Zukan Helez
Zukan Helez | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Helez in 2023 | |||||||||
| Minister of Defence | |||||||||
| Assumed office 25 January 2023 | |||||||||
| Prime Minister | Borjana Krišto | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Sifet Podžić | ||||||||
| Federal Minister for Veterans and Disabled Veterans | |||||||||
| In office 17 March 2011 – 31 March 2015 | |||||||||
| Prime Minister | Nermin Nikšić | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Zahid Crnkić | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Salko Bukvarević | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||
| Born | 1 January 1964 Kupres,SR Bosnia and Herzegovina,SFR Yugoslavia | ||||||||
| Nationality | Bosnian | ||||||||
| Political party | Social Democratic Party | ||||||||
| Children | 3 | ||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Sarajevo(BS) | ||||||||
| Military service | |||||||||
| Allegiance |  Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina | ||||||||
| Branch/service | Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina | ||||||||
| Years of service | 1991–1993 | ||||||||
| Battles/wars | Bosnian War | ||||||||
Zukan Helez(born 1 January 1964) is a Bosnian politician serving asMinister of Defencesince January 2023. He is also the currentVice-chairmanof theCouncil of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina,serving alongsideStaša Košarac.He was previously a member of the nationalHouse of Representativesfrom 2018 to 2023.
Helez served asFederal Minister for Veterans and Disabled Veteransfrom 2011 to 2015. He is a member of theSocial Democratic Party.
Early life and education[edit]
Helez was born on 1 January 1964 inKupreswhere he finished elementary school. He attended high school inBugojnobetween 1979 and 1983, after which he attended the Faculty of Science and Mathematics inSarajevo,where he graduated in 1988. After his studies, Helez got a job as a professor inSkender Vakuf.In May 1992, at the beginning of theBosnian War,he became a member of theArmy of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[1]
After he was demobilized at the end of the war, Helez started working as a teacher in secondary schools inDonji Vakufand Bugojno. In Italy, Germany and France, he participated in international seminars in the secondary education reform project in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[2]
Political career[edit]
A member of theSocial Democratic Party(SDP BiH), Helez was elected vice president of the SDP BiH Cantonal Committee of theCentral Bosnia Cantonin 2003, and president in 2005. In the2000 parliamentary election,he was elected to theFederal House of Representatives.He was re-elected in the2002,2006and the2010 general elections.[1]
Helez served his fourth term in theFederal Parliamentuntil 17 March 2011, when he was appointedFederal Minister for Veterans and Disabled Veteransin the government ofNermin Nikšić.He served as Federal minister until 31 March 2015.[3]In the Federal House of Representatives, he was a member of several working bodies, boards and commissions as vice president and president.[2]
In the2018 general election,Helez was elected to the nationalHouse of Representatives.[4]He was re-elected to the national House of Representatives in the2022 general election.[5]
On 25 January 2023, following the formation of a newCouncil of Ministerspresided over byBorjana Krišto,Helez was appointed as the newMinister of Defenceand also as vice-chairman of the Council of Ministers within Krišto's government.[6]On 23 November 2023, Helez claimed that paramilitary camps backed by Russia were detected inRepublika Srpska,one of the twoentitiesof Bosnia and Herzegovina.[7]His statement angered top level Bosnian Serb politicians, who said Helez "has no proof" and that he "is spreading lies that aim to cause unrest and fear."[8]On 25 November, theIntelligence-Security Agencyinformed the Council of Ministers that it had no information about the existence of any military camps or paramilitary formations in the country.[9]Following his claims, Helez gave a witness statement to theProsecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[10]
Personal life[edit]
Helez is married and has three children.[1]Besides his nativeBosnian,he speaksEnglishandRussianfluently.[11]
References[edit]
- ^abc"Zukan Helez".javnarasprava.ba(in Bosnian).Retrieved15 January2023.
- ^ab"Ministarstvo za pitanja boraca i invalida odbrambeno-oslobodilačkog rata".fbihvlada.gov.ba(in Bosnian).Retrieved15 January2023.
- ^E.F. (31 March 2015)."Federacija BiH konačno dobila novu Vladu"(in Bosnian). Klix.ba.Retrieved31 March2015.
- ^"Zastupnici saziv 2018 - 2022".parlament.ba(in Bosnian).Retrieved15 January2023.
- ^S.S. (1 December 2022)."Konstituisan novi saziv: Ovo su imena poslanika Predstavničkog doma Parlamentarne skupštine BiH".Avaz.ba(in Bosnian).Dnevni avaz.Retrieved1 December2022.
- ^N.V. (25 January 2023)."BiH dobila novo Vijeće ministara, državnu vlast sada čini SNSD, HDZ, SDP, NiP, NS, DNS..."(in Bosnian). Klix.ba.Retrieved25 January2023.
- ^M.G. (23 November 2023)."Helez tvrdi da u RS-u postoje ruski paravojni kampovi, Košarac odmah zatražio sastanak s OSA-om"(in Bosnian). Klix.ba.Retrieved23 November2023.
- ^"Russia-backed paramilitary camps detected in Bosnia's Republika Srpska, defence minister says".intellinews.24 November 2023.Retrieved24 November2023.
- ^"OSA nema informacije o postojanju vojnih kampova i paravojnih formacija u BiH".faktor.ba(in Bosnian). 25 November 2023.Retrieved25 November2023.
- ^S.Š. (27 November 2023)."Helez danas daje izjavu u Tužilaštvu BiH: Naoružan sam informacijama"(in Bosnian). Klix.ba.Retrieved27 November2023.
- ^"Zukan Helez".parlament.ba(in Bosnian).Retrieved15 January2023.
External links[edit]
- Zukan Helezat sdp.ba
- 1964 births
- Living people
- University of Sarajevo alumni
- Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina soldiers
- Bosniak politicians
- Politicians of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina politicians
- Members of the House of Representatives (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- Government ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Defence ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina