Usame Zukorlić ( sr-cyrl, Усаме Зукорлић; born 1992) is a Serbian politician and economist serving as

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 ...

since 2024. He was previously a member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

from 2022 to 2024. An ethnic Bosniak, he has been the president of the

Justice and Reconciliation Party The Justice and Reconciliation Party (; ; abbr. SPP), formerly known as the Bosniak Democratic Union of Sandžak (; ; abbr. BDZS), is a political party in Serbia, representing the Bosniak ethnic minority concentrated in the Sandžak region of S ...

since 2021.

Early life

Zukorlić was born in

Constantine, Algeria Constantine (), also spelled Qacentina or Kasantina, is the capital of Constantine Province in northeastern Algeria. During Roman times it was called Cirta and was renamed "Constantina" in honour of Emperor Constantine the Great. Located somewh ...

in 1992. His father was

Muamer Zukorlić Muamer Zukorlić (; 15 February 1970 – 6 November 2021) was a Serbian politician and Islamic theology, Islamic theologian who served as the president and chief Mufti of the Islam in Serbia, Islamic Community in Serbia. An Bosniaks of Serbia, et ...

, a Bosniak mufti and politician, while his mother, Umeja Abu Taha, was a Palestinian who was born in Brazil. He attended primary and secondary school in

Novi Pazar Novi Pazar ( sr-cyr, Нови Пазар) is a List of cities in Serbia, city located in the Raška District of southwestern Serbia. As of the 2022 census, the urban area has 71,462 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 106,720 inha ...

, and later studied at the

International University An international university is funded by the governments of many countries and thereby is controlled by the officials from the government of different countries. These universities are often formed by the regional and international organizations. ...

, where he obtained his master's degree in economics, and Faculty of Islamic Studies.

Career

Zukorlić has been the member of the

, previously known as Bosniak Democratic Union of Sandžak, since the early 2010s. He previously served as the head of the youth wing of the party. Following the death of his father in November 2021,

, he was appointed as head of the party. Shortly before he got elected as president of the Justice and Reconciliation Party, the

elected him as deputy president of the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK). Zukorlić was chosen as the ballot representative of his party for the 2022 general election. He had expressed his support to continue the cooperation between SPP and the

Serbian Progressive Party The Serbian Progressive Party (, SNS) is a major populist, catch-all party, catch-all List of political parties in Serbia, political party in Serbia. It has been the Ruling party, ruling party since 2012. Miloš Vučević, the former prime mi ...

, while during the electoral campaign, his party campaigned on

education reform Education reform is the goal of changing public education. The meaning and educational methods have changed through debates over what content or experiences result in an educated individual or an educated society. Historically, the motivations for ...

s and anti-discrimination politics. Following the election, he was elected as MP in the National Assembly. Zukorlić was elected vice-president of the National Assembly on 2 August.

Personal life

Zukorlić was married in 2012 and the couple has four children. Besides his native Bosnian, he speaks English and

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

. He had also worked as a teacher at the Gazi Isa-beg

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

and was the deputy president of the Sandžak Television. He is the head of BioSan, IT San company, and Developmental Educational Society, which helped to establish the "Gazi Sinan-beg" youth center in Novi Pazar in 2017. In 2015, it was alleged that Zukorlić conspired attacks against

Đorđe Balašević Đorđe Balašević ( sr-Cyrl, Ђорђе Балашевић; 11 May 1953 – 19 February 2021) was a Serbian singer and songwriter, writer, poet and director. He began his career in the late 1970s as a member of the band Rani Mraz, transitionin ...

. Zukorlić was later involved in an incident in 2018, after which he filed a complaint against two newspapers that allegedly published false claims about the incident.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zukorlic, Usame 1992 births Bosniaks of Serbia Justice and Reconciliation Party politicians Living people Members of the National Assembly (Serbia) Serbian businesspeople Serbian economists Serbian educators Serbian Muslims Serbian people of Bosniak descent People of Arab descent