Izet Nanić (4 October 1965 – 5 August 1995) was a Bosnian brigade commander in the

Bosnian Army The Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Oružane snage Bosne i Hercegovine, Оружане снаге Босне и Херцеговине or OSBiH) is the official military force of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Th ...

during the Bosnian War of Independence.

Family

A Bosnian Muslim, Izet Nanić was born to Ibrahim Nanić (1939–2000) and Rasima (born 1945) in the town of

Bužim Bužim ( sr-cyrl, Бужим) 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 in the Bosanska Krajina in the most northwestern part of Bosni ...

, as second of seven children. He was married to Safija Remetić, from Varoška Rijeka. Together they had three children: a daughter and two sons.

Career

Nanić finished the military gymnasium in 1984, in

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 ...

and then went to

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 being accepted in the military academy there. After being in the military academy for two years, he went 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 ...

for 1 year. Then he went back to Zagreb again in 1987 where he finished his military academy training. Until January 1991, Nanić was an officer of 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 ...

, when he returned to his home in

due to a broken leg. He was a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

of the

Yugoslav Air Force The Air Force and Air Defence ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Ратно ваздухопловство и противваздушна одбрана, Ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazdušna odbrana ; abbr. sh-Cyrl-Latn, label=none, separator=/, РВ и ПВ� ...

and anti-aircraft defence in

Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the List of cities in Serbia, fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Se ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. At the beginning of

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 ...

, he joined 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 ...

. His younger brother Nevzet was killed near

Bosanska Krupa Bosanska Krupa ( sr-cyrl, Босанска Крупа) is a city located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 29,659 inhabitants. It is situat ...

on 30 June 1992, shortly after the start of the war in Bosnia. Initially Nanić was involved in training and forming new units however after his brother's death he became the commander of the 505th Brigade of the 5th Corps led by Brigadier General

Atif Dudaković Atif Dudaković (born 2 December 1953) is a retired Bosniak general who served in the Army of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the Bosnian War, Dudaković was in command of the Bihać enclave, which was surrounded and besieged from 19 ...

. He led the command from its creation in 1992 to his death. Izet Nanić was killed during

Operation Storm Operation Storm ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Operacija Oluja, separator=" / ", Операција Олуја) was the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence and a major factor in the outcome of the Bosnian War. It was a decisive victory f ...

on 5 August 1995 only four months before the

Dayton Agreement The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement or the Dayton Accords ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Dejtonski mirovni sporazum, Дејтонски мировни споразум), and colloquially kn ...

and the end of the Bosnian war.

Legacy

Bosniaks see Nanić as a legendary commander, as his brigade liberated and brought under Bosniak control, several cities and towns, including

Velika Kladuša Velika Kladuša ( sr-Cyrl, Велика Кладуша, ; literal translation, lit. "Great Kladuša") is a town in the Una-Sana Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the far northwest of Bosnia, located on the border with Croatia. As o ...

in Operation Tiger and

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 ...

Bosanski Petrovac Bosanski Petrovac ( sr-cyrl, Босански Петровац) is a town and municipality located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013 census, the municipality has a p ...

and Ključ in

Operation Sana Operation Sana () was the final military offensive of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (''Armija Republike Bosne i Hercegovine'' – ARBiH) in western Bosnia and Herzegovina and the last major battle of the Bosnian War. It was ...

. In 1994 Nanić was awarded the

Order of the Golden Lily The Order of the Golden Lily (), or simply the Golden Lily (), was a military decoration of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian War. It was given to soldiers and officers who displayed exceptional courage, bravery ...

and in 1998 posthumously the

Order of the Hero of the Liberation War The Order of the Hero of the Liberation War () was the highest military decoration of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian War. Nine members of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina were awarded the ...

, the latter being the highest honorary title that was awarded by the

. In

's Hrasnica neighborhood, within the

Ilidža Ilidža ( sr-cyrl, Илиџа, ) is a spa town and a municipality located in Sarajevo Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has a total population of 66,730 with 63,528 in Ilidža itself, and i ...

municipality, lies "General Izet Nanić" Street (), situated just below Mount

Igman Igman ( sr-cyrl, Игман, ) is a mountain plateau in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. Geologically, Igman is part of the Dinaric Alps and formed largely of secondary and tertiary sedimentary rock, mostly Limestone. It is located southwest of S ...

, a nod to his codename "Igman." Similar streets bearing his name are found in his hometown of

, near the mausoleum shared with his brother, in

Cazin Cazin ( sr-cyrl, Цазин) is a city located in Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in northwest Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Bosanska Krajina region, near the border ...

, and

. Additionally, a street in Ključ (), lacks the prefix "general."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nanic, Izet 1965 births 1995 deaths People from Bužim Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Muslims Bosnia and Herzegovina military personnel killed in action Military personnel killed in the Bosnian War Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina soldiers Officers of the Yugoslav People's Army Recipients of the Order of the Hero of the Liberation War Recipients of the Order of the Golden Lily