Hamdija Pozderac was a
BosniakThe Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia...
communistLeague of Communists of Yugoslavia , before 1952 the Communist Party of Yugoslavia League of Communists of Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croatian: Savez komunista Jugoslavije/Савез комуниста Југославије, Slovene: Zveza komunistov Jugoslavije, Macedonian: Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na...
politician and the president of
Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
from 1971- 74. He was a vice president of the former
YugoslaviaYugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
in late 1980s, and was in line to become the president of Yugoslavia just before he was forced to resign from politics in 1987.
Pozderac was considered one of the most influential and powerful politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the communist era. His removal from the political scene in late 1980s is today considered one of the most controversial events that preceded the
Bosnian WarThe Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
. He was removed due to the Agrokomerc Affair of 1987, which the Yugoslav press compared to the American
Watergate scandalThe Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
.
Biography
Hamdija Pozderac was born in
CazinCazin is a town and municipality in northwest Bosnia and Herzegovina, near the border with Croatia. It is located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Cazinska Krajina is named after Cazin...
in
Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
to an established family which exerted strong influence in the western-most part of the Bosnian region of
Bosanska KrajinaBosanska Krajina or Bosnian Frontier is a geographical region, a subregion of Bosnia, in western Bosnia and Herzegovina enclosed by three rivers - Sava, Una and Vrbas. It is also a historic, economic and cultural entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina....
known for its strong resistance to the Fascist regime during WWII. During the Second World War Pozderac joined the (then illegal) Alliance of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia (SKOJ) and the anti-fascist
PartisanThe Yugoslav Partisans, or simply the Partisans were a Communist-led World War II anti-fascist resistance movement in Yugoslavia...
movement. He held various military and public posts in Bosanska Krajina region during the war and was ordained with several military and public honors. Following the advent of Communist rule, the Pozderac family affirmed its strong position in the Yugoslav politics with Nurija Pozderac and Hamdija's brother, Hakija, both of whom held high positions in the Yugoslav government during and after WWII. Hamdija Pozderac was a close ally of
Josip Broz TitoMarshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
, President of Yugoslavia for almost 40 years.
Education
Hamdija Pozderac was highly educated, holding a philosophy degree from the
University of BelgradeThe University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...
. He studied in
MoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, published several sociological studies, and was a professor of political science at the
University of SarajevoThe University of Sarajevo is the first university in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was originally established in 1531 as a Madrasah or Islamic Law college, with a modern university being established and expanded on top of that in 1949. Today, with 23 faculties and around 55,000 enrolled students, it...
.
Political activity
His politics centered on his involvement in the Communist Party of Yugoslavia that he ideologically followed. He held various high positions in the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Yugoslavia in 70s and 80s and exerted considerable influence on the politics of the communist party. He was president of the Federal Constitutional Commission of Yugoslavia which he held for nearly 20 years. His political ascendance began with economic revitalization of
Bosanska KrajinaBosanska Krajina or Bosnian Frontier is a geographical region, a subregion of Bosnia, in western Bosnia and Herzegovina enclosed by three rivers - Sava, Una and Vrbas. It is also a historic, economic and cultural entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina....
region, than impoverished region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Pozderac provided the political backing to
AgrokomercAgrokomerc was a food company headquartered in Velika Kladuša, Bosnia and Herzegovina with operations extending across the entire area of former Yugoslavia. The company became internationally known in the late 1980s due to a corruption scandal known as the Agrokomerc Affair...
at the time small local food manufacturer which would later become one of the largest food manufacturing corporations in former Yugoslavia. Agrokomerc proved to be the key to the economic prosperity of the region.
While his primary goal was economic reform of then impoverished Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he relatively successfully implemented, he also played an important role in confronting nationalists from Serbia through a series of controversial and risky political moves. The reason he is today considered one of the most important Bosnian politicians is his significant role in constitutional amendments in 1970s which recognized Bosnian Muslims as one of the constituent ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Yugoslavia. Although his political orientation was left of center, and while he continually confronted nationalist politics of ethnic groups in former Yugoslavia, he inevitably contributed to the establishment of the process that led to the emergence of the modern Bosniak nation.
A series of political attacks were reportedly staged against him by the Serbian lobby in BiH who tried to discredit and remove him from the political scene. One attempt was made by
Vojislav ŠešeljVojislav Šešelj, JD is a Serbian politician, writer and lawyer. He is the founder and president of the Serbian Radical Party and was vice-president of Serbia between 1998 and 2000...
in late 1970s, who has learned that one of the students of Pozderac at the
University of SarajevoThe University of Sarajevo is the first university in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was originally established in 1531 as a Madrasah or Islamic Law college, with a modern university being established and expanded on top of that in 1949. Today, with 23 faculties and around 55,000 enrolled students, it...
, plagiarized portions of his dissertation, but was not punished for by Pozderac. Because the student
Brano MiljušBranko "Brano" Miljuš is a Serbian politician and academic from Bosnia-Herzegovina.Former high ranking official of the Yugoslav Communist League' Bosnia-Herzegovina branch, he was most recently a member of Alliance of Independent Social Democrats .In early 1999, he became the Prime Minister elect...
