Bakir Izetbegović


Bakir Izetbegović is a Bosnian politician who is the current President of the Party of Democratic Action and member of the House of Peoples since 25 February 2019.
From 2010 until 2018, he served as the 7th Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Izetbegović is the son of the first and only president of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Alija Izetbegović. He has been married to Sebija Građević since 1983 and together they have a daughter Jasmina.

Early life and education

Izetbegović was born in Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia on 28 June 1956. He is the son of the first President of independent Bosnia and Herzegovina, Alija Izetbegović and Halida Repovac.
He attended primary school and high school in Sarajevo and graduated from the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Sarajevo in 1981. From 1982 to 1992, Izetbegović worked as a consultant at an architectural consulting firm.
He made big contributions to many social activities – he was a member of the Management Board of FK Sarajevo, a member of the Management Board of KK Bosna Royal and of the Management Board Member of the Muslim Humanitarian Society "Merhamet" and member of the Council of the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Early political career

Izetbegović's father groomed him as his personal assistant to be the future Bosniak leader.
From 1991 to 2003, he served as director of the Construction Institute of the Sarajevo Canton. He entered politics in 2000 and after serving in two regional assemblies, was elected to the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2006.
He became the Deputy Head of his father's Party of Democratic Action Caucus in the Assembly of the Sarajevo Canton in 2000, a position he continued to progressively undertake at higher levels – at the House of Representatives of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2002 to 2006, and at the House of Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2006 to 2010. He also became the Chairperson of the Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Izetbegović has been a member of the SDA Presidency since 2002 and a member of the party since its foundation in 1990. In May 2015, he was elected as president of the Party of Democratic Action, succeeding Sulejman Tihić.

Presidency

First term (2010–2014)

In the 2010 election, Izetbegović was elected to the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina as the Bosniak member. He came in first in a field of nine candidates with 35% of the vote. The runner up, Fahrudin Radončić, won 31% of the vote while incumbent Haris Silajdžić won 25%. The remaining 9% of the votes were split among other candidates.

Second term (2014–2018)

At the 2014 election, Izetbegović ran for a second term in the Presidency, winning 247,235 votes, 32.8% of the total and being elected for a second time. He was followed by Fahrudin Radončić 26.7% and Emir Suljagić 15.1%. Seven other candidates split the remaining 25% of the votes cast.
in October 2014.
In July 2014, Izetbegović stated that Gaza "was for many years a target of Israeli attacks" and warned that the world was "becoming used to violence perpetrated by Israel".
In early 2017, he met Egyptian members of the Muslim Brotherhood in the building of the Presidency.
In November 2017, he threatened with war if Republika Srpska opted for independence, and at the same time controversially said that Bosnia and Herzegovina should recognize the independence of Kosovo. On 22 November 2017, a discussion was held on the matter on the TV show Globalno of RTV BN.
, Hassan Rouhani in October 2016.

End of Presidency

On 7 October 2018, Šefik Džaferović, a member and vice-president of Izetbegović's SDA, won the 2018 election for the Bosniak membership of the Presidency and succeeded Izetbegović as the 8th Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. During his Presidency, Izetbegović held the chairmanship of the Presidency four times all together during the period of 2010–2018.

Post-Presidency

Shortly after having to leave the Presidency, on 25 February 2019, Izetbegović became a member of the House of Peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the two chambers of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Three days later, on 28 February, he became the new chairman of the House of Peoples.

Personal life

Izetbegović has been married to Sebija Građević since 1983, and together they have a daughter named Jasmina. They live in Sarajevo. His wife is the Managing Director of "KCUS" - Klinički Centar Univerziteta Sarajevo.