Haris Silajdžić

Haris Silajdžić (Serbo-Croatian pronunciation: [xaris silajdʒitɕ]) (Cyrillic: Харис Силајџић; born 1 October 1945) is a Bosnian politician and academic who served as the 6th Bosniak Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 6 November 2006 until 10 November 2010[1] and as the 3rd Prime Minister of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 25 October 1993 to 30 January 1996.

Haris Silajdžić
Silajdžić in August 2007
18th and 21st Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
In office 6 March 2010 – 10 November 2010
Prime Minister	Nikola Špirić
Preceded by	Željko Komšić
Succeeded by	Nebojša Radmanović
In office 7 March 2008 – 6 November 2008
Prime Minister	Nikola Špirić
Preceded by	Željko Komšić
Succeeded by	Nebojša Radmanović
6th Bosniak Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
In office 6 November 2006 – 10 November 2010
Preceded by	Sulejman Tihić
Succeeded by	Bakir Izetbegović
1st Co-chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina
In office 3 January 1997 – 6 June 2000 Serving with Boro Bosić (1997–99) Svetozar Mihajlović (1999–2000)
President	Alija Izetbegović Živko Radišić Ante Jelavić
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Office abolished
1st Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
In office 31 May 1994 – 31 January 1996
President	Krešimir Zubak
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Izudin Kapetanović
3rd Prime Minister of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
In office 25 October 1993 – 30 January 1996
President	Alija Izetbegović
Preceded by	Mile Akmadžić
Succeeded by	Hasan Muratović
1st Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 20 December 1990 – 30 October 1993
Prime Minister	Jure Pelivan Mile Akmadžić
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Irfan Ljubijankić
Personal details
Born	(1945-10-01) 1 October 1945 Breza, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality	Bosnian
Political party	Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (1996–present)
Other political affiliations	Party of Democratic Action (1990–1996)
Spouse(s)	Selma Muhedinović ( m. 2016)
Children	1
Residence	Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Apart from those two positions, Silajdžić was also the Co-chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 1st Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the 1st Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Career

Early political career; Foreign and Prime Minister

Silajdžić (second from left) alongside Bill Clinton, Alija Izetbegović, Franjo Tuđman and Krešimir Zubak at the signing of the Washington Agreement on 18 March 1994 in Vienna, Austria.

From 1990 to 1993, during the Bosnian War, Silajdžić served as the first Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and as the Prime Minister from October 1993 to January 1996. Originally, he was a member and vice-president of the Party of Democratic Action, but broke away from the party in 1996 by funding his own Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (SBiH).[2] His SBiH entered the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina and become one of the leading Bosnian Muslim parties the following year.[3] Also from 31 May 1994 to 31 January 1996, Silajdžić served as the first Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During the war, he was a strong ally and type of a consultant of Alija Izetbegović, the first and only President of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

After the end of the war, on 3 January 1997, he was appointed to the position of Co-chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving alongside Boro Bosić and Svetozar Mihajlović until 6 June 2000.

Presidency (2006–2010)

Silajdžić and former Prime Minister of Croatia Ivo Sanader discuss Croatian-Bosnian relations, cooperation in energy, and the continuation of Euro-Atlantic integration processes on 27 May 2010 in Zagreb, Croatia.

Silajdžić had a strong political comeback in the 2006 elections, by getting 62.8% of the votes and getting elected as the 6th Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[4]

In 2007, the International Court of Justice in the Hague acquitted Serbia of the charges of complicity in genocide brought against the "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" by the Bosnian government.[5] Silajdžić expressed disappointment at the court's ruling, but welcomed the fact that the court "ruled that Serbia and Montenegro had violated the Genocide Convention by not preventing or punishing the perpetrators of the genocide."[6]

Silajdžić was a member of the Bosnian delegation which negotiated the US-brokered Dayton Agreement. He continued stressing that the document was essential in ending the genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but later saw it as an obstacle in reunifying the country. Making strong steps and claims in 2006 and 2007 towards canceling certain parts of the Dayton Agreement, Silajdžić directly opposed the constitution of the country, thus being a very controversial political figure, famous on the Bosniak and infamous on the Serbian side. His main goals were abolishing the existence of the Republika Srpska, breaking certain relations with Serbia and reforming the country towards unity.

During his four-year term as Presidency member, Silajdžić was backed by authorities and organizations throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina that voiced dissatisfaction with the Dayton Agreement provisions and opposed the autonomy of the Republika Srpska entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina.[7][8]

Silajdžić meeting with President of the International Organization for Peace, Care and Relief, Khaled K. El-Hamedi on 21 October 2010.

2010 elections

In the 2010 elections, Silajdžić decided to run for a second term in the Presidency, but failed to do so when election day came, getting only 25.10% of the votes, 5% less than Fahrudin Radončić and 9% less than elected Bakir Izetbegović, the son of Alija Izetbegović.

Awards and honours

In 1995, Silajdžić was conferred the Croatian Order of Duke Trpimir.[9]

In 2005, he received a Doctorate in International Relations honoris causa by the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations.[10] In 2018, Silajdžić was conferred Sitara-e-Pakistan for his services to Pakistan by the 12th President of Pakistan, Mamnoon Hussain.[11][12]

Orders

• Order of Duke Trpimir: 1995[9]
• Sitara-e-Pakistan: 2018[12]

References

Notes

1. "Search - Global Edition". International Herald Tribune. 29 March 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
2. "CBC News Indepth: Balkans". Cbc.ca. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
3. Šedo 2013, p. 88.
4. "CIK: Silajdžić, Komšić i Radmanović članovi Predsjedništva BiH" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. 2 October 2006. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
5. Court clears Serbia of genocide, bbc.co.uk; accessed 11 March 2016.
6. "Bosnia genocide ruling splits regional media". BBC News. 28 February 2007. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
7. Profile, rferl.org; accessed 11 March 2016.
8. Gienger, Viola (14 February 2009). "Bosnian Wartime Leader Calls for Revival of U.S. Role by Obama". Bloomberg. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
9. 46 07.07.1995 Odluka kojom se odlikuju Redom kneza Trpimira s ogrlicom i Danicom
10. "Honorary Degree Recipients". Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations.
11. "President Mamnoon confers civil awards on Yaum-i-Pakistan". Dawn.
12. "Haris Silajdžić odlikovan jednim od najvažnijih priznanja Pakistana". Radio Sarajevo (in Bosnian). Retrieved 19 November 2018.

Books

• Šedo, Jakub (2013). "The party system of Bosnia and Herzegovina". In Stojarová, Vera; Emerson, Peter (eds.). Party Politics in the Western Balkans. New York: Routledge. ISBN 9781135235857.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Interview from the BBC's Hardtalk current affairs program
• An interview with Haris Silajdžić
• Haris Silajdžić interview with Tim Sebastian
• Bosnia's new leadership takes shape

Political offices
Preceded by Mile Akmadžić	Prime Minister of the Republic Bosnia and Herzegovina 1993–1996	Succeeded by Hasan Muratović
Preceded by Office established	Co-Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina 1997–2000 Served alongside: Boro Bosić: 1997–1999 Svetozar Mihajlović: 1999–2000	Succeeded by Office abolished
Preceded by Sulejman Tihić	Bosniak Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2006–2010	Succeeded by Bakir Izetbegović
Preceded by Željko Komšić	Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2008	Succeeded by Nebojša Radmanović
	Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2010