'' Rafet Husović (

Montenegrin Cyrillic The Montenegrin alphabet is the collective name given to "''Abeceda''" (#Latin alphabet, Montenegrin Latin alphabet) and "''Азбука''" (#Cyrillic alphabet, Montenegrin Cyrillic alphabet), the writing systems used to Writing, write the Montene ...

: Рафет Хусовић; 2 April 19649 March 2021) was a Montenegrin politician, who served as the

Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro The Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro, officially Vice President of the Government of Montenegro ( Montenegrin: ''Potpredsjednik Vlade Crne Gore''), is the official Deputy of the Prime Minister of Montenegro. Conventionally all of the junior p ...

. He was the founder and long-term president of the centre-right

Bosniak Party The Bosniak Party ( bs, Bošnjačka stranka, Cyrillic: Бошњачка странка, abbr. BS) is a conservative and pro-European political party of the Bosniak minority in Montenegro. Its founder and first leader was Rafet Husović, while the ...

, an ethnic minority party for promotion of interests of

Bosniaks 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 ...

Biography

Early life and education

Rafet Husović was born in

Rožaje Rožaje ( cnr, Рожаје, bs, Rožaje), ; sq, Rozhajë) is a town in northeastern Montenegro. As of 2011, the city has a population of 9,567 inhabitants. Surrounded by hills to its west and mountains to its east (notably Mount Hajla), the ...

to a family of Bosniak origin, a town in northeastern Montenegro, at that time part of the

SR Montenegro The Socialist Republic of Montenegro ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Crna Gora, Социјалистичка Република Црна Гора), commonly referred to as Socialist Montenegro or simply Montenegro, was ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

. Having finished elementary and secondary school in his hometown, he graduated at the

Faculty of Natural Sciences A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

Pristina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians and ...

SAP Kosovo The Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Socijalistička Autonomna Pokrajina Kosovo, Социјалистичка Аутономна Покрајина Косово, separator=" / ", sq, Krahina Socialiste Autonome e Kosovë ...

, after which he worked for years as a math teacher in his hometown of Rožaje.

Political career

After the introduction of the multi-party system in Montenegro in 1990, he joined the branch of the right-wing

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, ...

Republic of Montenegro A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

(SDA CG), where he was part of party's moderate wing and a member of the main board from 1992 to 1997 and the party's dissolution due police repression. Between 1997 and 2002, he was a member of the Main Board of the

International Democratic Union The International Democrat Union (IDU) is an international alliance of centre-right political parties. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, the IDU consists of 84 full and associate members from 65 countries. It is chaired by Stephen Harper, ...

(IDU). From 2002 to 2006 he was a member of the

Bosniak National Council The Bosniak National Council ( bs, Bošnjačko nacionalno vijeće, Бошњачко национално вијеће) is a representative body of the Bosniak national minority in Serbia. It was founded as the Muslim National Council of Sandžak ...

of the

State Union of Serbia and Montenegro 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 ...

(BNV SCG). He was one of the founders and head of parliamentary group in

local parliament of the Bosniak-Muslim Alliance, which in February 2006 merged with other Bosniak and Muslim parties in Montenegro to form the

(BS), of which Husović was president from its founding, holding leadership post until February 2021, when he retired from politics due to health problems. He was a

Minister Without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

in the 6th cabinet of

Milo Đukanović Milo Đukanović ( cnr, Мило Ђукановић, ; born 15 February 1962) is a Montenegrin politician serving as the President of Montenegro since 2018, previously serving in the role from 1998 to 2003. He also served as the Prime Minister o ...

(2009–2010) and the cabinet of

Igor Lukšić Igor Lukšić (Serbian Cyrillic: Игор Лукшић, ; born 14 June 1976) is a Montenegrin politician who served as the 4th Prime Minister of Montenegro from 2010 to 2012, following the resignation of Milo Đukanović. He was succeeded by Đ ...

(2010–2012). In December 2012, Husović was appointed

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

in the 7th cabinet of Đukanović (2012–2016). Following the 2016 parliamentary election in Montenegro, the opposition right-wing populist Democratic Front (DF) which did not recognized the results of the election, made a public offer to Husović, such that if he and his party joined the Democratic Front, he would push for Husović to be selected as the new provisional

Prime Minister of Montenegro The prime minister of Montenegro ( cnr, Премијер/Премијерка Црне Горе, Premijer/Premijerka Crne Gore), officially the president of the Government of Montenegro (), is the head of the government of Montenegro. The role ...

. Husović's Bosniak Party voted on whether to join the DF or to remain in a coalition with the

Democratic Party of Socialists The Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro ( cnr, Демократска партија социјалиста Црне Горе, Demokratska partija socijalista Crne Gore, DPS) is a populist political party in Montenegro. A former long-time ...

(DPS), and the party ended up voting to stay as a partner to DPS, ultimately rejecting opposition bid. After election, Husović kept the Deputy Prime Minister for Regional Development position in another DPS-led cabinet, with new PM,

Duško Marković Duško Marković (Serbian Cyrillic: Душко Марковић; born 6 July 1959) is a Montenegrin politician who served as the Prime Minister from 2016 to 2020. Early and personal life Marković was born on 6 July 1959 in Mojkovac, Yugoslav ...

(2016–2020).

Illness and death

Rafet Husović died on 9 March 2021, at the age of 56, after a short, but severe illness. The Mayor of

, Rahman Husović, declared three days of mourning in that municipality following Rafet Husović's death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Husovic, Rafet Husovic, Rafet 1964 births 2021 deaths Deputy Prime Ministers of Montenegro Government ministers of Montenegro Bosniak Party politicians Bosniaks of Montenegro University of Pristina alumni People from Rožaje