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Haris Silajdžić (; born 1 October 1945) is a Bosnian politician and
academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
who served as the 5th Bosniak member of the
Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina The presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Predsjedništvo Bosne i Hercegovine, separator=" / ", Предсједништво Босне и Херцеговине) is a three-member body which collectively serves as head of state of ...
from 2006 to 2010. He was the 3rd
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
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 ...
from 1993 to 1996. Silajdžić was born in Breza in 1945. During 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 ...
, he served 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 from 1990 to 1993, and later as Prime Minister. In the height of the war, he was one of the most influential Bosnian officials and a close ally of the country's first president,
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 ...
. From 1994 until 1996, Silajdžić served as the 1st Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. After his term as Federal Prime Minister ended, Silajdžić was appointed Co-chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1997, serving until 2000. At the 2006 general election, he was elected
Bosniak The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...
member of the Bosnian Presidency. Silajdžić served as member until 2010, after losing his bid for re-election at the 2010 general election. Originally, a prominent member of Alija Izetbegović's
Party of Democratic Action The Party of Democratic Action ( bs, Stranka demokratske akcije; abbr. SDA) is a Bosniak nationalist, conservative political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. History The Party of Democratic Action (SDA) was founded on 26 May 1990 in Sarajevo, ...
, Silajdžić left the party in 1996 to establish 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 ...
(SBiH). As both president of SBiH and Presidency member, he took part in many
constitutional reform A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, ...
talks, most notably in those regarding the 2006 April package, a compromise proposal for constitutional amendments which included, among other things, an individual president indirectly elected by
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, as opposed to being
directly elected Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are cho ...
by popular vote. Silajdžić served as SBiH's president until 2012.


Early political career

From 1990 to 1993, during 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 ...
, Silajdžić served as the first
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 ...
and as the
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
from October 1993 to January 1996. Originally, he was a member and vice-president of the
Party of Democratic Action The Party of Democratic Action ( bs, Stranka demokratske akcije; abbr. SDA) is a Bosniak nationalist, conservative political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. History The Party of Democratic Action (SDA) was founded on 26 May 1990 in Sarajevo, ...
(SDA), but broke away from the party in 1996 by funding his own
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 ...
(SBiH). His SBiH entered the
Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Parlamentarna skupština Bosne i Hercegovine, Парламентарна скупштина Босне и Херцеговине, separator=" / ") is the bicameral legislative ...
and become one of the leading Bosnian Muslim parties the following year. Also from 31 May 1994 to 31 January 1996, Silajdžić served as the first Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the war, he was a strong ally and type of a consultant 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 ...
. After the end of the war, on 3 January 1997, he was appointed to the position of Co-chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving alongside Boro Bosić and
Svetozar Mihajlović Svetozar Mihajlović ( sr, Светозар Михајловић; born 1949) is a Bosnian Serb politician who served as Co-Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1999 to 2000, serving alongside Haris Silajdžić. Mi ...
until 6 June 2000. At the 2000 parliamentary election, the SBiH formed a coalition with the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...
, a party led by former wartime deputy prime minister
Zlatko Lagumdžija Zlatko Lagumdžija (born 26 December 1955) is a Bosnian former politician who served as the 4th Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2001 to 2002. He also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2001 to 2002 and ...
, to gain the majority and force the nationalist parties out of power. They gathered a coalition of many other small parties to create the "Alliance for Change". The
coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
facilitated the passage of the Election Law, which was not only an important step towards democracy, but also a prerequisite to Bosnia and Herzegovina's accession to the
Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...
. The SDP BiH and the SBiH led the government until the October 2002 general election, when the public, dissatisfied at the pace of political reform, elected the nationalist parties back into power.


