Aliya Izetbegovic, President of Bosnia and Herzegovina: biography

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

Aliya Izetbegovic refers to those historical figures who stood at the beginning of the founding of the state. Although he entered world history thanks to this fact, but at the same time his role in regional events is rather ambiguous. The state of Bosnia and Herzegovina owes its existence not least to Izetbegovic, but we would like to know other aspects of this man's life. So, let's take a closer look at the biography of Aliya Izetbegovic.

The origin of the Izetbegovic family

Aliya Izetbegovic's grandfather was a Muslim aristocrat of Slavic origin, Izet-beg Yakhich, who lived in Belgrade and served the Ottoman Empire. It was from him that the surname of the future president of Bosnia and Herzegovina came. But after the Ottoman Empire was forced to recognize the independence of Serbia and withdraw its troops from it in 1868, Izet-beg had to move to Bosnia with his wife, a Turkish woman, Sydyka Khanym. Here in the city of Basanski-Shamats they had five children, including Mustafa, the father of Aliya Izetbegovic.

In 1878, Bosnia and Herzegovina passed as a condominium to the de facto subordination of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but Izet-beg along with his familyDecided not to move again. In 1908 Austria-Hungary finally annexed the region. Meanwhile, Izet-beg began to enjoy great prestige among the locals, who, like him, were mostly Slavic Muslims. This is evidenced by the fact that Izet-beg was elected mayor in Basanski-Shamats.

Quite turbulent times soon began. Serbian patriot Gavrilo Princip committed a terrorist attack in 1914, killing Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand in the main city of Bosnia, Sarajevo, which then belonged to the Austro-Hungarian crown. This fact provoked the First World War. Izet Beg contributed to the rescue of forty Serbs who were being persecuted by Austrian troops in connection with this case.

The son of Izet Beg and the father of the future President of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mustafa was educated as an accountant. In the First World War, as a citizen of Austria-Hungary, he fought in the army of this state. On the Italian front, Mustafa was seriously wounded, provoking a state close to paralysis, in which he remained for about 10 years.

Nevertheless, Mustafa married a girl named Hiba, with whom they had two sons and two daughters before the birth of Alia.

Birth and first years of life of Aliya Izetbegovic

Aliya Izetbegovic was born in August 1925 in the Bosnian town of Basanski Šamats. After his birth, the affairs of a large family did not go very well. His father Mustafa was engaged in trade at that time, but two years after Aliya was born, he was forced todeclare bankruptcy. And the next year, the family moved to the region's largest city, Sarajevo.

Political situation in the country

At that time, the territory of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, formed after the end of the First World War in 1918 due to the merger of the Kingdom of Serbia with the Balkan part of the disintegrated Austro-Hungarian Empire, which included Bosnia. The unification took place under the scepter of the Serbian monarch Alexander Karageorgievich, who, however, was severely curtailed in his rights.

Starting from 1921, the king assumed more and more powers, until four years after the birth of Aliya Izetbegovic (1929), he carried out a coup d'état. As a result of this coup, Alexander Karageorgievich received dictatorial rights, and the state adopted a new name - the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Then he banned the activities of all political parties and organizations.

Fearing centrifugal tendencies, the king increasingly curtailed the rights and freedoms of his subjects. The state was divided into districts - banovinas, which territorially did not correspond to the historically developed regions, divided them into parts. The goal of Alexander Karageorgievich was to unite the entire multinational and multi-religious population of the country into a single ethnic group - the Yugoslavs. In achieving this, the monarch did not disdain even repressive methods, which, naturally, caused rejection among the general population. This eventually led to the assassination of the king by Croatian nationalists in 1934.year. The new government has set a course for rapprochement with the fascist bloc (Germany and Italy).

Youth

It was in such a tense situation that the future President of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina began his political activities. By that time, party activity was already allowed. At the age of fifteen, Aliya Izetbegovich joined the organization of the religious and political nature "Young Muslims". The following year, the troops of Nazi Germany attacked Yugoslavia. The country was actually occupied, and a liberation partisan movement broke out in it, led by the communist Tito and the monarchist Mikhailovich. Bosnia became part of the newly formed state of Croatia, which was a satellite of Germany.

Despite this, in 1943 Aliya Izetbegovich graduated from high school. After that, he entered the technical school of agriculture. His activities in the Islamic division of the SS "Khazhar" date back to this time. But soon the Nazi troops were expelled from the territory of Yugoslavia, and the communists led by Josif Broz Tito came to power in the country with the support of the Soviet Union.

