Alija Izetbegović

Alija Izetbegović was born on August 8, 1925, in Bosanski Šamac. Educated in law at the University of Sarajevo, Izetbegović worked as a legal advisor while writing philosophical works on religion and humanism, including Islam Between East and West (1980). Imprisoned twice by the Communist regime for dissident political thought, he founded the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) in 1990.

Elected Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Izetbegović steered the nation through the 1992 independence referendum and survived the brutal 1,425-day Siege of Sarajevo. Defending a multi-ethnic, sovereign Bosnia against overwhelming aggression, he signed the Dayton Agreement in 1995. Per his wish, he was buried among fallen soldiers at Kovači Cemetery in Sarajevo.