Alija Izetbegović

He was born on 8 August 1925 in the town of Bosanski Šamac, Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the age of two, he moved with his family to Sarajevo, where he would spend the rest of his life. He graduated from high school in 1944. During his youth, he showed interest in Islamic activities and the problems of Muslims. In 1946, on the grounds of being a member of the organisation Mladi Muslimani (the youth branch of the El Hidaje organisation), he was sentenced to three years in prison. After his release, he first enrolled in the Faculty of Agriculture. He then left this programme and transferred to the Faculty of Law. During this period, he devoted himself to intellectual work and in 1970 published The Islamic Declaration. Ten years later, he completed Islam Between East and West. In 1983, due to his ideas, he was once again sentenced to fourteen years in prison, of which he spent five years incarcerated. During the dissolution of Yugoslavia, he founded the political party Stranka demokratske akcije (SDA – Party of Democratic Action) and was elected as its president. Following the collapse of the communist regime, in the first elections held in June 1990, he was elected the President of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the war of independence against Serbian and Croatian forces, he assumed the role of Commander-in Chief. In 1995, he signed the Dayton Agreement, which ended the war. In the 1996 elections, he was elected to the tripartite Presidency. In 2000, citing health problems, he resigned from the presidency. Three years later, on 19 October 2003, he passed away in Sarajevo. He was buried at the Kovači cemetery, alongside the martyrs with whom he had fought for independence.

His books published in Bosnian include:
• Problemi islamskog preporoda – Islamska deklaracija (The Problems of the Islamic Revival – The Islamic Declaration)
• Islam između Istoka i Zapada (Islam Between East and West)
• Moj bijeg u slobodu – Bilješke iz zatvora 1983–1988 (My Escape to Fre edom – Prison Notes 1983–1988)
• Sjećanja – Autobiografski zapis (Memoirs – An Autobiographical Re cord)
• Bosna je velika tajna – Intervju 1989–1995 (Bosnia is a Great Secret – Interviews 1989–1995)
• Doba znanja i strpljenja – Intervju 1996–2003 (The Age of Knowledge and Patience – Interviews 1996–2003)
• Robovi biti nećemo – Govori 1990–1995 (We Shall Not Be Slaves – Speeches 1990–1995)
• Dani hladnog i gorkog mira – Govori 1996–2003 (Days of Cold and Bitter Peace – Post-War Speeches 1996–2003)
• Na razmeđu svjetova – Izjave, obraćanja, poruke, pisma 1990–2003 (At the Crossroads of Worlds – Statements, Addresses, Messages, Letters 1990–2003)
• Dostojanstvo ljudskog izbora (The Dignity of Human Choice)