Presidency (2006–2010)

Silajdžić had a strong political comeback in the 2006 general election, by getting 62.8% of the votes and getting elected as the 5th Bosniak member of the
Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina The presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Predsjedništvo Bosne i Hercegovine, separator=" / ", Предсједништво Босне и Херцеговине) is a three-member body which collectively serves as head of state of ...
. In 2007, 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 ...
in the Hague
acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...
Serbia of the charges of
complicity in genocide Complicity in genocide is illegal under international law both for individuals, as part of international criminal law, and state parties to the Genocide Convention. The latter was first held in the Bosnian genocide case (2007) in which the Internati ...
brought against the "
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
" by 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 ...
. Silajdžić expressed disappointment at the court's ruling, but welcomed the fact that the court "ruled that Serbia and Montenegro had violated the
Genocide Convention The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG), or the Genocide Convention, is an international treaty that criminalizes genocide and obligates state parties to pursue the enforcement of its prohibition. It was ...
by not preventing or punishing the perpetrators of the genocide." Silajdžić was a member of the Bosnian delegation which negotiated the US-brokered
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 ...
. He continued stressing that the document was essential in ending the genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but later saw it as an obstacle in reunifying the country. Making strong steps and claims in 2006 and 2007 towards canceling certain parts of the Dayton Agreement, Silajdžić directly opposed the constitution of the country, thus being a very controversial political figure, famous on the Bosniak and infamous on the Serbian side. His main goals were abolishing the existence 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 ...
, breaking certain relations with Serbia and reforming the country towards unity. During his four-year term as Presidency member, Silajdžić was backed by authorities and organizations throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina that voiced dissatisfaction with the Dayton Agreement provisions and opposed the autonomy of the Republika Srpska entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina.Profile
rferl.org; accessed 11 March 2016.


Constitutional reform

The 2005 Opinion of the
Venice Commission The Venice Commission, officially European Commission for Democracy through Law, is an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law. It was created in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin ...
, an advisory body of the
Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...
, which coincided with the 10th anniversary of the Dayton Agreement opened the debate on a
constitutional reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina The Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina was amended once, in 2009, to include the outcome of the Brčko District final award. Several constitutional reforms were attempted between 2006 and 2014, to ensure it compliance with the case law of the ...
, on the impulse of U.S. diplomacy, with a view of modernizing the country's institutions. The U.S. Ambassador Douglas L. McElhaney 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 ...
and Ambassador Donald Hays in
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
led the U.S. talks with party leaders and the initiative to draft a compromise proposal for constitutional amendments, dubbed the ''April Package'' (''aprilski paket''). Overall, the April Package would have better defined and partly expanded State competences, and streamlined institutions, partly limiting the veto powers of ethnic groups. The amended Constitution would have included, among other things, an individual President (with two deputies, one for each constituent people, to rotate every 16 months instead of 8), indirectly elected by
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
with a more ceremonial role, and a reinforced
Chairman of the Council of Ministers The President of the Council of Ministers (sometimes titled Chairman of the Council of Ministers) is the most senior member of the cabinet in the executive branch of government in some countries. Some Presidents of the Council of Ministers are t ...
.Davide Denti
''The European Union and Member State Building in Bosnia and Herzegovina'', PhD thesis, University of Trento, 2018
At the moment of Parliamentary approval, the constitutional amendments failed by 2 votes, only gathering 26 MPs in favour over 42, instead of the required 28. This was due to the maximalist pre-electoral positions taken by Silajdžić's SBiH (wishing to abolish also entity voting) and by the
Croatian Democratic Union 1990 The Croatian Democratic Union 1990 ( hr, Hrvatska demokratska zajednica 1990, abbreviated HDZ 1990) is a political party of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It split from the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is led by Ili ...
(HDZ 1990) splinter party, who felt the proposal did not sufficiently protect the
Bosnian Croats The Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina (), often referred to as Bosnian Croats () or Herzegovinian Croats () are the third most populous ethnic group in the country after Bosniaks and Serbs, and are one of the constitutive nations of Bosnia and ...
. The U.S. would try to rescue the April Package by facilitating further talks in 2007 between
Milorad Dodik Milorad Dodik ( sr-cyrl, Милорад Додик, ; born 12 March 1959) is a Bosnian Serb politician serving as the 8th president of Republika Srpska since November 2022. Previously, he served as the 7th Serb member of the Presidency of Bo ...
(now in power in
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 ...
) and Silajdžić (now a member of the Presidency), but to no avail.


