Zlatko lagumdzija biography

H.E. Zlatko Lagumdzija

Former Prime Minister, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2001-2002; ​BoT Member NGIC​​

Bio Current as of September 4, 2017

Zlatko (Salko) Lagumdžija, born 26 December 1955 in Sarajevo is a Bosnian politician. 

Lagumdzija graduated with a master’s degree and doctorate  in computer science and electrical engineering at the University of Sarajevo. As a Fulbright scholar, he conducted post-doctoral research at the University of Arizona, Tucson, 1988-1989.

His professional career began in 1989 as Professor of Economics and Electrical Engineering at the University of Sarajevo. At the Faculty of Economics in 1994, he became head of the Department of Business Information, a year later, and director of the Center for Management and Information Technology.

Since 1998 member of the “Global Leaders for Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum in Davos. Since 2004 he is member of the International Advisory Committee of the Congress of Democrats from the Islamic countries, and since 2005 he has been the Vice President of the Senate of the Bosnian Institute. Member of the World Academy of Arts and became in 2006 a member of the Club of Madrid (Association of Former Heads of State and Government) since 2005.

Lagumdzija served as the President of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) from 1997 until 2014. He has been a member of the party since 1992 and remains one today.

In the period from 1992 to 1993 Lagumdzija served as Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and in 1993 he was the Prime Minister.

Lagumdzija has been a member of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1996-present, with the only interruption in the mandate – from 2001 to 2002, when he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Council of Ministers.

He is married to his wife Amina they have two daughters Dina and Asja Zara and one son Zlatko Salko.

Who is Zlatko Lagumdžija?

Zlatko Lagumdžija was Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2001-2002). 

Born in Sarajevo in 1955, Mr Lagumdžija hasover 30 years of top academic and political experience, including senior level functions in the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering in the University of Sarajevo in 1988 and, the following year he received a postdoctoral Fulbright scholarship and research at MIS Department and CCIT in the University of Arizona, Tucson.Mr Lagumdžija continued to pursue his academic interests in MIS and Group Support Systems, writing many articles and books on the subject and directing the Management and Information Technology Center at the University of Sarajevo since 1995.

At the 2000 elections he backed former Prime Minister Haris Silajdžić and joined his Alliance for Change political manifesto, and was one of the only parties running on a multi-ethnic platform. He was subsequently nominated as Foreign Minister, representing Bosnia and Herzegovina abroad until 2003. In 2001, he was finally elected to the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the highest political office in the Republic, equivalent to the post of Prime Minister). His party, the SDP, had a manifesto of economic reform, anti-corruption, multi-ethnicity and democratization, and was seen as the most “western” of the major political parties. His appointment was greeted in the international community as the “face of a united, pluralistic Bosnia”.

As Prime Minister, he encouraged economic reform, the rebuilding of infrastructure and the re-launching of the economy, and presided over the continued assertion of the rule of law over the Republic. His government was associated by international commentators with the lifting of the profile of Bosnia and Herzegovina abroad. Unfortunately, he did not last long enough in government to see the reforms through, as hi

Former Prime Minister and Former Foreign Minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina

Zlatko Lagumdzija was born in Sarajevo (Federal Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina) on the 26th of December 1955. He is the son of a former Mayor of Sarajevo, Salko Lagumdzija (1921-1973), who governed the Bosnian Capital from 1965 to 1967. Zlatko grew up in Bosnia but completed his secondary education in Detroit in the US in 1973, through the Youth for Understanding student exchange program. He eventually returned to Bosnia where he studied for a BSc in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, followed by an MSc in 1981 and finally a PhD in 1988 in the same fields, with spells in the US. He then went on to undertake postdoctoral research at the University of Arizona, funded by an international exchange program, in Management Information Systems at the University’s Centre for Computing and Information Technology. In 1989 he was nominated Professor of Management Information Systems (MIS) at the University of Sarajevo and started teaching at the Economics Faculty and at the Electrical Engineering Faculty of the University. He continued to pursue his academic interests in MIS and Group Support Systems all his life, writing many articles and books on the subject and directing the Management and Information Technology Centre at the University of Sarajevo since 1995.

His entry into politics came soon after the break-up of Bosnia-Herzegovina from the Yugoslav Federation and its establishment as a separate political entity in the nineties, when he became involved with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and eventually became its head.  The New President of the Bosnian Republic, Alija Izetbegović, nominated him as Deputy Prime Minister in early 1992. He came to be recognised as the leader of the moderate, non-nationalist centre-left in Bosnian politics which soon became bitterly split along ethnic lines. He remained at his post through the whole of the dramatic civil war

(Based on information provided by the Protocol and Liaison Service)

The new Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations, Zlatko Lagumdžija, presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Lagumdžija served between 1992 and 2015 as Minister for Foreign Affairs in the institutions of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (until 1995) and Bosnia and Herzegovina.  He also served as Chairman and Deputy Chairman/Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers twice and was elected as a Deputy in six convocations of the House of Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Mr. Lagumdžija is concurrently a professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Economics in Sarajevo, where he founded and still heads the Department of Management and Information Technology and the Management and Information Technology Center.  He is a member of several associations and boards, including the World Academy of Sciences and Arts, International Board of Directors of Nizami Ganjavi International Centers and the Board of Directors of the World Association for Artificial Intelligence, among others.

Mr. Lagumdžija has served as a visiting professor at various universities in Europe, United States and Asia, focusing on leadership in the time of sustainable development and artificial intelligence.

Born in 1955, Mr. Lagumdžija received a Bachelor of Science in 1977, a Master of Science in 1980 and a doctorate in 1988 in informatics and computer science at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.