Hakija Turajlić (1936 – 8 January 1993) was a Bosnian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and businessman who served as the first Deputy

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 ...

of the

Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Република Босна и Херцеговина, separator=" / ") was a state in Southeastern Europe, existing from 1992 to 1995. It is the direct lega ...

from 15 June 1992 until he was killed on 8 January 1993. Prior to the start of the 1992–95 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turajlić was the director of the multifaceted Bosnian company

Energoinvest Energoinvest (full name: Energoinvest, d.d. - Sarajevo) is a Bosnian multidisciplinary engineering and energy company with headquarters in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. History Energoinvest was established as a small design office under the ...

and as such secured large sums of money for war preparations. He was known for his ability to cooperate, especially for persuading everyone through his own self-denial and hard work. His death at the hands of the

Bosnian Serb Army The Army of Republika Srpska (; ВРС/VRS), commonly referred to in English as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of Republika Srpska, the self-proclaimed Serb secessionist republic, a territory within the newly independent Bosnia and Herz ...

in the

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 ...

neighbourhood of Stup was one of the great losses that the

Bosnian government The politics of Bosnia and Herzegovina are defined by a parliamentary, representative democratic framework, where the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, named by the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is the hea ...

was to sustain during the war.

Death

On 8 January 1993, Turajlić went to

Sarajevo International Airport Sarajevo International Airport () () () is the main international airport in Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located southwest of the Sarajevo main railway station, Sarajevo railway station an ...

to greet

Orhan Sefa Kilercioğlu Orhan Sefa Kilercioğlu is the Turkish Secretary of State. Defamation case Turkish author Talat Turhan was convicted of defamation of Kilercioğlu in his 1992 book Extraordinary War, Terror and Counter-terrorism. Turhan was ordered to pay dam ...

who had accompanied an aid shipment from

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. In order to return to

he had to pass through Serb-controlled territory for which

UNPROFOR The United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR; also known by its French acronym FORPRONU: ''Force de Protection des Nations Unies'') was the first United Nations peacekeeping force in Croatia and in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and ...

was supposed to provide protection. The UN convoy which was taking Turajlić to Sarajevo was stopped by

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

soldiers at a roadblock a few kilometers from the airport. After a 90-minute standoff, a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

UNPROFOR officer opened the door to the

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

in which Turajlić was sitting and a Serb soldier opened fire with an

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...

. Turajlić was hit with 7–8 rounds. The French troops did not return fire, call for reinforcements — less than six hundred yards away — or detain the killers. British troops who arrived on the scene were ordered to leave. When the same French peacekeepers came home to France, they were decorated for heroism. His death strained relations between the

and UNPROFOR and was also the reason that peace talks in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

were cancelled. The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and the Serbs both refused to cooperate with the Bosnian government investigation and help find the killer. A

Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби Босне и Херцеговине, Srbi Bosne i Hercegovine), often referred to as Bosnian Serbs ( sr-cyrl, босански Срби, bosanski Srbi) or Herzegovinian Serbs ( sr-cyrl, � ...

soldier, Goran Vasić, was eventually charged with Turajlić's murder but ultimately acquitted of that charge in 2002. In 1998, a wall about ten meters long and just under two meters high, reminiscent of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

, was put up by residents in

Dobrinja Dobrinja ( sr-cyrl, Добриња) is a neighbourhood in the western outskirts of Sarajevo, part of the municipality of Novi Grad. It is estimated to have a population of 25,063 inhabitants. Its name comes from the short river ''Dobrinja'' tha ...

after the

Bosnian police Law enforcement in Bosnia and Herzegovina is the responsibility of an EU-sponsored Bosnia police force to which the role of maintaining security in the region was handed over from the United Nations's 1,800 strong International Police Task Force. ...

entered a Bosnian Serb suburb to arrest Vasić.

Honors

A street in the

section of Sarajevo and a street in

Sanski Most Sanski Most ( sr-cyrl, Сански Мост, ) is a town and municipality located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of the Sana River in northwes ...

is named in Turajlić's honor. A

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

tournament,

Memorijal Hakija Turajlić Memorijal Hakija Turajlić is a boxing tournament named in honor of Hakija Turajlić, a former Bosnian politician, economist and businessman who was assassinated in 1993 during the Bosnian War. The first Memorijal Hakija Turajlić was held in 1994, ...

, takes place in

every year in his honor. Since 1994, more than 400 boxers from 30 countries participated in this tournament. From 1998 until 2008, it was one of strongest amateur boxing tournaments in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In

, a street in the Emek neighboorhood of

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

is named in Turajlić's honor.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Turajlic, Hakija 1936 births 1993 deaths People from Čapljina Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Politicians of the Bosnian War Government ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Deputy prime ministers People killed in the Bosnian War Deaths by firearm in Bosnia and Herzegovina Assassinated Bosnia and Herzegovina politicians Assassinated government ministers in Europe People murdered in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1993 crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1993 murders in Europe 1990s murders in Bosnia and Herzegovina European politicians assassinated in the 1990s Politicians assassinated in 1993 Politicians killed in wars