Enver Hadžihasanović (7 July 1950 – 16 December 2024) was a Bosnian

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the

Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (; ; ARBiH), often referred to as Bosnian Army, was the military force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was established by the government of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina i ...

and a convicted war criminal.

Biography

Hadžihasanović was born in 1950 in

Zvornik Zvornik ( sr-cyrl, Зворник, ) is a city in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2013, it had a population of 58,856 inhabitants. Zvornik is located on the Drina River, on the eastern slopes of Majevica mountain, at the altitude of ...

, at the time part of the

Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

Military career

Hadžihasanović graduated from the military academy in Belgrade in 1973. He then was transferred to the military stations in

Tuzla Tuzla (, , ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inha ...

and

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

. As

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

first class he led the command in the military academy in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. After that school closed, he was given the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and commanded the battalion of the military police of the 7th Army in 1988. After a while, he was given the command of the 49th Motorized Brigade. That brigade was later transformed into a mechanized brigade; at the end of 1989 he was the commander of that brigade, with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Military house confinement

In the beginning of April 1992, Hadžihasanović was sentenced to military house confinement in Sarajevo by the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

, after which he deserted the JNA.

Bosnian war

After Hadžihasanović quit the JNA, he joined the Territorial Defence Force of the Republic of Bosnia and Hercegovina (TO RBiH) of Bosnia. On 14 November 1992, he became the commander of the 3rd Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH). He held that position until 1 November 1993 when he became the exchange chief of staff of the high command of the ARBiH.

After the war

From 1996 to 2000, when he retired, Hadžihasanović was a member of the Chief of Staff of the Federation Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hadžihasanović died on 16 December 2024, at the age of 74.

War crimes

Hadžihasanović was found guilty of failing to prevent the death of a prisoner of war and cruel treatment, on the basis of superior criminal responsibility and sentenced to five years in prison. He appealed against the first-instance judgment and was released provisionally in June 2007 pending the judgement of the Appeals Chamber. On 22 April 2008, the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) reduced his sentence to 3½ years.

Military ranks

Yugoslav People's Army

*1973 – Captain first class *1988 –

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

*1989 – Lieutenant colonel

Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

*1993 – Brigadier general *1997 – Division general *1998 – Major general

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hadzihasanovic, Enver 1950 births 2024 deaths People from Zvornik Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Muslims Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina convicted of war crimes Bosnia and Herzegovina generals Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina soldiers People convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Bosnia and Herzegovina people imprisoned abroad Officers of the Yugoslav People's Army