Ejup Ganić (born 3 March 1946) is a Bosnian engineer, politician and academic who served as

President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The president of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serbo-Croatian: ''Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine'' / ''Федерација Босне и Херцеговине'') is one of the two Politi ...

from 1997 to 1999 and from 2000 to 2001. A former member of the

Party of Democratic Action The Party of Democratic Action (; abbr. SDA) is a Bosniak nationalist, conservative political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. History The Party of Democratic Action (SDA) was founded on 26 May 1990 in Sarajevo, as a "party of Muslim cultural ...

, he also served as member of the Presidency of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1990 to 1996. Ganić holds an ScD from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

. He is the founder and current

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology.

Early life and education

Ganić was born on 3 March 1946 in Sebečevo village near

Novi Pazar Novi Pazar ( sr-cyr, Нови Пазар) is a List of cities in Serbia, city located in the Raška District of southwestern Serbia. As of the 2022 census, the urban area has 71,462 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 106,720 inha ...

in the

Sandžak Sandžak (Serbian Cyrillic: ; ) is a historical and geo-political region in the Balkans, located in the southwestern part of Serbia and the eastern part of Montenegro. The Bosnian/ Serbian term ''Sandžak'' derives from the Sanjak of Novi Paza ...

geographical region of Serbia, then a part of

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

. He graduated from the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

, and holds an ScD in

engineering science Engineering physics (EP), sometimes engineering science, is the field of study combining pure science disciplines (such as physics, mathematics, chemistry or biology) and engineering disciplines (computer, nuclear, electrical, aerospace, medica ...

from the prestigious

Political career

During the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

, Ganić served in the

Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

of the

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

. He was a member of the

(SDA) between 1990 and 2000. During the war, the Bosnian government and the SDA were divided into two groups, one that looked to the West, and the other, called the

Sandžak faction The Sandžak faction or Sandžak lobby (Sandžački lobi),; known in Bosnian as ''Sandžaklije'', was one of the two main divisions of the Bosnian government and the ruling Party of Democratic Action () during the Bosnian War (1992–95; see Rep ...

, hardliners that wished to take on all. Another division was between the secularists and conservatists. Ganić was part of the Sandžak faction and the conservatists. During early talks of the

partition of Bosnia and Herzegovina The partition of Bosnia and Herzegovina was discussed and attempted during the 20th century. The issue came to prominence during the Bosnian War, which also involved Bosnia and Herzegovina's largest neighbors, Croatia and Serbia. As of 2025, the c ...

, Ganić remarked that the Bosniaks "are Islamized Serbs", and should thus join the Serb side, at a time when the SDA shifted in favour of siding with the Serbs and continuing struggling against the Croats. Following the war, Ganić served as

Vice-President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

, and then as

from 1997 to 1999, and again from 2000 to 2001.

Academic career

Ganić is the founder and current

of the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, as well as a regular professor of

at the university. He also worked as an assistant researcher at the

, assistant lecturer at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

and the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, lecturer at

University of Illinois Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...

, director of the

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

-based UNIS Institute and guest lecturer at the

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

. Ganić has published over one hundred publications, among them books such as ''Handbook of Heat Transfer Fundamentals'', ''Experimental Heat Transfer'' and ''Engineering Turbulence Modelling and Measurements''. In 2002, he published a book called ''Engineering Companion'', published by

McGraw Hill McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

. He is a member of the

American Nuclear Society The American Nuclear Society (ANS) is an international, not-for-profit organization of scientists, engineers, and industry professionals that promote the field of nuclear engineering and related disciplines. ANS is composed of three communities: ...

and many other professional societies.

Arrest and release

On 1 March 2010, Ganić was arrested at

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

after Serbian judicial authorities issued an extradition warrant. He was accused of conspiracy to murder 40

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

(JNA) soldiers in the Dobrovoljačka Street attack in May 1992. He was released on 12 March after Sanela Diana Jenkins had paid his bail. Judge John Laws remarked that the arrest warrant by Serbia was politically motivated and therefore granted Ganić bail. It was also claimed by Ganić's defence lawyers that Serbia had yet to produce any real evidence, and that most of their supposed evidence was made up of news articles regarding the Dobrovoljačka incident. However, the Serbian prosecutor's office claimed that the case contained additional evidence. On 27 July 2010, the

City of Westminster Magistrates' Court The City of Westminster Magistrates' Court was a magistrates' court located at 70 Horseferry Road, in the City of Westminster, London. It was originally called Horseferry Road Magistrates' Court, after the road in which it was sited.Her Majesty ...

blocked his extradition and released him, the judge saying that he was led to believe the extradition proceedings were "brought and

ere Ere or ERE may refer to: * ''Environmental and Resource Economics'', a peer-reviewed academic journal * ERE Informatique, one of the first French video game companies * Ere language, an Austronesian language * Ebi Ere (born 1981), American-Nigeria ...

being used for political purposes, and as such amount to an abuse of the process of this court".

War crime charges

In April 2022, a Sarajevo court charged Ganić and nine other former Bosniak political and military leaders with war crimes over the incident. They were accused of having "planned, attacked and incited thers to attackthe undefended convoy.. escorted by the UN peace forces", as well as having failed to either prevent the killings or punish the perpetrators of the attack. In July 2022, they pled not guilty in court.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ganic, Ejup 1946 births Living people People from Novi Pazar Bosniaks of Serbia Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina University of Belgrade alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Academic staff of the University of Sarajevo Party of Democratic Action politicians Politicians of the Bosnian War Politicians of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Vice presidents of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidents of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Members of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina Academic staff of the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology Foreign nationals imprisoned in the United Kingdom Heads of government who were later imprisoned