Alija Izetbegović
Bosniak politician
Alija Izetbegović Rank
About Alija Izetbegović
Bosnian politician and author, Alija Izetbegovic was known as a founding member of the Party of Democratic Action. He was also popular for his engagement in activism for human rights and religious rights. He served as Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina between October, 1996 and October 1998 and from 14 February 2000 – 14 October 2000.
Family
He was the third child of his parents, Mustafa and Hiba Izetbegovic. He got married to Turkish Halida Repova in 1949 and they bore three children.
Career
Izetbegovic’s manifesto, “Islamic Declaration” was published in 1970. In the manifesto, he voiced his opinions about the relationship between Islam, the government and society and also called for “Islamic renewal”. The manifesto received a ban from the government and he together with his followers were suspected of re-awakening the “Young Muslims”.
His first arrest was in 1946 when he was only twenty-one years old. He was given a total of 8- year jail sentence for his affiliation with a group advocating for human rights and religious rights.
The activist was tried before a Sarajevo court with twelve other activists in April, 1983 for charges collectively named “offences as mainly aggressive activity stimulated by Bosnian nationalism, association for purposes of aggressive activity and hostile propaganda". All the activists were convicted and he was condemned again to fourteen years of imprisonment.
Following the inception of a multi-party system in Yugoslavia during the late 1980’s, Izetbegovic formed the party, Party of Democratic Action also known as Stranka Demokratske Akcije, SDA in 1989 with other Bosniak activists. The party was largely Muslim dominated and other major ethnic groups in Bosnia. The SDA won with 33% of the seats, which was the largest share of votes.
The constitution allowed Izetbegović to become president for only one year however, the procedure was initially put off due to "unexpected circumstances" and later suffered total abandonment during the war since the Serb and Croat nationalistic parties SDS and HDZ BiH neglected the government.
He assisted in the foundation of the Islamic organization Young Muslims in 1941.
Awards
He won the “Grand Order of Queen Jelena” by Franjo Tuđman in 1995 in Zagreb. He was also awarded the “Order of Independence” by Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Doha in 1998.
Death
The politician died after being diagnosed with heart disease on 19 October 2003.
Alija Izetbegović Rank
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F.A.Q. about Alija Izetbegović
When is his birthday?
Alija Izetbegović's birthday is on August 8, 1925.
In how many days is his birthday?
Alija's birthday is in 112 days
How old was Alija when he died?
He was 78 years old.
When did he die?
He died in October 19, 2003.
How old would he be today?
Alija Izetbegović would be 98 years old if he was alive today.
Where was Alija from?
He was born in Bosanski Šamac, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.