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Martin Raguž

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Martin Raguž
Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina
In office
18 October 2000 – 22 February 2001
PresidentHalid Genjac
Ante Jelavić
Živko Radišić
Preceded bySpasoje Tuševljak
Succeeded byBožidar Matić
Ministerial offices
Minister of Human Rights and Refugees
In office
22 June 2000 – 22 February 2001
Prime MinisterSpasoje Tuševljak
Himself
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byKrešimir Zubak
Federal Minister without portfolio
In office
15 December 1995 – 18 December 1996
Prime MinisterHaris Silajdžić
Izudin Kapetanović
Minister of Labour and Social Politicy
In office
3 March 1992 – 25 October 1993
Prime MinisterJure Pelivan
Mile Akmadžić
Parliamentary offices
Member of theHouse of Peoples
In office
9 June 2011 – 28 February 2019
Member of theHouse of Representatives
In office
9 December 2002 – 30 November 2010
Personal details
Born(1958-03-02)2 March 1958(age 66)
Stolac,PR Bosnia and Herzegovina,FPR Yugoslavia
Political partyCroatian Democratic Union 1990(2006–present)
Other political
affiliations
Croatian Democratic Union(1993–2006)
SSOJ(1992–1993)
SKJ(1981–1992)
SpouseMarina Raguž
Children5
Alma materUniversity of Zagreb(BA)

Martin Raguž(born 2 March 1958) is aBosnian Croatpolitician who served asChairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovinafrom 2000 to 2001. He was a member of both the nationalHouse of RepresentativesandHouse of Peoples.

Raguž also served as the firstMinister of Human Rights and Refugeesand as theFederal Minister without portfolio.He was also theMinister of Labour and Social Politicyfrom 1992 to 1993, during theBosnian War.

The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina[edit]

Raguž became politically active at the time of 1990 general election, the first an autonomous Bosnia and Herzegovina since the aftermath of World War I. He was one of the founders of the liberal-oriented BiH Union of Socialist Youth.[1]He ran for Croatian member position of thePresidency of Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovinaas a candidate SSO-H party.[2][3]Of the seven Croatian candidates, Raguž finished last with a haul of 130,428 (6.13%) votes.[4]

At the beginning of theBosnian Warin 1992, Raguž was appointed Minister of Labour and Social Policy for the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, working inbesieged Sarajevo.At the beginning ofCroat–Bosniak War,he joined the HDZ BiH and accepted an invitation by theCroatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosniato help mitigate the humanitarian crisis.[5]

He worked as the deputy head of the Office for Displaced Persons, Refugees and Displaced Persons until 1993, when he was appointed head of that office replacing Darinka Tadić in this position.[6]He remained in this position until 1994, when it became the Ministry for Refugees and Social Affairs,[1]where he worked as deputy minister until the end of the war in 1995.[7]

After the war[edit]

After the war, Raguž was appointed minister without portfolio, where he remained until 1996, and was in charge of coordinating activities for the implementation ofDayton Agreement.[7]Between 1997 and 1998, he worked for the Croatian member of the Presidency,Krešimir Zubak.[8]From 2000 till 2001, he served as theMinister of Human Rights and Refugees.[7]

Following the general elections in October 2000. Raguž was appointedChairman of the Council of Ministerson 18 October 2000. He served in this capacity until 22 August 2001, when he was replaced byBožidar Matić,a member of theSocial Democratic Party.[7][9]Raguž was then appointed Chairman of the Coordination Council.[10]

After theHigh RepresentativeWolfgang PetritschremovedAnte Jelavićas the Croatian member of the presidency, talk began about possible successors to Jelavić as president of the HDZ BiH. The international community, as a condition of returning to political home-rule, required the removal of all politicians who participated in the creation of self-government. Although Raguž was part of a project of the self-government, the international community considered him to be acceptable as the new leader of the HDZ BiH.[10]

HDZ 1990[edit]

The April package[edit]

After the schism within theHDZ BiH,Raguž was one of the founders of theHDZ 1990led byBožo Ljubić.The schism occurred at the time of promoting the constitutional changes under the April Package (hr:Travanjski paket), to which Ljubic objected, arguing that the package reduced the status of Croatian people in the nation to the level of a national minority. During this period, Raguž was a member of the Constitutional-Legal Committee of theHouse of Representatives.[citation needed]

Of the nine members of the committee, four supported the package, which was insufficient to forward the debate to the House of Representatives. Two board members were strongly opposed to the April Package, and the US Embassy, theHigh Representativeand other representatives of the international community attempted to influence Raguž and two other board members,Beriz Belkićand Filip Andrić, towards supporting the package.[citation needed]The committee decided to adopt the draft package for a hearing before House of Representatives on 18 April 2006. Some opponents tried but failed to insert amendments to their parties' platforms, but Raguž, under pressure from the US Embassy, did not support amendments from HDZ 1990 in the debate.[citation needed]

