Bariša Čolak (born 1 January 1956) is

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 and lawyer. He is currently a member of the House of Peoples and previously served as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

from 2007 to 2015. Čolak was also Minister of Security from 2002 to 2007. He is a member and former president 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 Cr ...

Early life and education

Čolak was born on 1 January 1956 in

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

, where he attended elementary and high school. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of

University Džemal Bijedić of Mostar University Džemal Bijedić of Mostar ( Bosnian: ''Univerzitet "Džemal Bijedić" u Mostaru'' / ''Универзитет "Џемал Биједић" у Мостару'') is a public university located in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was es ...

in 1979. He also attended postgraduate studies on subject Bosnia and Herzegovina and European Law, but because of his duties as a minister, study was on halt.

Early career

From 1979 to 1988, with a break from April 1980 to April 1981, Čolak worked as director of the constructional hardware "Metalac Lištica" which was part of the

SOKO Soko ( sh-Cyrl, Соко) was a Yugoslav aircraft manufacturer based in Mostar, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina. The company was responsible for the production of many military aircraft for the Yugoslav Air Force. SOKO was created in 1950 by the ...

company in

Mostar , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Mostar (collage image).jpg , image_caption = From top, left to right: A panoramic view of the heritage town site and the Neretva river from Lučki Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha ...

. From 1988 to the end of 1993, he worked as a judge in Lištica, renamed Široki Brijeg.

Political career

Čolak joined the

(HDZ BiH) in 1993. After that, until 1996, he was assistant of the Minister of Justice, Deputy Minister of Justice and later Minister of Justice of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia. After the war, from 27 March 1996 until September 1999, he was the first Prime Minister of West Herzegovina Canton. Čolak was a member of the party's Municipal Board in

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

and later member of the Cantonal Board of the

West Herzegovina Canton The West Herzegovina Canton ( hr, Županija Zapadnohercegovačka, bs, Zapadnohercegovački kanton) is one of the cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The West Herzegovina Canton is in the Herzegovina region in the southwest of ...

and member of the Central Committee of the party. He was also repeatedly a member of the party's presidency. In 1999, Čolak became the Federal Minister of Justice. At the 2000 parliamentary election, Čolak won 5,412 votes for a seat in the Federal Parliament, but he continued to be a minister in the

Federal Government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

. From 2001 until 2002, Čolak was acting president of the HDZ BiH, and in March 2002 he left the Federal Ministry of Justice and dedicated himself to the party's activity since he had become president of the HDZ BiH. At the 2002 general election, Čolak won 16,721 votes and entered the Federal Parliament once again. He remained the party's president until 2005. In January 2003, he became the national Minister of Security and held that duty until 2007. On 11 January 2007, Čolak was named national

, serving until 31 March 2015. Following the 2014 general election, in March 2015, he was appointed member of the national House of Peoples.

Personal life

Bariša is married to Anela Čolak; the couple has three children.

References

External links

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House of Peoples, Parliament BiH - Bariša Čolak
Parliament BiH , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Colak, Barisa 1956 births Living people People from Široki Brijeg Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina politicians Government ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Security ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Members of the House of Peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina