Fadil Novalić (born 25 September 1959) is a Bosnian politician who served as

Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina This article lists the prime ministers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the head of the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The prime minister is nominated by the President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegov ...

from 2015 to 2023. He also served as member of the Federal House of Representatives from 2023 to 2024. He is currently serving a four-year prison sentence for corruption in Vojkovići prison. Novalić graduated from the

University of Sarajevo The University of Sarajevo (Bosnian language, Bosnian, Croatian language, Croatian and Serbian language, Serbian: ''Univerzitet u Sarajevu'' / Sveučilište u Sarajevu / Универзитет у Сарајеву) is a List of universities in Bo ...

in 1983. He then worked for a number of years in the company TMD "Gradačac Famos", going from constructor to director. Later he moved on to head the company TMD "Automotive Industry" ("Cimos" TMD). Novalić was dismissed from Cimos in 2013 for alleged abuse of powers. He also chaired the Association of Businessmen of Gradačac and hometown

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club Zvijezda Gradačac. Following the 2014 general election, Novalić was appointed Federal Prime Minister in March 2015, as a member of the Party of Democratic Action. He remained in office after the 2018 general election. As Federal Prime Minister, he was one of the high-ranking officials that led Bosnia and Herzegovina's response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Novalić was succeeded by

Nermin Nikšić Nermin Nikšić (; born 27 December 1960) is a Bosnian politician serving as List of prime ministers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina since April 2023, having previously serve ...

as Federal Prime Minister in April 2023, following the 2022 general election. In May 2020, Novalić was accused of being involved in the "

Ventilator A ventilator is a type of breathing apparatus, a class of medical technology that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathi ...

s affair" scandal, regarding his role in the "illegal import" of medical ventilators during his time as Prime Minister. In April 2023, he was found guilty in the first instance, receiving four years imprisonment. The court's

Appellate In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...

panel confirmed the verdict in January 2024.

Early career

Novalić is an

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

and a

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

by profession. He is credited for reviving the automotive industry in his hometown of Gradačac after serving in the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

. While Novalić was a soldier of the 107th Gradačac brigade during the war, he lost two fingers. Novalić graduated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the

in 1983. He then worked for 17 years in the company TMD "Gradačac Famos", going from constructor to director. In 2000, he moved on to head the company TMD "Automotive Industry" ("Cimos" TMD). Novalić was dismissed from Cimos in 2013 for alleged abuse of powers, despite protests by employees in his support. He also founded at least seven other companies, including "Supfina". He was on the supervisory boards of the companies "Wagner - Automotive" and "Namještaj" d.d.Centre for Investigative Journalism
/ref> Novalić also chaired the Association of Businessmen of Gradačac and

club Zvijezda Gradačac. He has been a member of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) since 2015, and has even before been the chairman of the Board of the Council for Economic and Financial Policy of the Party. Novalić has been a member of the SDA Presidency also since 2015. He has authored much of the SDA's economic programme.

Federal Prime Minister (2015–2023)

In March 2015, Novalić was appointed by the SDA to head the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

of the

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serbo-Croatian: ''Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine'' / ''Федерација Босне и Херцеговине'') is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities composing Bo ...

entity, in coalition with the Croatian Democratic Union. He remained in office after the 2018 general election, due to the political parties in the Federation failing to form a new government.

Environmental activism

Novalić stood up against the proliferation of small

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

dams in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has some of the most biodiverse rivers in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. His stance - that clean rivers are more important than domestic electricity production - made him a notable figure in the world of environmental activism in 2020, when prominent American actor

Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...

referenced his call to action while urging the Federal Government to protect the most biodiverse rivers remaining in Europe himself.

Contesting deposing by Christian Schmidt

On 28 April 2023, after months of political deadlock in the formation of a new Federal Government, following the 2022 general election,

Christian Schmidt Hans Сhristian Friedrich Schmidt (born 26 August 1957) is a German politician and member of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, Christian Social Union (CSU) who has been the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina since August 2021. ...

intervened in his role of

High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was created in 1995 immediately after the signing of the Dayton Agreement which ended the 1992 to 1995 Bos ...

by suspending the Constitution for twenty-four hours, with

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 Form ...

president

getting appointed as the new

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. At the same time, Novalić refused to concede the power and continues contesting his forceable deposing as "illegal and unconstitutional."

Controversies

Defense industry

Novalić stirred controversy after announcing the results of his government's success at reviving the Federal defense industry, among which was the increased range of Bosnian grenades. Bakir Izetbegović, the president of the SDA which appointed Novalić, doubled down on the confidence asserting that weapons production will continue, both to increase exports and for the "God forbid, it comes to it" scenario of another aggression and attempted

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

. Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik accused the Federation of “illegal weapon production” after these events.

Corruption allegations

Novalić was detained for questioning and then arrested on 28 May 2020, for his alleged role in "illegal import" of medical ventilators by "FH Srebrena malina", a raspberry processing firm recruited for that purpose by the Federal Department of Civil Protection. He also faced

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

charges by the same indictment. 100 ventilators were acquired from a Chinese company at a price of 10.5 million KM. Gordana Tadić, at the time head of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said in an interview given on Face TV that "Articles by news portals were the basis for the indictment." Also arrested alongside Novalić were the Federal Minister of Finance Jelka Miličević, the suspended Director of the Federal Department for Civilian Protection Fahrudin Solak, and the CEO and co-owner of the "FH Srebrena malina", Fikret Hodžić. The indictment of Milićević was separated from the indictment of the others accused. On 5 April 2023, Novalić was found guilty by the first-instance court and received a four-year sentence, while Hodžić got five and Solak six-year sentences. The verdict was confirmed by the court's

panel on 26 January 2024. Novalić started serving his sentence in Vojkovići prison on 21 March 2024.

Personal life

Fadil is married to Selvija Novalić with whom he has three daughters. On 13 July 2020, it was confirmed that he tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, amid its pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina; by 26 July, he recovered. On 25 August 2021, Novalić received his first dose of the Sinopharm BIBP COVID-19 vaccine.

References

External links

Fadil Novalić
at imovinapoliticara.cin.ba {{DEFAULTSORT:Novalic, Fadil 1959 births Living people People from Gradačac Bosnia and Herzegovina Muslims Politicians of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Party of Democratic Action politicians Prime ministers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina criminals Bosnia and Herzegovina politicians convicted of corruption Bosnia and Herzegovina prisoners and detainees