Efforts for the unification of the HDZ BiH[edit]

Croatian Prime MinisterIvo Sanadervisited Mostar in March 2009, announcing the "inevitability" of unification of the HDZ BiH and HDZ 1990. Raguž has since become a leading promoter of the unification of the two parties. However, Raguž's political ambitions distanced him from his party colleagues. In April, the Presidency of HDZ 1990 adopted a platform for unification with the HDZ BiH providing equal representation in government. However, HDZ BiH PresidentDragan Čovićrejected the possibility of unification in early May, compounded by HDZ 1990 officials being at risk of losing their positions in the event of reunification.[citation needed]

Party president[edit]

In March 2014 Raguž called forfederation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.His call was welcomed by formerHigh RepresentativeChristian Schwarz-Schilling.[11]Raguž, in a meeting with the director of the Department of South and Central Europe, the US State DepartmentJonathan Moore,he advocated for greater impact of the United States on Bosnia and Hercegovinu.[12]

In December 2015, theWest Herzegovina CantonHDZ 1990 board requested that Raguž resign because of "the general inactivity and inaction of the party and the party's deteriorating situation on the ground." He resign on 23 December 2015, citing health problems, including spinal issues.[13]

2014 Presidential Campaign[edit]

Raguž accepted the nomination of the HDZ 1990 for theCroat member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovinaon 5 July. His nomination marked a deepening of the conflict within theCroatian National Assembly.As the cornerstone of its policy was cooperation with theEuropean Union.Previously, the candidate for the Croatian member of the Presidency announced asŽivko Budimir,President of theFederation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[14]

Raguž's campaign received support from the First Bosnian parties, whose president Šeherzada Delić announced official support for Raguž in the election.[15]

References[edit]

  1. ^abTime for Croatians to take responsibility for this country.Europa, August 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2014.(in Bosnian)
  2. ^Tomo Šimić: "Dokumenti Predsjedništva Bosne i Hercegovine 1991. - 1994.",National Security and the Future,br. 1-2, Udruga svetog Jurja, Zagreb, 2006, p. 31.
  3. ^Dragan Čović; Slavica Karačić; Niko Lozančić; Borjana Krišto; Zdenko Ćosić; Davor Čordaš; Mario Grgić; Rade Bošnjak; Marinko Čavara: Dvadeset godina Hrvatske demokratske zajednice Bosne i Hercegovine 1990. - 2010. Hrvatska demokratska zajednica Bosne i Hercegovine, Mostar, 2010, p. 358.
  4. ^Mirjana Kasapović: "Bosnia and Herzegovina",Elections in Europe: A data handbook,Nomos, Baden-Baden, 2010, p. 330.
  5. ^Interview during Croat–Bosniak War. Ashgate Publishing, 2012, p. 130.
  6. ^Narodni list Croatian Republic of Herceg-BosnaArchived2014-04-07 at theWayback Machine,3 January 1994.(in Croatian)
  7. ^abcdBiography of Martin RagužArchived2014-04-01 atarchive.today.Center for Investigative Journalism. Accessed 1 April 2014.(in Bosnian)
  8. ^Martin Raguž - Biography.European Parliament. Accessed 1 April 2014.
  9. ^Records of persons who have behaved leading party and government functions at various levels in the last thirty years.National Security and the Future,no. 1-2, Association of St. George, Zagreb, 2006.(in Croatian)
  10. ^abJelavić retires as president of the HDZ BiH?HIC, no. 337, 7 May 2001. Accessed 1 November 2014.(in Croatian)
  11. ^Schwarz-Schilling welcomed President of HDZ 1990 Raguž federalization of BiH.Hercegovina.info, 8 March 2014. Accessed 22 September 2014(in Croatian).
  12. ^Raguž: A Europeanization of Daytona and the federalization of BiH.Look, 30 March 2014. Accessed 22 September 2014.(in Bosnian)
  13. ^Martin Raguž is no longer president of HDZ 1990.Dnevnik.ba, 23 December 2015. Accessed 24 December 2015.(in Croatian)
  14. ^Martin Raguž HDZ candidate in 1990 for the Croatian member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.HRsvijeta, 5 July 2014. Accessed 22 September 2014.(in Croatian)
  15. ^Šeherzada Delic: 21 800 votes from Krajina for Martin RagužArchived2014-09-23 at theWayback Machine.Republic, 19 September 2014. Accessed 22 September 2014.(in Croatian)

External links[edit]

Political offices
Preceded by Chairman of the Council of Ministers
of Bosnia and Herzegovina

2000–2001
Succeeded by