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Hamdija Pozderac

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Not to be confused withHakija Pozderac.

Hamdija Pozderac
16thVice President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia
In office
15 May 1987 – 23 September 1987
PresidentLazar Mojsov
Preceded byLazar Mojsov
Succeeded byRaif Dizdarević
3rdMember of the Presidency of Yugoslavia for SR Bosnia and Herzegovina
In office
15 May 1986 – 23 September 1987
Preceded byBranko Mikulić
Succeeded byMato Andrić (Acting)
Raif Dizdarević
5thPresident of the League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovina
In office
20 May 1982 – 28 May 1984
Preceded byNikola Stojanović
Succeeded byMato Andrić
4thPresident of the People's Assembly of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina
In office
30 July 1971 – May 1974
Prime MinisterDragutin Kosovac
Preceded byDžemal Bijedić
Succeeded byRatomir Dugonjić(as President of the Presidency)
Personal details
Born(1924-01-15)15 January 1924
Cazin,Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes
Died7 April 1988(1988-04-07)(aged 64)
Sarajevo,SR Bosnia and Herzegovina,SFR Yugoslavia
Political partyLeague of Communists

Hamdija Pozderac(15 January 1924 – 6 April 1988) was a Yugoslavcommunistpolitician fromBosnia and Herzegovina.He served as the 4thPresident of the People's Assembly of SR Bosnia and Herzegovinafrom 1971 to 1974. Pozderac was also amember of the Presidency of Yugoslavia for SR Bosnia and Herzegovinafrom 1986 to 1987, and served asPresident of the League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovinafrom 1982 to 1984. He was forced to resign from politics due to a corruption scandal in September 1987.

Pozderac was considered one of the most influential and powerful politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina during thecommunist era.His removal from the political scene in the late 1980s is today considered one of the most controversial events that preceded theBosnian War.Pozderac was removed due to theAgrokomerc Affairof 1987, which the Yugoslav press compared to the AmericanWatergate scandal.[1]

Early life[edit]

Pozderac was born inCazinto an establishedBosnian Muslimfamily which exerted strong influence in the westernmost part of the Bosnian region ofBosanska Krajinaknown for its strong resistance to the fascistIndependent State of Croatiaregime duringWorld War II.During the war, he joined the illegal Alliance of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia (SKOJ) and the anti-fascistPartisanmovement.

He held various military and public posts in the Bosanska Krajina region during the war and was ordained with several military and public honors. Following the advent ofcommunist rule,the Pozderac family affirmed its strong position in Yugoslav politics withNurija Pozderacand Hamdija's brother,Hakija,both of whom held high positions in the Yugoslav government during and after World War II. Pozderac was a close ally ofJosip Broz Tito,President of Yugoslaviafor 27 years.[citation needed]

Education[edit]

Pozderac was highly educated, holding a philosophy degree from theUniversity of Belgrade.He studied inMoscow,published several sociological studies, and was a professor of political science at theUniversity of Sarajevo.

Political activity[edit]

Pozderac's politics centered on his involvement in theCommunist Party of Yugoslaviathat he ideologically followed. He held various high positions in the government ofSR Bosnia and HerzegovinaandSFR Yugoslaviain the 1970s and 1980s 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 theBosanska Krajinaregion, than impoverished region of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina. Pozderac provided the political backing toAgrokomerc,at the time small local food manufacturer which would later become one of the largest food manufacturing corporations in the former Yugoslavia. Agrokomerc proved to be the key to the economic prosperity of the region.[citation needed]

While his primary goal was economic reform of then impoverished SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he relatively successfully implemented, Pozderac also played an important role in confrontingnationalists from Serbiathrough 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 the 1970s which recognizedBosnian Muslimsas one of the constituent ethnic groups of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina and SFR Yugoslavia. Although his political orientation was left of center, and while he continually confronted nationalist politics of ethnic groups in former Yugoslavia, Pozderac inevitably contributed to the establishment of the process that led to the emergence of the modern Bosniak nation.[citation needed]

A series of political attacks were reportedly staged against Pozderac by the Serbian lobby in Bosnia who tried to discredit and remove him from the political scene. One attempt was made byVojislav Šešeljin the early 1980s, who learned that one of the students of Pozderac at theUniversity of Sarajevoplagiarized portions of his dissertation, but was not punished for by Pozderac. Because the studentBrano Miljušwas a high-ranking individual within the Communist party, controversy ensued but Šešelj's efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.[2]

Sarajevo process[edit]

The most controversial process however was the so-called "Sarajevo process" in 1983. The Sarajevo process centered on convictingAlija Izetbegovićfor having written theIslamic Declaration.Pozderac reaffirmed his political opposition to Serbian nationalism and in particular to the politics ofSlobodan Milošević,who was allegedly seeking to revert the constitutional amendments of the 1970s that awarded theMuslimsthe status of a constituent ethnicity.

