Alija Izetbegovic

President of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Alija Izetbegović (Cyrillic: Алија Изетбеговић;Bosnian pronunciation: [ǎlija ǐzedbeɡoʋitɕ]; 8 August 1925 – 19 October 2003) was a Bosnian politician, lawyer, Islamic philosopher and author, who in 1992 became the first president of the Presidency of the newly independent Republic 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.

Izetbegović was the founder and first president of the Party of Democratic Action.He was also the author of several books, most notably Islam Between East and West and the Islamic Declaration.