Alija Izetbegović (Bosnian pronunciation: [alija izɛtbɛɡɔʋitɕ]) (8 August 1925 – 19 October 2003) 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. He was also the author of several books, most notably Islam Between East and West and the Is...
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Alija Izetbegović (Bosnian pronunciation: [alija izɛtbɛɡɔʋitɕ]) (8 August 1925 – 19 October 2003) 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. He was also the author of several books, most notably Islam Between East and West and the Islamic Declaration.
Izetbegović was born in the town of Bosanski Šamac, situated in the north of Bosnia; he was one of five children born to a distinguished but impoverished family descended from former Slavic Ottoman aristocrats from Belgrade who fled to Bosnia in 1868, after Serbia gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. His grandfather, Alija, was the mayor of Bosanski Šamac. While grandfather Alija was a soldier in Üsküdar, he married a Turkish woman called 'Sıdıka Hanım'. After the marriage they moved to Šamac and had 5 children. His...
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