Fikret Abdić facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Fikret Abdić
Abdić in april 2025
Municipal Mayor of Velika Kladuša
In office 8 November 2016 – 15 November 2024
Preceded by	Edin Behrić
Succeeded by	Boris Horvat
President of Western Bosnia
In office 27 September 1993 – 21 August 1995
Prime Minister	Zlatko Jušić
Preceded by	Post established
Succeeded by	Post abolished
1st Muslim Member of the Presidency of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
In office 20 December 1990 – 20 October 1993 Serving with Alija Izetbegović
Preceded by	Post established
Succeeded by	Nijaz Duraković
Personal details
Born	(1939-09-29) 29 September 1939 (age 85) Velika Kladuša, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Political party	SKJ (1958–1990) SDA (1990–1993) DNZ (1993–2013) LS BiH (2013–present)
Children	4, including Elvira
Profession	Economist Businessman
Nickname	Babo

Fikret Abdić (born 29 September 1939), also known as Babo, is a Bosnian politician and businessman. He became well-known in the 1980s for his work with Agrokomerc, a large agriculture company in Velika Kladuša. He helped turn it into one of the biggest companies in SFR Yugoslavia. In 1990, he won the most votes in the Bosnian presidential elections.

During the Bosnian War in the early 1990s, Abdić disagreed with the official Bosnian government. He created a small, short-lived area called the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia. This area was in the northwestern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, around Velika Kladuša. This mini-state existed from 1993 to 1995 and was allied with the Army of Republika Srpska.

In 2002, a court in Croatia found him guilty of actions during the war. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, which was later reduced to 15 years. He was released on 9 March 2012, after serving part of his sentence. He was later arrested again in June 2020 on suspicion of misusing his power as mayor. He continued to serve as mayor until 15 November 2024, when Boris Horvat took over.

Early Life and Business Career

Fikret Abdić was born on 29 September 1939, in the village of Donja Vidovska, which is in Velika Kladuša, Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Today, this area is part of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Building Agrokomerc

After studying agronomy, which is the science of soil management and crop production, Abdić became the director of an agricultural cooperative called Agrokomerc in Velika Kladuša. He was quite young at the time. He helped this small farm cooperative grow into a huge food company that employed over 13,000 people. This greatly improved the economy and living standards in the region, which had not been very developed before.

Agrokomerc helped Velika Kladuša change from a poor area into a strong economic center. The company became famous across Yugoslavia because it was very good at advertising. Its mascot, a chef with a tall white hat, was seen everywhere. One of Agrokomerc's main products, Tops biscuits, became very popular.

Local people in Velika Kladuša often called Fikret Abdić Babo, which means Father. He managed the company with strong support from important politicians. He used a mix of socialist and capitalist ideas to run the business. In late 1987, Abdić faced legal issues related to his business. This event, known as the Agrokomerc Affair, caused a big stir across Yugoslavia.

Political Journey

After the League of Communists of Yugoslavia lost power, new nationalist parties became strong. In Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, different groups supported different parties. Bosnian Muslims mostly supported the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), led by Alija Izetbegović. Abdić, who had been a member of the League of Communists, joined the SDA and became one of its leaders.

Presidential Election and Role

In the 1990 election for the Presidency of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Abdić received 200,000 more votes than Izetbegović. Both Abdić and Izetbegović were chosen to represent Muslims in the Presidency. However, Abdić decided to step back and remain just a member of the Presidency, after facing opposition from some SDA leaders.

When the Bosnian War began, Abdić believed that Izetbegović wanted to create a single state controlled by Bosnian Muslims. As a member of the Presidency, Abdić spoke out against some of Izetbegović's decisions. As tensions grew, Abdić left Sarajevo in August 1992. He saw how much the war was hurting people and the government.

In 1993, when conflicts started between Croats and Muslims, Abdić strongly believed that talking and negotiating was the only way to stop the fighting. He emphasized the need to create a peaceful environment for discussions. This focus on peace showed how much he and Izetbegović disagreed on how to solve the crisis. Lord Owen, a diplomat who worked on peace plans for Bosnia, described Abdić as someone who was "in favour of negotiating and compromising with Croats and Serbs to achieve a settlement."

Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia

Western Bosnia in 1994

Using his many business connections, Abdić managed to keep the city of Velika Kladuša supplied with goods like cigarettes and coffee, even when it was surrounded by forces during the siege. He had strong support from the local people.

In 1992, the Bihać area was surrounded by different forces. The local army, the 5th Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH), did not have enough weapons to protect Bihać if it was attacked.

On 27 September 1993, Abdić declared the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia in Velika Kladuša. This area acted like a small state with its own prime minister and parliament. However, Bosnian Muslims from Bihać did not support this autonomy and remained loyal to the main Bosnian government.

On 21 October 1993, Abdić signed an agreement with Mate Boban, the president of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia. The next day, Abdić and Radovan Karadžić, the president of Republika Srpska, signed a declaration promising peace. Abdić believed that by signing these agreements, he was protecting the people in Western Bosnia from more fighting. Some parts of the Bosnian army in Velika Kladuša even joined Abdić's side.

The signing of the Washington Agreement in March 1994, which ended the conflict between Croats and Bosniaks, made Abdić's position weaker. The 5th Corps of the Army of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) defeated Western Bosnia in a military operation. However, Abdić built up his own army, which was supported by the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS). He was able to bring Western Bosnia back into existence for a time.

On 1 August 1995, Abdić declared the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia a republic. This republic lasted only seven days. It collapsed on 7 August 1995, after the ARBiH and the Croatian Army (HV) took control during Operation Storm. After this, Abdić left for Croatia.

Life After the Conflict

After the conflict, Abdić was given political asylum and citizenship by the Croatian President Franjo Tuđman. He lived near Rijeka. The government of Bosnia and Herzegovina accused him of actions during the conflict. However, Croatia did not send him back to Bosnia.

After Tuđman's death in 1999 and a change in government in Croatia in 2000, Croatian authorities arrested and tried Abdić. In 2002, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for actions during the conflict in the "Bihać pocket" area. In 2005, the Croatian Supreme Court reduced his sentence to 15 years. He was released from prison on 8 March 2012, after serving ten years of his sentence. Thousands of supporters from Velika Kladuša greeted him upon his release.

Abdić ran for the position of Bosniak member of the Bosnian presidency in 2002, but he did not win. Bosnian law allowed him to run for office even though he had been convicted in Croatia.

Abdić was a candidate for mayor of Velika Kladuša in the 2016 Bosnian municipal elections. He won with 48.10% of the votes and became the new mayor. In June 2020, he was arrested by Bosnia's federal police as part of an investigation into corruption involving several city officials. He was held before trial but was released in late October to participate in the re-election campaign for the 2020 Bosnian municipal elections in November. He narrowly won that election with 44.1 percent of the vote. In March 2021, prosecutors formally charged Abdić and six other city officials with corruption related to public contracts.

See also

• Elvira Abdić-Jelenović