Raif Dizdarević | |
Office: | 10th President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia |
Primeminister: | Branko Mikulić Ante Marković |
Term Start: | 15 May 1988 |
Term End: | 15 May 1989 |
Predecessor: | Lazar Mojsov |
Successor: | Janez Drnovšek |
Office2: | 4th Member of the Presidency of Yugoslavia for SR Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Term Start2: | 31 December 1987 |
Term End2: | 15 May 1989 |
Predecessor2: | Mato Andrić (Acting member) Hamdija Pozderac (Member) |
Successor2: | Bogić Bogićević |
Office3: | Minister of Foreign Affairs |
Term Start3: | 15 May 1984 |
Term End3: | 30 December 1987 |
Primeminister3: | Milka Planinc Branko Mikulić |
Predecessor3: | Lazar Mojsov |
Successor3: | Budimir Lončar |
Office4: | 2nd President of the Presidency of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Term Start4: | April 1978 |
Term End4: | April 1982 |
Primeminister4: | Milanko Renovica |
Predecessor4: | Ratomir Dugonjić |
Successor4: | Branko Mikulić |
Birth Date: | 9 December 1926 |
Birth Place: | Fojnica, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes |
Raif Dizdarević (born 9 December 1926) is a Bosnian politician who served as Yugoslavia's first Bosniak president of the Presidency from 1988 to 1989. He participated in the armed resistance as a Yugoslav Partisan during World War II. Dizdarević also served as President of the Presidency of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina and as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Dizdarević was born into a Bosniak Muslim family in 1926,[1] but became and remained an atheist after entering school.[2]
After the war, as a member of the Communist Party, Dizdarević was elevated into high political functions. From 1945, he was a member of the State Security Administration. As a diplomat, he served in embassies in Bulgaria (1951–1954), the Soviet Union (1956–1959), and Czechoslovakia (1963–1967).[3]
Dizdarević was an assistant Federal Secretary of Foreign Affairs, with Miloš Minić being the Minister. From April 1978 until April 1982, he was the President of the Presidency of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, after which he served as President of the Federal Assembly of Yugoslavia.[3]
From 15 May 1984 until 30 December 1987, Dizdarević was the Minister of Foreign Affairs.[3] On 15 May 1988, he became President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia, following the resignation of Hamdija Pozderac. During Dizdarević's time as head of state, Yugoslavia had a foreign debt of over US$21 billion and an annual inflation rate of 217 percent.[4] In March 1989, Dizdarević had to cancel a foreign trip to Brazil, Uruguay and Senegal amid unrest in the Albanian-majority province of Kosovo.[5]
Dizdarević, who tried to keep the Yugoslav federation together, lost his political influence with the start of the Yugoslav Wars. Later he lived in Sarajevo and published his memoirs. He published a memoir book Od smrti Tita do smrti Jugoslavije ("From the death of Tito to the death of Yugoslavia",) and a book of memories on events and personalities Vrijeme koje se pamti' ("Times to be remembered",).
His son Predrag lives in the United States, while his daughter Jasminka lives in Belgrade, Serbia.[6] His nephew was journalist, diplomat, and activist Srđan Dizdarević, who died in 2016.