2010 general election

In the 2010 general election, Silajdžić decided to run for a second term in the Presidency, but failed to do so when election day came, getting only 25.10% of the votes, 5% less than
Fahrudin Radončić Fahrudin Radončić (; born 24 May 1957) is a Bosnian media magnate, entrepreneur, investor, and politician who served as the Minister of Security on two occasions. He is the founder of the ''Dnevni avaz,'' the best-selling newspaper in Bosnia an ...
and 9% less than elected
Bakir Izetbegović Bakir Izetbegović (; born 28 June 1956) is a Bosnian politician who served as the 6th Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2010 to 2018. He is the current president of the Party of Democratic Action and member of the ...
, the son 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 ...
.


Personal life

Silajdžić has been married to former Bosnian pop singer
Selma Muhedinović Selma Silajdžić ( Muhedinović; born 6 June 1972) is a Bosnian former pop singer, famous in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Biography Although establishing a promising pop music career in the late 1990s and early 2000 ...
since 2016, after he had reportedly been in a relationship with her for over fifteen years. Silajdžić said that their mutual tendency towards art, his being poetry and hers being music, was what initially sparked their attraction. They live 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 ...
.


Health

On 27 May 2020, Silajdžić underwent a successful
open heart surgery Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to corr ...
in Sarajevo after he decided to have surgery due to the worsening situation with his
blood vessel The blood vessels are the components of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide away ...
s in his heart.


Awards and honours

In July 1995, Silajdžić was conferred the Croatian
Order of Duke Trpimir The Order of Duke Trpimir ( hr, Red kneza Trpimira), or more fully the Order of Duke Trpimir with Neck Badge and Morning Star (''Red kneza Trpimira s ogrlicom i Danicom''), is an order of the Republic of Croatia. It ranks sixth in the Croatian or ...
.46 07.07.1995 Odluka kojom se odlikuju Redom kneza Trpimira s ogrlicom i Danicom
/ref> In 2005, he received a Doctorate in International Relations
honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
by the
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 ...
School of Diplomacy and International Relations. In 2018, Silajdžić was conferred
Sitara-e-Pakistan The Nishan-e-Pakistan ( ur, , , ''Order of Pakistan'') is the highest civilian award of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It is awarded for "those who have rendered services of highest distinction" to the national interest of Pakistan. Nishan i ...
for his services to Pakistan by the
president of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Mamnoon Hussain Mamnoon Hussain ( ur, ; 22 December 1941 – 14 July 2021) was a Pakistani politician and industrialist who served as the 12th president of Pakistan from 2013 to 2018. He was first appointed Governor of Sindh in June 1999 by President Rafiq ...
.


Orders

*
Order of Duke Trpimir The Order of Duke Trpimir ( hr, Red kneza Trpimira), or more fully the Order of Duke Trpimir with Neck Badge and Morning Star (''Red kneza Trpimira s ogrlicom i Danicom''), is an order of the Republic of Croatia. It ranks sixth in the Croatian or ...
: 1995 *
Sitara-e-Pakistan The Nishan-e-Pakistan ( ur, , , ''Order of Pakistan'') is the highest civilian award of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It is awarded for "those who have rendered services of highest distinction" to the national interest of Pakistan. Nishan i ...
: 2018


References

;Notes ;Books *


External links


Interview from the BBC's Hardtalk current affairs programHaris Silajdžić interview
with
Tim Sebastian Tim Sebastian (born 13 March 1952) is a television journalist and novelist. He is the moderator of ''Conflict Zone'' and ''The New Arab Debates'', broadcast on Deutsche Welle. He previously worked for the BBC, where he hosted ''The Doha Debate ...

Bosnia's new leadership takes shape
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silajdzic, Haris 1945 births Living people Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Sunni Muslims Bosniak politicians Party of Democratic Action politicians Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina politicians Politicians of the Bosnian War Foreign ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Prime ministers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Chairmen of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Recipients of the Sitara-e-Pakistan