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Fehim
Effendi Effendi or effendy ( ; ; originally from ) is a title of nobility meaning '' sir'', ''lord'' or '' master'', especially in the Ottoman Empire and the Caucasus''.'' The title itself and its other forms are originally derived from Medieval Gree ...
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 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 of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassination in Sarajevo was the ...
and his wife
Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg (; ; 1 March 1868 – 28 June 1914) was the wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Their assassination in Sarajevo sparked a series of events that led, four weeks later ...
to Sarajevo and was present later the same day at their assassination, the event that sparked
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. He died aged 50 in an Austrian sanatorium.


Early life

Čurčić was born into a prominent family of ethnic
Bosniaks The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...
who relocated to
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 ...
from
Livno Livno ( Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic: ''Ливно'', ) is a town and the administrative center of the Township of Livno and Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the river Bis ...
in the late 17th century. His father Ragib Čurčić (1824 – 4 July 1888) was a statesman in the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, 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 Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
.


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 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, 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 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 ...
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 National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina), 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. Fran ...
to Sarajevo with Governor Oskar Potiorek. 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, heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie, Duchess von ...
managed to assassinate Ferdinand and his wife in the second attempt, an event that sparked the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curcic, Fehim 1866 births 1916 deaths Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mayors of Sarajevo People from the Ottoman Empire