Adil Zulfikarpašić was a prominent Bosniak politician and intellectual.

Biography

Adil Zulfikarpašić was born in Foča

Foca

Foča is a town and municipality in southeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina on the Drina river, in the Foča Region of the Republika Srpska entity.-Early history:...

, a town along the River Drina

Drina

The Drina is a 346 kilometer long river, which forms most of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Alps which belongs to the Danube river watershed...

 in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Kingdom of Yugoslavia

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...

 (now Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

).

In 1938 he joined the Communist Party of Yugoslavia and became a Party organizer

Party organizer

A party organizer or local party organizer is a position in some political parties in charge of the establishing a party organization in a certain locality.Herbert Ames wrote in his 1911 article "Organization of Political Parties in Canada" :...

. In 1942, during World War II, he was caught by the Ustaše

Ustaše

The Ustaša - Croatian Revolutionary Movement was a Croatian fascist anti-Yugoslav separatist movement. The ideology of the movement was a blend of fascism, Nazism, and Croatian nationalism. The Ustaše supported the creation of a Greater Croatia that would span to the River Drina and to the border...

 (the Croatian pro-Nazi forces) in Sarajevo and was torture

Torture

Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...

d by them and sentenced to death. With the help of Yugoslav Partisans  he escaped and in 1945 with the war ending in victory over the Axis powers

Axis Powers

The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...

, the Communists came into power and Zulfikarpašić was appointed Deputy Minister of Trade. He soon became disillusioned with the Josip Broz Tito

Josip Broz Tito

Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...

's government and fled into exile

Exile

Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...

 in Zurich, Switzerland.

He returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the lead up to the Bosnian War

Bosnian War

The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...

, as Bosnia and Herzegovina held an independence referendum for independence, Zulfikarpašić stood alongside the future Bosnian president, Alija Izetbegović

Alija Izetbegovic

Alija Izetbegović 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 a member of Izetbegovic's Party of Democratic Action

Party of Democratic Action

The Party of Democratic Action is a Bosniak national political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina.-History:The Party of Democratic Action was founded in May 1990 by Alija Izetbegović, representing the Bosnian Muslim population...

, but soon formed another party because of differing political views, the Muslim Bosniak Organization with Muhamed Filipović.

In 2001 he established the Bosniak Institute

Bosniak Institute

The Bosniak Institute is a cultural center in Sarajevo focusing on Bosniak culture. It was established by Adil Zulfikarpašić. The institute is housed in a renovated sixteenth century Turkish bath and includes a library and an art center.-External links:*...

 in Sarajevo

Sarajevo

Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....

. In 2002 he was elected an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the national academy of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-History:...

.