Sulejman Spaho (; born 16 June 1949) is a

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

politician who has served as a Member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

from 2003 to 2012 as a member of the far-right

Serbian Radical Party The Serbian Radical Party (, abbr. SRS) is a Far-right politics in Serbia, far-right, Ultranationalism, ultranationalist List of political parties in Serbia, political party in Serbia. Founded in 1991, its co-founder, first and only leader is ...

Early life and political career

Sulejman Spaho was born to a

Bosnian Muslim Islam is the most widespread religion in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was introduced to the local population in the 15th and 16th centuries as a result of the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Muslims make the largest religious co ...

family from

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 ...

in 1949 in

Aleksinac Aleksinac ( sr-Cyrl, Алексинац) is a town and municipality located in the Nišava District of Southern and Eastern Serbia, southern Serbia. According to 2022 census, the municipality has a population of 43,258 inhabitants. History Preh ...

where his father was serving in the

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 ...

. Not long after, his family moved from Aleksinac to

Loznica Loznica ( sr-cyrl, Лозница, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city located in the Mačva District of western Serbia, on the right bank of the Drina river. In 2022 the city had a total population of 19,515, while the administrative area had a ...

and Spaho grew up there. Spaho's paternal grand-uncle

Mehmed Spaho Mehmed Spaho ( sr-cyrl, Мехмед Спахо; 13 March 1883 – 29 June 1939) was a Bosnian Muslim politician and leader of the Yugoslav Muslim Organization. Spaho was described as the "undisputed leader of the Bosniaks between the two world w ...

was a government minister in the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

and the most influential Bosnian Muslim politician at that time. He played handball for

RK Metaloplastika RK Metaloplastika () is a Serbian handball club based in Šabac. They compete in the Serbian Handball Super League. History The club itself dates back to 1958. They initially competed under the name Partizan. In 1970, the club changed its na ...

, worked as a VK electrician in a company Viskoza, where he was fired, after which he sold paprika at the market. Spaho joined the far-right and

ultranationalist Ultranationalism, or extreme nationalism, is an extremist form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its specific ...

(SRS) of

Vojislav Šešelj Vojislav Šešelj ( sr-Cyrl, Војислав Шешељ, ; born 11 October 1954) is a Serbian politician and convicted war criminal. He is the founder and president of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS). Between 1998 and 2000, he was a D ...

in the early 1990s and participated in the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

and 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 ...

on the

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

side. He became a Member of the

in 2003 as a replacement for another MP who died, and has been re-elected in the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and 2008 parliamentary elections. Spaho also received 50th position on the SRS electoral list for the 2016 parliamentary elections but the list gained only 22 seats. Spaho was photographed in August 2008 giving money to naked dancers at the Malibu nightclub in Loznica. After the photos leaked to public, Spaho has stated that the dancers were photoshopped into the photo. When the declaration on the

Srebrenica Massacre The Srebrenica massacre, also known as the Srebrenica genocide, was the July 1995 genocidal killing of more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in and around the town of Srebrenica during the Bosnian War. It was mainly perpetrated by unit ...

was discussed, he was not present in the assembly hall, and he will be remembered for encouraging

Ratko Mladić Ratko Mladić ( sr-Cyrl, Ратко Младић, ; born 12 March 1942) is a Bosnian Serb former military officer who led the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) during the Yugoslav Wars. In 2017, he was found guilty of committing war crimes, crim ...

, then a fugitive, to never surrender.

Personal life and life after politics

Spaho declares himself as an ethnic

and a

Muslim Serb Serb Muslims ( sr-Cyrl, Срби муслимани, Srbi muslimani) or Serb Mohammedans ( sr-Cyrl, Срби мухамеданци, Srbi muhamedanci, links=no), also referred to as ''Čitaci'' ( sr-Cyrl, Читаци, links=no), are ethnic Se ...

, however, although he declares himself a muslim, fellow MPs claim that he does not observe

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

. After finishing his MP career, Spaho has been participating in a Serbian reality show

Parovi ''Parovi'' (English title: ''Couples'') was a Serbian-based reality show created by Predrag Ranković. The show premiered on December 24, 2010 on Happy and immediately reached huge ratings. It also featured a 24-hour YouTube live streaming. Fo ...

which is broadcast on

Happy TV Nacionalna Televizija Happy (often shortened to Happy) is a privately owned TV channel in Serbia. Happy has gained a strong reputation for its entertainment programming. The station offers a compilation of international and domestic movies, Ame ...

. Currently, Spaho is a President of the non-governmental organization "Association of Serbs of the Islamic religion", which he founded with the goal of educatating as many citizens of Serbia who declare themselves as Muslim Serbs, as well as to spread historical facts about this population.

References

1949 births Living people People from Aleksinac People from Loznica Serbian Muslims Serbian people of Bosnia and Herzegovina descent Serbian Radical Party politicians Members of the National Assembly (Serbia) Serbian nationalists {{DEFAULTSORT:Spaho, Sulejman