, was a high-ranking individual within the Communist party, controversy ensued but Šešelj's efforts were unsuccessful.
Sarajevo process
Most controversial process however was the so-called "Sarajevo process" in 1983. The Sarajevo process centered on convicting
Alija IzetbegovicAlija Izetbegović was a Bosniak activist, lawyer, author, philosopher and politician, who, in 1990, became the first president of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He served in this role until 1996, when he became a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving until 2000...
for having written the
Islamic Declaration. Pozderac reaffirmed his political opposition to Serbian nationalism
and in particular to the politics of
Slobodan MiloševićSlobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
, who was allegedly seeking to revert the constitutional amendments of 1970s that awarded the Bosniaks the status of a constituent ethnicity. The "Sarajevo process" backfired as the Serbian lobby insisted that Bosnia was a "dark nation" where all those who oppose the government will be prosecuted and where Bosnian Muslim communists were prosecuting Muslim believers. Others interpreted the "Sarajevo process" as Pozderac's way of removing political amateurs who could end up disrupting the process of Bosnian independence.
Izetbegović would later supersede Pozderac becoming the president of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1990.
Agrokomerc Affair
Attacks on Pozderac culminated with the "Agrokomerc Affair" that began in 1987. In the 1980s
AgrokomercAgrokomerc was a food company headquartered in Velika Kladuša, Bosnia and Herzegovina with operations extending across the entire area of former Yugoslavia. The company became internationally known in the late 1980s due to a corruption scandal known as the Agrokomerc Affair...
, one of the leading food manufacturers, was engulfed in questionable banking deals where the corporation issued numerous high interest promissory notes without the proper financial equity. Such practices were reportedly common within the Yugoslavian system. The difference with Agrokomerc was that the director of the corporation,
Fikret AbdićFikret Abdić is a politician and businessman from Bosnia and Herzegovina, convicted of war crimes against Bosniaks in the region of Velika Kladuša....
, lost the sense of scale as the corporation issued in excess of $500 million in "worthless" promissory notes. The problem became more acute as the press reported on it as the biggest economic affair in former Yugoslavia triggering the 250% inflation rate in Yugoslavia. Pozderac, who contributed to initial growth of Agrokomerc, was indicted of being aware of financial dealings of the Agrokomerc. However such accusations were never proven. The political blow to Pozderac came from Abdić's statement that he was in possession of audio tapes with conversations that would prove Pozderac's involvement in the scandal. While tapes were never actually presented the political pressure on Pozderac culminated in late 1987 at which point he resigned from the politics.
Abdić would later join
Alija IzetbegovićAlija Izetbegović was a Bosniak activist, lawyer, author, philosopher and politician, who, in 1990, became the first president of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He served in this role until 1996, when he became a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving until 2000...
in 1990 to form the
Party of Democratic ActionThe Party of Democratic Action is a Bosniak national political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina.-History:The Party of Democratic Action was founded in May 1990 by Alija Izetbegović, representing the Bosnian Muslim population...
(Stranka Demokratske Akcije, SDA) and win the popular vote for the Bosnian-Herzegovinian presidency in 1990 democratic elections.
Legacy
Historical significance of Hamdija Pozderac for the
history of Bosnia and Herzegovina-Pre-Slavic Period :Bosnia has been inhabited at least since Neolithic times. In the late Bronze Age, the Neolithic population was replaced by more warlike Indo-European tribes known as the Illyrians. Celtic migrations in the 4th and 3rd century BCE displaced many Illyrian tribes from their former...
is today still debated among historians. He is criticized for his ideological following of the communist doctrines and for setting processes that did not honor certain liberties viewed in the western world as the core democratic principles such as the freedom of speech He was also criticized for being a cog of
nepotismNepotism is favoritism granted to relatives regardless of merit. The word nepotism is from the Latin word nepos, nepotis , from which modern Romanian nepot and Italian nipote, "nephew" or "grandchild" are also descended....
and although he did not subscribe to that tactic himself he certainly took advantage of it. As a result he was criticized for contributing to the continued presence of Pozderac family on the political scene in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
One however needs to view these issues from the context within which Pozderac operated. Being part of the communist system Pozderac saw political ascendance possible only within the system. If one adds to this the
patriarchOriginally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
ic nature of the
BalkansThe Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, his strong leadership was proven to be the only potent power that could make the difference in Bosnia and Herzegovina of the communist era. He was the follower of the conviction that political, legal, philosophical, religious, literary, artistic and other progress is based on the economic progress. He is credited for implementing processes that led the economic revitalization of Bosnia and Herzegovina that contributed to strengthening of the cultural independence and identity of Bosnia within Yugoslav federation.
Pozderac cannot be viewed as a movement leader but as a patient and principled politician who saw the opportunity for change by working within the system.
His legacy certainly can be credited with contributions to the constitutional recognition of
BosniaksThe Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia...
as a constituent people within Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with the already recognised Croats and Serbs, and his persistent position in protecting those rights. He has also continually worked on protection of the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina within the Yugoslav federation and while he did begin some processes for which he would be criticized, many consider that without his involvement in the Yugoslav politics at the time Bosnia may have not had the political nor other potency to pursue the independence in the 1990s.
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