Rasim Ljajić ( sr-cyrl, Расим Љајић, ; born 28 January 1964) is a Serbian politician who served as the

Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia The Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia ( sr, Потпредседник Владе Србије / Potpredsednik Vlade Srbije, literally translated as Vice President of the Government of Serbia), is the official Deputy of the Prime Minister of Se ...

and the Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications from 27 July 2012 to 28 October 2020. He is the president of the

Social Democratic Party of Serbia The Social Democratic Party of Serbia ( sr, Социјалдемократска партија Србије, Socijaldemokratska partija Srbije, SDPS) is a centre-left political party in Serbia. It is orientated towards social democracy. His ...

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

from 21 January 2007. Ljajić was also the president of the National Council for Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal.

Education

Ljajić graduated from the

University of Sarajevo The University of Sarajevo ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Univerzitet u Sarajevu'' / Sveučilište u Sarajevu / Универзитет у Сарајеву) is a public university located in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the largest ...

School of Medicine.

Political career

In 1990, Ljajić was elected Secretary General of the

Party of Democratic Action of Sandžak The Party of Democratic Action of Sandžak ( bs, Stranka demokratske akcije Sandžaka, sr, Странка демократске акције Санџака, SDA S) is a political party in Serbia, representing the Bosniak ethnic minority conce ...

as one of its founders, a branch of the SDA in the

Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Република Босна и Херцеговина) was a state in Southeastern Europe, existing from 1992 to 1995. It is the direct lega ...

, aimed at gathering Bosniaks in Serbia. In 1993 he left the party and with dissidents formed the

Sandžak Democratic Party The Social Democratic Party of Serbia ( sr, Социјалдемократска партија Србије, Socijaldemokratska partija Srbije, SDPS) is a centre-left political party in Serbia. It is orientated towards social democracy. His ...

, criticizing

Sulejman Ugljanin Sulejman Ugljanin (; sr-cyrl, Сулејман Угљанин; born 20 November 1953) is a Serbian politician. An ethnic Bosniak, he has led the Party of Democratic Action of Sandžak since its establishment in 1990. Ugljanin was previously t ...

for being an extremist and endorsing separatism from Yugoslavia in an effort to join an enlarged Bosnia dominated by Bosnian Muslims. One of the

Democratic Opposition of Serbia The Democratic Opposition of Serbia ( sr, Демократска oпозиција Cрбије, Demokratska opozicija Srbije), commonly referred to as DOS, was a wide alliance of political parties in Serbia, intent on ousting the ruling Socialis ...

leaders, he became Minister of Human and Minority Rights in 2000 after the fall of

Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...

, and his mandate as a minister was extended in the rump DS-led 2001 government. Ljajić is the long-term Head of the Coordination Team with the Hague Tribunal. In the 2003 parliamentary election he unsuccessfully led a "Together for Tolerance" coalition, along with

Nenad Čanak Nenad Čanak ( sr-Cyrl, Ненад Чанак, ; born 2 November 1959) is a Serbian politician. He is the co-founder and former leader of the centre-left League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina. He was the President of the Assembly of Vojvodina ...

of the

League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina The League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina ( sr-cyrl, Лига социјалдемократа Војводине, Liga socijaldemokrata Vojvodine, LSV) is an autonomist political party in Serbia. Its current leader since 19 November 2022 is Bo ...

and Jožef Kasa of the

Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians The Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians ( hu, Vajdasági Magyar Szövetség; sr, Савез војвођанских Мађара, Savez vojvođanskih Mađara; abbr. СВМ, SVM, or VMSZ) is a regionalist political party in Serbia representing th ...

. The coalition received 4.2% of the vote and did not pass the 5% threshold.

Personal life

Ljajić is an ethnic Bosniak. His relative and close friend Dževad Ljajić died in the military helicopter crash in Serbia on the night of 14 March 2015, which also claimed six other lives. On 10 April 2022, Ljajić was seriously injured in a car accident on the

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, whi ...

Highway near

Ražanj Ražanj () is a village and municipality located in the Nišava District of southern Serbia. The municipality consists of 23 settlements having a total population of 9,150 inhabitants, with 1,245 inhabitants living in Ražanj itself. The municip ...

. His associate and former MP Branko Gogić was killed in the accident.

References

External links

Ministry of Human and Minority Rights

Socialdemocratic Party of Serbia

Official presentation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ljajic, Rasim 1964 births Living people Bosniaks of Serbia Politicians from Novi Pazar Government ministers of Serbia Social Democratic Party of Serbia politicians Members of the National Assembly (Serbia) University of Sarajevo alumni Deputy Prime Ministers of Serbia