Rafet Husović (

Bosnian Cyrillic Bosnian Cyrillic, widely known as Bosančica, is a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet that originated in medieval Bosnia. The term was coined at the end of the 19th century by Ćiro Truhelka. It was widely used in modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovin ...

: Рафет Хусовић; 2 April 19649 March 2021) was a Montenegrin Bosnian politician, who served as the

Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro The Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro, officially Vice President of the Government of Montenegro (Montenegrin language, Montenegrin: ''Potpredsjednik Vlade Crne Gore''), is the official Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy of the Prime Minister of Mont ...

. He was the founder and long-term president of the centre-right

Bosniak Party The Bosniak Party (Montenegrin language, Montenegrin/, cnr-Cyrl, Бошњачка странка, abbr. BS) is a conservative and National conservatism, national conservative list of political parties in Montenegro, political party of the Bosniak ...

, an ethnic minority party for promotion of interests of

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 ...

Biography

Early life and education

Rafet Husović was born in

Rožaje Rožaje ( Bosnian: ''Rožaje''; , ; , ) is a town located in the Northern Region of Montenegro, situated along the Ibar river. The town is the cultural center of the Bosniaks in Montenegro. As of 2023, the town has a population of 13,608 inhabi ...

to a family of Bosniak origin, a town in northeastern Montenegro, at that time part of the

SR Montenegro The Socialist Republic of Montenegro ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Crna Gora, Социјалистичка Република Црна Гора), commonly referred to as Socialist Montenegro or simply Montenegro, was ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

. Having finished elementary and secondary school in his hometown, he graduated at the

Faculty of Natural Sciences A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

Pristina Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and District of Pristina, district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdo ...

SAP Kosovo The Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Socijalistička Autonomna Pokrajina Kosovo, Социјалистичка Аутономна Покрајина Косово, separator=" / "; ; . Also abbreviated as SAP Kosovo. referre ...

, after which he worked for years as a math teacher in his hometown of Rožaje.

Political career

After the introduction of the multi-party system in Montenegro in 1990, he joined the branch of the right-wing

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 ...

Republic of Montenegro A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a state in which political power rests with the public (people), typically through their representatives—in contrast to a monarchy. Although a ...

(SDA CG), where he was part of party's moderate wing and a member of the main board from 1992 to 1997 and the party's dissolution due police repression. Between 1997 and 2002, he was a member of the Main Board of the

International Democratic Union The International Democracy Union (IDU; known as the International Democrat Union until September 2023) is an international alliance of centre-right to right-wing political parties. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, the IDU consists of 84 fu ...

(IDU). From 2002 to 2006 he was a member of the Bosniak National Council of the

State Union of Serbia and Montenegro The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

(BNV SCG). He was one of the founders and head of parliamentary group in

local parliament of the Bosniak-Muslim Alliance, which in February 2006 merged with other Bosniak and Muslim parties in Montenegro to form the

(BS), of which Husović was president from its founding, holding leadership post until February 2021, when he retired from politics due to health problems. He was a

Minister Without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

in the 6th cabinet of

Milo Đukanović Milo Đukanović (, ; born 15 February 1962) is a Montenegrin politician who served as the President of Montenegro from 2018 to 2023, previously serving in the role from 1998 to 2002. He also served as the Prime Minister of Montenegro (1991–19 ...

(2009–2010) and the cabinet of

Igor Lukšić Igor Lukšić (, ; born 14 June 1976) is a The Montenegrins, Montenegrin politician who served as the 4th Prime Minister of Montenegro from 2010 to 2012, following the resignation of Milo Đukanović. He was succeeded by Đukanović on 4 Decemb ...

(2010–2012). In December 2012, Husović was appointed

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

in the 7th cabinet of Đukanović (2012–2016). Following the 2016 parliamentary election in Montenegro, the opposition right-wing populist

Democratic Front Democratic Front is a name used by political parties and alliances in several countries, such as: *Democratic Front (Albania) *Democratic Front for the Liberation of Angola *Democratic Front (Bosnia and Herzegovina) * Democratic Front (Cyprus) * Dem ...

(DF) which did not recognized the results of the election, made a public offer to Husović, such that if he and his party joined the Democratic Front, he would push for Husović to be selected as the new provisional

Prime Minister of Montenegro The prime minister of Montenegro ( cnr-Latn, Premijer/Premijerka Crne Gore, cnr-Cyrl, Премијер/Премијерка Црне Горе), officially the president of the Government of Montenegro ( cnr-Latn, Predśednik/Predśednica Vlade ...

. Husović's Bosniak Party voted on whether to join the DF or to remain in a coalition with the

Democratic Party of Socialists Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

(DPS), and the party ended up voting to stay as a partner to DPS, ultimately rejecting opposition bid. After election, Husović kept the Deputy Prime Minister for Regional Development position in another DPS-led cabinet, with new PM,

Duško Marković Duško Marković (; born 6 July 1959) is a Montenegrin politician who served as the prime minister from 2016 to 2020. Formerly a high-ranking member of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), he is now the president of the Party of European ...

(2016–2020).

Illness and death

Rafet Husović died on 9 March 2021, at the age of 56, after a short, but severe illness. The Mayor of

, Rahman Husović, declared three days of mourning in that municipality following Rafet Husović's death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Husovic, Rafet Husovic, Rafet 1964 births 2021 deaths Deputy prime ministers of Montenegro Government ministers of Montenegro Bosniak Party politicians Bosniaks of Montenegro University of Pristina alumni People from Rožaje