Aliya Izetbegovic, President of Bosnia and Herzegovina: biography

Aliya Izetbegovic refers to those historical figures who stood at the beginning of the founding of the state. Although he entered the 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 is Izetbegovicu, not least due to its existence, but we want to know other aspects of this person's life. So, let's take a closer look at the biography of Aliya Izetbegovic.

Origin of the genus Izetbegovichi

Alia Izetbegovic's grandfather was a Muslim aristocrat of Slavic origin, Izet-run Yahich, who lived in Belgrade and served the Ottoman Empire. It was from him that the name of the future president of Bosnia and Herzegovina went. But after the Ottoman Empire was forced to recognize the independence of Serbia and in 1868 withdraw its troops from it, Izet-run had to move to Bosnia together with his wife, Turkish Sydyk Hanim. Here in the town of Basanski-Shamats they had five children, including Mustafa, the father of Aliya Izetbegovich.

In 1878, Bosnia and Herzegovina passed as a condominium to the virtual subordination of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but Izet-beg along with the family decided not to move out of these places anymore. In 1908, Austria-Hungary finally annexed the region. In the meantime, Izet-Beg became very popular among local residents, who, like him, were mostly Slavic Muslims. This is evidenced by the fact that Izet-beg was elected mayor in Basanski-Shamats.

Soon enough turbulent times began. The Serbian patriot Gavrilo Princip in 1914 committed a terrorist act, killing the Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand in the main city of Bosnia, Sarajevo, then belonging to the Austro-Hungarian Crown. This fact provoked the First World War. Izet-raging contributed to the rescue of forty Serbs, who were 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 was about 10 years.

Nevertheless, Mustafa married a girl named Hiba, who had two sons and two daughters with him before the birth of Aliya.

The birth and early life of Aliya Izetbegovic

Aliya Izetbegovic was born in August 1925 in the Bosnian town of Basanski-Shamats. After his birth, the affairs of a large family were not going well. His father Mustafa at that time was engaged in trade, but two years after Alia was born, he had to declare bankruptcy. And the next year the family moved to the largest city in the region - Sarajevo.

Political situation in the country

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

Beginning in 1921, the king assumed more and more powers until four years after the birth of Aliya Izetbegovic (1929) committed a coup d'état. As a result of this coup, Alexander Karaguerghievich received dictatorial rights, and the state adopted a new name - the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. At the same time, he banned the activities of all political parties and organizations.

Afraid of centrifugal tendencies, the king increasingly curtailed the rights and freedoms of his subjects. The state was divided into districts - banovins, which did not correspond territorially to historically formed regions, divided them into parts. The goal of Alexander Karagorievich was to rally all the multinational and multi-religious population of the country into a single ethnos - the Yugoslavs. In pursuit of this, the monarch did not disdain even with repressive methods, which, naturally, caused rejection among the general population. In the end, this led to the killing of the king by Croatian nationalists in 1934. The new government has taken a course toward 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 activities had already been resolved. Already at the age of fifteen, Aliya Izetbegovich joined the religious and political organization "Young Muslims". The following year the troops of Hitler's Germany attacked Yugoslavia. The country was actually occupied, and in it the liberation partisan movement, headed by communist Tito and monarchist Mikhailovich, flared up. Bosnia was 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 agricultural direction. By this time, his activities are in the Islamic division of SS "Khazhar". But soon Hitler's troops were expelled from the territory of Yugoslavia, and in the country with the support of the Soviet Union came to power the Communists, led by Joseph Broz Tito.

Dissident period

After graduation, Izetbegovic was drafted into the army. There, a young Muslim activist began extensive religious propaganda. For this, as well as for participation in the organization "Young Muslims" banned by the communist regime in 1946, he was sentenced to three years in prison.

In 1949, Izetbegović was released. In 1956, he graduated in law from the Sarayev University. In the same year, his son Baqir Izetbegovic was born.

After graduation Izetbegovic worked as a legal adviser in several transport companies. At the same time, he did not forget about political activity, actively taking part in the functioning of Muslim organizations of a semi-legal nature.

Books

In 1970 he issued the "Islamic Declaration". It was thanks to this book that the whole world learned 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 as penetrated by Muslim fundamentalism.

In 1983 Izetbegovic was sentenced to 14 years in prison for trying to recreate the organization "Young Muslims". Even while in prison, he managed to write and pass on his second sign book - "Islam between East and West".

The prison grilles could not hold the flight of thought of such a person as Aliya Izetbegovic. The books of this politician enjoyed popularity among the Muslim population of multinational Yugoslavia.

Time for a change

At the same time, by the end of the 1980s, significant changes were taking place in the political life of Yugoslavia, as well as in all countries of the socialist camp. The society has become democratized. In 1989, Izetbegović was released ahead of schedule.

Although the communist regime still operated in the country, a multi-party system was already allowed by that time . This allowed Izetbegovic the next year after the release of freedom to organize a new political force, which became known as the "Party of Democratic Action". Coming from this organization, he became a deputy, and then chairman of the presidency 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 1990s, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), like the other republics of the disintegrating Yugoslavia, became the scene of a bloody war. In 1991, this republic, headed by Izetbegovic, who assumed the post of president, proclaimed its independence. This was contrary to the interests of Croatia and Serbia, who planned to divide BiH among themselves.

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

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

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

New Bosnia and Herzegovina

It was the Dayton agreements that laid the foundation for the state structure of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina. This state became an actual confederation consisting of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republika Srpska and the Brcko District.

Since 1996, Bosnia and Herzegovina has become a parliamentary republic, and the post of president has been abolished. In the renovated state, Aliya Izetbegović received the post of a member of the Presidium, being on it until 2000.

Death

Aliya Izetbegović died in October 2003 in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the age of 78 years. Death was caused by a serious heart disease. He was buried in Sarajevo in the cemetery "Kovachi".

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

A family

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

In 1956, in Sarajevo, they married an only child - the son Bakir. Since 2010, Bakir Izetbegovic is, as before his father, a member of the Presidency from the Muslims of Bosnia. He has a daughter Yasmin, who is the granddaughter of Aliya Izetbegovic.

Overall performance evaluation

As you can see, Aliya Izetbegovic was a rather ambiguous political figure, but certainly 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, he worked with fascist organizations during the Second World War, and also gained fame as an Islamic propagandist, whose activities bordered on fundamentalism. Also, in no small measure, his position, however, like many other political figures of the time, contributed to the incitement of the bloody Bosnian war.

On the other hand, it was largely due to his efforts that a young independent state appeared - Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, the ability to negotiate was the quality that contributed to the conclusion of the Dayton Accords and thereby the cessation of the war.