The "Sarajevo process" backfired as the Serbian lobby insisted that Bosnia was a "darkvilayet"where all those who oppose the government will be prosecuted and where Bosnian Muslim communists were prosecutingMuslim believers.Others interpreted the "Sarajevo process" as Pozderac's way of removing political amateurs who could end up disrupting the process of Bosnianindependence.[3]

Izetbegović would later supersede Pozderac becoming thePresident of the Presidency of SR Bosnia and Herzegovinain 1990.[4]

Agrokomerc Affair[edit]

Attacks on Pozderac culminated with the "Agrokomerc Affair"that began in 1987. In the 1980sAgrokomerc,one of the leading food manufacturers, was engulfed in questionable banking deals where the corporation issued numerous high interestpromissory noteswithout the proper financial equity. Such practices were reportedly common within the Yugoslav system. The difference with Agrokomerc was that the director of the corporation,Fikret Abdić,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 the initial growth of Agrokomerc, was indicted of being aware of the financial dealings of the company. 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 September 1987, at which point he resigned frompolitics.[5]

Abdić would later join Alija Izetbegović in 1990 to form theParty of Democratic Action(SDA) and win the popular vote for thePresidency of Bosnia and Herzegovinain the1990 Bosnian general election.

Legacy[edit]

Historical significance of Pozderac for thehistory of Bosnia and Herzegovinais today still debated among historians. He is criticized for his ideological following of thecommunistdoctrines and for setting processes that did not honor certain liberties viewed in thewestern worldas the coredemocraticprinciples, such as thefreedom of speech.He was also criticized for being a cog ofnepotismand although he did not subscribe to that tactic himself he certainly took advantage of it. As a result, Pozderac was criticized for contributing to the continued presence of Pozderac family on the political scene inBosnia 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, thepatriarchicnature of theBalkans,his strong leadership was proven to be the only potent power that could make the difference inSR Bosnia and Herzegovinaof thecommunist era.He was the follower of the conviction that political, legal, philosophical, religious, literary, artistic and other progress is based on the economic progress. Pozderac is credited for implementing processes that led theeconomic revitalization of Bosnia and Herzegovina,which contributed to strengthening the cultural independence and identity Bosnia withinYugoslavia.

Pozderac cannot be viewed as a movement leader but as a patient and principledpoliticianwho saw the opportunity for change by working within the system.

His legacy certainly can be credited with contributions to the constitutional recognition ofMuslims(historically revived asBosniaksin 1993) as a constituent people within Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with the already recognisedCroatsandSerbs,and his persistent position in protecting those rights. He has also continually worked on protection of the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina within Yugoslavia 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 toindependencein the 1990s.[6]

References[edit]

  1. ^Stojić, Mile (2004)."Ally of Bosnia's unity".Bosnian Institute. Archived fromthe originalon 7 June 2011.Retrieved11 May2010.
  2. ^Borogovac, Muhamed (1997)."Analysis and Studies About The War Against Bosnia; The War in Bosnia - part two; Chapter 2; Bosnia-Herzegovina Within Yugoslavia; Bosnia-Herzegovina before the" Agrokomerc Affair "".Bosanski Kongres. Archived fromthe originalon 8 January 2010.Retrieved10 June2010.
  3. ^Borogovac, Muhamed (1997)."Analysis and Studies About The War Against Bosnia; The War in Bosnia - part two; Chapter 2; Bosnia-Herzegovina Within Yugoslavia; Bosnia-Herzegovina before the" Agrokomerc Affair "".Bosanski Kongres. Archived fromthe originalon 8 January 2010.Retrieved10 June2010.
  4. ^Sells, Michael (2003)."Crosses of Blood: Sacred Space, Religion, and Violence in Bosnia-Hercegovina".Oxford University Press.Retrieved11 May2010.
  5. ^Borogovac, Muhamed (1997)."Analysis and Studies About The War Against Bosnia; The War in Bosnia - part two; Chapter 2; Bosnia-Herzegovina Within Yugoslavia; Bosnia-Herzegovina before the" Agrokomerc Affair "".Bosanski Kongres. Archived fromthe originalon 8 January 2010.Retrieved10 June2010.
  6. ^Borogovac, Muhamed (1997)."Analysis and Studies About The War Against Bosnia; The War in Bosnia - part two; Chapter 2; Bosnia-Herzegovina Within Yugoslavia; Bosnia-Herzegovina before the" Agrokomerc Affair "".Bosanski Kongres. Archived fromthe originalon 8 January 2010.Retrieved10 June2010.

External links[edit]

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