Alija Behmen Passes Away

SARAJevo, (Patria) - Alija Behmen, prominent politician and university professor, passed away in Sarajevo at the age of 78, confirmed the president of the Main Board of SDP BiH, Saša Magazinović.

Behmen suffered a severe stroke a few days ago, after which he was admitted to the Clinical Center of the University of Sarajevo (KCUS). Unfortunately, he lost his battle for life.

Alija Behmen was born on December 25, 1940, in Split. In 1969, he graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Sarajevo, and in 1974, he defended his master's thesis in the field of marketing. He defended his doctoral dissertation at the Faculty of Economics in the field of modeling transport costs and their impact on the reproduction and development of the economy.

After completing his studies, he worked at the Institute of Economics in Sarajevo, and from May 1970, he worked at the Sarajevo Transport Enterprise (ŽTO Sarajevo) in responsible positions for technological and economic functions, as well as deputy president and president of the Management Board of ŽTO Sarajevo. In the period from 1978 to 1980, he was the president of the Management Board of the Intersped Working Organization, when he was elected as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Transport and Communications, where he became an associate professor.

From March 2001 to the end of 2003, Alija Behmen served as the Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the general elections in 1998, as a candidate of SDP BiH, he was elected as a deputy in the Assembly of Sarajevo Canton and deputy chairman of the House of Peoples of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2006, he was elected as a deputy in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In January 2009, his mandate as a deputy ended when he was elected to the position of Mayor of Sarajevo. He served as the Mayor of the City of Sarajevo until 2013.