Army of RBiH General Muharem Fetahagić Passes Away

(Patria) - Retired general Muharem Fetahagić, one of the founders of the Association of Generals of Bosnia and Herzegovina, passed away in Sarajevo yesterday at the age of 88.

Fetahagić was one of the few generals of the former JNA who, from the very beginning of the aggression, placed himself at the disposal of the defenders and the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The funeral prayer and burial will take place on Wednesday at 1:30 PM at the City Cemetery "Bare" in Sarajevo.

The Association of Generals of BiH called on all comrades-in-arms, patriots, and citizens of our homeland to pay tribute to a comrade, colleague, and friend and to jointly bid him farewell from this world.

Biography

Muharem Fetahagić was born on December 14, 1937, in Derventa. He completed elementary school, high school, and teacher's college in Gračanica, where he briefly worked as a teacher after completing his education.

He attended the military academy of the former JNA from 1958 to 1961 in Belgrade, from where he was assigned to Tuzla.

During his service in Tuzla, he held positions from platoon commander, company commander, to important duties in the division command. During this period, he completed the School for Professional Development in Sarajevo and the Command Staff Academy in Belgrade, where he was the best student and ranked first.

He was transferred to Sarajevo in 1981 to the position of Secretary of the Presidency of the League of Communists of the Sarajevo Army District, and in 1983, he was appointed Assistant Commander of the Territorial Defense of SR BiH.

He was appointed to the position of Republican Secretary for National Defense in the Executive Council of SR BiH in 1986 and held this position until 1991, when he was appointed Deputy Commander of the Territorial Defense of SR BiH. Shortly thereafter, he was transferred to the position of Corps Commander of the former JNA in SR Macedonia.

In March 1992, the corps withdrew to the territory of Serbia, and shortly thereafter, he was transferred to Sarajevo to the position of Assistant Commander of the 2nd Military District, then already the JA (Yugoslav Army).

He took over his duties on April 5, and the aggression against our country officially began on April 6, 1992.

The very next day, he contacted officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of RBiH and announced that he wished to join the defenders. On April 13, he physically left the Command of the 2nd Military District of the JA and moved to the premises of the then Military Hospital in Sarajevo, informing the members of the Presidency of RBiH that he was officially available.

This made him one of the few generals of the former JNA who actively placed himself at the disposal of the official state bodies of RBiH and its legal military forces.

During the aggression, he served as an advisor in the Ministry of Defense of RBiH, and from October 1993 until his retirement, he held the position of Head of the Department for Military Education and Training in the same ministry.

He was retired in 1996 with the rank of Brigadier General of the Army of RBiH.