Stjepan Kljuić (born 19 December 1939) is a Bosnian Croat former politician who served as the Croat member of the Presidency of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1990 to 1996, most of it during the

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 was the first president of the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1997. Kljuić founded and served, from 1990 to 1992, as the first president of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ BiH). He left the HDZ BiH in 1994, having been strongly opposed to the party's stance on the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Career

Kljuić was the Croat member of the Presidency of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a founding member of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ BiH) party in 1990. He served as the president of the HDZ BiH and protested that Croats should support the elected government of Alija Izetbegović. The central HDZ leadership 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 ...

pressured the local leadership in Herzeg-Bosnia to depose him of his leadership position. He was replaced with Milenko Brkić. Upon founding the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992, Kljuić was elected its first president. He left the HDZ BiH in 1994, angered with the party turning on their

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 ...

allies during the

, a decision which would escalate into a separate war between them. Kljuić then founded his own party, the Republican Party, a multi-ethnic, pro-Bosnian party. He stood as the party's candidate for the Croat member of the

Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

in the 2002 general election, but failed to be elected. Later, Kljuić took part in the ICTY proceedings.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kljuic, Stjepan 1939 births Living people Politicians from Sarajevo Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina politicians Members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Politicians of the Bosnian War