic personnel, academic who served as the List of Bosniak members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 5th Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and ...

. As Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alkalaj was criticised and even his resignation was demanded in 2007 after it was published in Bosnian media that he had taken

Croatian citizenship The Croatian nationality law dates back from June 26, 1991, with amendments on May 8, 1992, October 28, 2011, and January 1, 2020, and an interpretation of the Constitutional Court in 1993. It is based upon the Constitution of Croatia (Chapter II ...

in 2006 based upon his mother's lineage. He was later charged by prosecutors in a case before the

Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, Sud Bosne i Hercegovine, Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Cyrillic: Суд Босне и Херцеговине; abbreviated as the ''Court of BiH'' in English language, English) is the highest ordinary court of ...

with misconduct in his office as Minister of Foreign Affairs, related to his "signing off on a cash award of 13,418.59 KM to his then deputy Ana Trišić-Babić for her work at the Council of Ministers NATO coordination team." From 8 March 2012 to 8 April 2014, Alkalaj was the executive secretary of the

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE or UNECE) is one of the five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It was established in order to promote economic cooperation and i ...

(UNECE) in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. He also served as a visiting professor at the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations between 2015 and 2019, as well as an assistant professor at the

from 2016 until 2017. On 5 July 2019, Alkalaj was appointed by Bosnian Presidency member

Željko Komšić Željko Komšić (; born 20 January 1964) is a Bosnian politician and diplomat who is the 6th and current Croat member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is also its current chairman, since 2021. Previously, he was a member of the na ...

as a Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

.New Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina Presents Credentials
5 July 2019

References

External links