Rasim Delić facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rasim Delić
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| Born | 4 February 1949 Čelić, PR Bosnia and Herzegovina, FPR Yugoslavia |
| Died | 16 April 2010 (aged 61) Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Allegiance |  Yugoslavia Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Service/ |
Land forces |
| Years of service | 1969–2000 |
| Rank |  Army General |
| Unit | Bosnian Army, Visoko Tactical Group |
| Commands held |  Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Yugoslav Army
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| Battles/wars | Bosnian War
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Rasim Delić (4 February 1949 – 16 April 2010) was the chief of staff of the Bosnian Army. He was a career officer in the Yugoslav Army but left it during the breakup of Yugoslavia and was convicted of war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for failing to prevent and punish crimes committed by the El Mujahid unit under his command. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison.
Contents
Career
Yugoslav People’s Army
Delić began his military career in the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) on 1 October 1967 at the Military Academy for land forces, where he completed his studies there on 31 July 1971. From 1971 to 1985 he served in an artillery division of the JNA based in Sarajevo and from October 1980 to September 1984 as its commander. From September 1984 to August 1985, Rasim served as Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of a joint artillery regiment. Between August 1985 and July 1990, except for an interruption of about eleven months in 1988/89 when he attended Command Staff School, Rasim was commander of a joint artillery regiment. On 22 December 1987 he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel. From 16 July 1990 to 13 April 1992, he was Assistant Chief of Operations in the 4th Corps of the JNA in Sarajevo.
Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
He officially requested to leave the JNA on 13 April 1992. Shortly after 13 April, Rasim was appointed as Head of the Training and Operations Organ of the Territorial Defence of RBiH.
On 16 April 1992, he was ordered to leave Sarajevo and on 19 April he arrived in Visoko, where he worked with a group of TO officers on the formation of units in central Bosnia. Eventually the Visoko Tactical Group was formed, headed by Rasim Delić. By 12 May he also became a member of the Main Staff and on that date was tasked officially with organizing and commanding armed combat activities in various municipalities in central Bosnia.
On 20 May 1992, the TO forces became the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 17 October 1992, Sefer Halilović, then Chief of the Main Staff, appointed Rasim Delić as Acting Head of the Department of Operations Planning and Training in the Main Staff. This group was named the Operation Command Visoko.
In autumn 1992, the Visoko group was officially named Staff of the Supreme Command – Visoko Department, thus going over the head of the command of the General Staff and Defense Ministry and directly answering to the Presidency and the President.
On 27 April 1993, Sefer appointed Rasim as one of the four officers representing the ARBiH in the joint command of the ARBiH and the Croatian Defence Council (HVO).
On 8 June 1993, the Bosnian Presidency issued the reconstruction of the ARBiH Supreme Command Headquarters to include establishing the post Commander of the ARBiH Main Staff, with Rasim Delić being appointed to that post, thus assuming all control of the ARBiH and becoming a member of the extended RBiH Presidency.
Delic's greatest achievement was to prevent the collapse of the government army in the second half of 1993. That provided breathing space for negotiations, orchestrated by the US administration, which ended the conflict with the Bosnian Croats in March 1994.
Post military and retirement
Delić became the commander of the Bosnian Federation's army until his retirement in 2000.
He enrolled in Sarajevo University in December 2004. He finished with the theses "Nastanak, razvoj i uloga Armije RBiH u odbrani Bosne i Hercegovine" (Creation, expansion, and role of the army of RBiH in the defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina).
He was also involved in some non-profit organizations. He was also the co-founder of Udruženja za zaštitu tekovina borbe za Bosnu i Hercegovinu.
Death
Delic died on 16 April 2010 in his apartment in Sarajevo. He was survived by his wife Suada, as well as his two sons and four grandchildren.
