Irfan Ljubijankić (26 November 1952 – 28 May 1995) was a

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

, politician, accomplished surgeon, and a classical music composer, who served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

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 30 October 1993 until he was killed on 28 May while on diplomatic mission during

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 ...

Biography

Ljubijankić was born to a

Bosniak 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 ...

family in

Bihać Bihać is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una (Sava), Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, in th ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, the town in which he lived for most of his life. He graduated from the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

and became a medical doctor specializing in ear, nose and throat treatments. In 1990, as Bosnia was preparing to secede from

, he was elected to the Bosnian parliament and became a leading member of the Bosniak-dominated

Party of Democratic Action The Party of Democratic Action (; 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, as a "party of Muslim cultural ...

. He temporarily left politics in 1992 after the beginning of the

, in order to serve as a medical doctor in Bihać. Ljubijankić remained an active medical doctor until October 1993 when he became

. He traveled widely to help gain international support for the country. Shortly before his death, he represented Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 50th anniversary celebration of the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 1 May 1995.

Death

Ljubijankić was killed on 28 May 1995 when his helicopter was shot down by a missile over

Cetingrad Cetingrad is a municipality in Karlovac County, Croatia near Croatia's border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia. The population of the village itself is 319, while the total municipality population is 2,027 (2011). The municipality is part of Ko ...

, a Croatian town near the Bosnian border being held by Serb rebels at that time. He was flying from Bihać to

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

on government business. Six other people on the helicopter also died. Ljubijankić was married and had two children. After Ljubijankić's death, singer

Yusuf Islam Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and musician. He has sold more than 100 million records and has more than two billion st ...

, a friend, appeared at a 1997 benefit concert in

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 ...

and recorded a benefit album named after a song written by Ljubijankić, "I Have No Cannons That Roar".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ljubijankic, Irfan 1952 births 1995 deaths Politicians from Bihać Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Croatia Victims of aircraft shootdowns University of Belgrade Faculty of Medicine alumni Bosnia and Herzegovina composers Bosnia and Herzegovina classical musicians Party of Democratic Action politicians Foreign ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century composers People killed in the Bosnian War Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1995 Health professionals killed in wars