Dissident Period

After graduating from college, Izetbegovic was drafted into the army. There, a young Muslim activist began a wide-ranging religious propaganda. For this, and for participating in the Young Muslims banned by the communist regime in 1946, he was sentenced to three years in prison.

In 1949, Izetbegovic was released. In 1956 heHe graduated from the University of Sarajevo with a degree in law. In the same year, his son Bakir Izetbegovich was born.

After graduating from high school, Izetbegovic worked as a legal adviser for several transport companies. At the same time, he did not forget about political activity, actively participating in the functioning of semi-legal Muslim organizations.

Books

In 1970, he issued the Islamic Declaration. It was thanks to this book that the whole world knew who Aliya Izetbegovich was. The "Islamic Declaration" called for the establishment of a Muslim society in the Balkans, which was very bold in the realities of the communist regime. Even many modern researchers consider this work permeated with Muslim fundamentalism.

In 1983, Izetbegovic was sentenced to 14 years in prison for attempting to re-establish the Young Muslims organization. Even while in prison, he managed to write and release his second landmark book, Islam Between East and West.

Prison bars could not hold back the flight of thought of such a person as Aliya Izetbegovic. The books of this politician were popular among the Muslim population of multinational Yugoslavia.

Time for change

At the same time, by the end of the 80s of the XX century, significant changes were outlined in the political life of Yugoslavia, like all countries of the socialist camp. Society began to democratize. In 1989, Izetbegovic was released early.

Although inthe country was still under the communist regime, but by that time a multi-party system had already been allowed. This allowed Izetbegovic the very next year after his release to freedom to organize a new political force, which acquired the name "Democratic Action Party". Nominating from this organization, he became a deputy, and then chairman of the presidium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which at that time was part of Yugoslavia. In fact, Izetbegovic became the head of this Yugoslav republic.

War

In the early 90s, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), like other republics of the disintegrating Yugoslavia, became the scene of a bloody war. In 1991, this republic, headed by Izetbegovic, who accepted the presidency, declared its independence. This went against the interests of Croatia and Serbia, which planned to divide BiH between themselves.

The war has gained terrifying proportions. In its course, Izetbegovic was even arrested, and in fact taken prisoner by Yugoslav troops, but then was released in exchange for their free retreat from Sarajevo.

In 1995, the Bosnian Muslims, united with the Croatian troops, inflicted a major defeat on the Serbs.

In the same year, with the active mediation of the United States between the leaders of Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia, the Dayton Agreement was signed, which effectively ended the Bosnian war.

New Bosnia and Herzegovina

It was the Dayton Accords that laid the foundation for the political system of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina. This Statebecame a de facto confederation consisting of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republika Srpska and the Brčko District.

Since 1996, Bosnia and Herzegovina has become a parliamentary republic, and the office of president has been abolished. In the renewed state, Aliya Izetbegovic received the post of a member of the Presidium, holding it until 2000.

Death

Aliya Izetbegovic died in October 2003 in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the age of 78. Death was caused by severe heart disease. He was buried in Sarajevo at the Kovaci cemetery.

In 2006, the tomb of the first president of Bosnia and Herzegovina was blown up by vandals.

Family

Aliya Izetbegovic was married to a woman named Khalida. Like any devout Muslim woman, she kept in the shadow of her husband, not leading a public life.

In 1956, in Sarajevo, their only child was born in marriage - the son of Bakir. Since 2010, Bakir Izetbegovic is, like his father before, a member of the Presidium from the Muslims of Bosnia. He has a daughter, Yasmina, who is the granddaughter of Aliya Izetbegovic.

Overall performance evaluation

As you can see, Aliya Izetbegovic was a rather controversial political figure, but, of course, he made a significant contribution not only to the history of the region, but also to world history as a whole. On the one hand, during the Second World War he collaborated with fascist organizations, and also gained fame as an Islamic propagandist, whose activities bordered on fundamentalism. Also, to a large extent, his position, however, like many otherspoliticians of the time, helped fuel the bloody Bosnian War.

On the other hand, it was largely thanks to his efforts that a young independent state, Bosnia and Herzegovina, was born. In addition, the ability to negotiate was the quality that contributed to the conclusion of the Dayton Accords and thus the end of the war.