Bogić Bogićević

Bogić Bogićević (Богић Богићевић) is a Bosnian statesman of Bosnian Serb ethnicity, born in Ugljevik, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia (present day Bosnia and Herzegovina). He was a respected politician of the Yugoslav republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a statesmen of leftist political orientation.

Engagements

Pre-war engagements

Bogić Bogićević was the first office-holder in Second Yugoslavia at the federal level to be democratically elected, as the representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Presidency of Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1991.

Bogićević is famous for having defied fellow Serb colleagues from Serbia on a vote in the presidency which would have imposed martial law in Yugoslavia and allow the Yugoslav army to remove recently elected secessionist governments, particularly in Croatia and Slovenia, as well as in Macedonia and his native Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bogićević rejected the proposal, and thus by one vote, the Yugoslav collective presidency voted against enacting martial law.^[1]

Wartime engagements

Wartime period 1992 to 1995 he spent in Sarajevo under the siege. He was a member of the House of Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and vice president of the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Post-war engagements

Bogićević was the vice-president of the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and chairman of the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Awards and medals

• In 1999 he received a Plaque of Humanism, award given by the Permanent Committee of the International League of Humanists.
• In 2002 the Croatian President Stjepan Mesić has awarded him the "Order of Prince Trpimir with necklace and Danica" for his significant contribution to the independence and integrity of the Republic of Croatia and the efforts to achieve a peaceful solution among Yugoslavian republics during the struggle for independence.
• In 2004 he received Silver Order of Freedom of the Republic of Slovenia with the following explanation: "for his contribution for the benefit of Slovenia at the time of struggle for independence, the personal contribution to friendly cooperation between Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and the strengthening of economic relations".^[2]
• In 2006 International Centre for Peace Sarajevo awarded him with traditional award "Freedom".

Personal life

Today Bogić Bogicevic lives and works in Sarajevo.

References