Fehim
Effendi
Effendi or effendy ( tr, efendi ; ota, افندی, efendi; originally from grc-x-medieval, αφέντης ) is a title of nobility meaning ''sir'', ''lord'' or ''master'', especially in the Ottoman Empire and the Caucasus''.'' The title it ...
Čurčić (1866 – 12 February 1916) was a
Bosnian politician who served as the 5th
Mayor of Sarajevo from 1910 to 1915. On 28 June 1914, Mayor Čurčić welcomed
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife
Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg
Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg (; cs, Žofie Marie Josefína Albína hraběnka Chotková z Chotkova a Vojnína 1 March 1868 – 28 June 1914) was the wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Their assas ...
to Sarajevo and was present later the same day at
their assassination, the event that sparked
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. He died aged 50 in an Austrian sanatorium.
Early life
Čurčić was born into a prominent family of ethnic
Bosniaks who relocated to
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...
from
Livno
Livno ( sr-cyrl, Ливно, ) is a city and the administrative center of Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the river Bistrica in the southeastern edge of the Livno Fiel ...
in the late 17th century. His father Ragib Čurčić (1824 – 4 July 1888) was a statesman in the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, and the final mayor of Sarajevo under Ottoman rule from March 1875 until the Austrian occupation in August 1878. Fehim Čurčić had a brother named Muhamed, and two sisters. The family was
Muslim.
Politics
Čurčić was working as a political aspirant in administrative country service. He attended course for officers and became a spare officer. Čurčić, who was repeatedly elected to Sarajevo's City Council, will go down in history as the last mayor of Sarajevo during the Austro-Hungarian rule over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Coincidentally, his father Ragib was the last mayor of Sarajevo in 1878 during
Ottoman rule.
In the 14 November 1910 election for Mayor of Sarajevo, incumbent mayor
Esad Kulović
Esad Kulović (1854 – 22 July 1917) was a Bosnian politician who served as the 4th Mayor of Sarajevo from 1905 to 1910. He was mayor during the Bosnian crisis of 1908.
Early life
Kulović was born to an old and prominent Bosniak family of ...
won a third term by an "overwhelming" majority, but refused post, thus the position was handed over to 44-year-old Fehim Čurčić. Coincidentally the last Bosnian census during Austro-Hungarian rule was conducted in the 1910 election year. Sarajevo at that time had 51,919 inhabitants. He took post on 29 December 1910. During his tenure, Čurčić opened the Chamber of Education in 1911. A year later the Kino Apolo (''Apollo Cinema'') was opened. Also, the city's main post office was constructed by
Josip Vancaš
Josip Vancaš (22 March 1859 – 15 December 1932) was an Austro-Hungarian and Yugoslav architect who spent most of his career in the Bosnian city of Sarajevo, where he designed over two hundred buildings. He also designed important buildings in p ...
, while the
Museum of Sarajevo, as well as the Judicial Palace and the Faculty of Law building at 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 largest ...
were constructed by
Karel Pařík. Čurčić held post until 1915 when the City representation was dismissed.
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
On 28 June 1914, Mayor Čurčić delivered a keynote address at City Hall (which is today the
), where he welcomed the Austrian
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.
F ...
to Sarajevo with Governor
Oskar Potiorek
Oskar Potiorek (20 November 1853 – 17 December 1933) was an officer of the Austro-Hungarian Army, who served as Governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1911 to 1914. He was a passenger in the car carrying Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria ...
. The first attempt on the life of the archduke failed. Čurčić rode in the first car with the Sarajevo Chief of Police Edmund Gerde and was unaware of what had transpired at the bridge.
The noise of the motorcade had drowned out the bomb.
Gavrilo Princip
Gavrilo Princip ( sr-Cyrl, Гаврило Принцип, ; 25 July 189428 April 1918) was a Bosnian Serb student who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914.
Pr ...
managed to assassinate Ferdinand and his wife in the second attempt, an event that sparked the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curcic, Fehim
1866 births
1916 deaths
Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mayors of Sarajevo