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Hajrudin Somun

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Hajrudin Somun, (born April 10, 1937, Čajniče, Bosnia and Herzegovina) Bosnian journalist and diplomat, served as the Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1993–2003).

Cover photo of book by Hajrudin Somun "Personal View of the World" by Rabic d.o.o.

Somun was born in Čajniče to father Ibrahim, an imam, and mother Muniba (née Sirćo), a manufacturer in a shoe factory. He was the best student in his generation in Arabic, Persian and Turkish languages (1962) at the University of Sarajevo, and specialized Arabic at the Baghdad University in Iraq (1962–65). Somun is a "respected journalist"[1] since high school, Somun was employed at the Sarajevo leading daily Oslobođenje (1965-1969), then TV Sarajevo as war reporter and commentator for international affairs (1969-1976). He first made his mark in Yugoslav journalism with a series of articles from Iraqi Kurdistan, where he went secretly and spent time in the headquarters of the renowned Kurdish leader Mustafa Barzani. He reported on conflicts in the Middle East and was awarded for his TV films on the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and the Palestinian Commandos in 1974. He was also rewarded by various journalist awards in the former Yugoslavia and Bosnia. The Association of Journalists of Bosnia and Herzegovina awarded him with the Lifetime Award in 2015.[2] Somun was appointed Middle Eastern correspondent for the Yugoslav News Agency (TANJUG), reporting from Baghdad for the Persian Gulf area (1976–79). He reported on the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1978-79 that lead to his first co-authored publication with well-known Iranian writer Reza Baraheni.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the former Yugoslavia (SFRJ) offered him a position as counselor to the Yugoslav Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, where he served 1979–82. Somun was Advisor on International Affairs to Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina until he was posted abroad again as minister counselor to the Yugoslav Embassy in Tehran, Iran (1987-1991). He was the Director of International Liaisons and Protocol of the Winter Olympic Games 1984 in Sarajevo.[3]

He was appointed Foreign Policy Advisor to the Presidency and the first President of the independent Bosnia and Herzegovina, the late Alija Izetbegović.[4][5] He was part of the Bosnian delegation at the London and Geneva Peace Conference (1992-1993), as well as at frequent international peace seeking meetings and mediation for the war-torn Bosnia. Somun was appointed first Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Ankara, Turkey in 1993 where he remained for five years. In the Bosnian Foreign Ministry he served as the head for non-European countries and spokesperson until his last diplomatic appointment as ambassador in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2002-2004). While serving in Kuala Lumpur, he wrote the book "Mahathir: The Secret of the Malaysian Success" that was a best-seller in Malaysia for several years.[6]

After retirement he lectured on history of diplomacy at the Philip-Noel Baker International University in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and today he actively publishes books, and contributes to the daily and weekly TV,[7] papers and magazines in Bosnia and Herzegovina [1] and abroad Archived 26 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine.[8] He is currently[when?] completing a book on Kurdistan and is the Honorary Consul General of Bangladesh in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[9]

Books

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Beograd: Rad, 1976.[10]

The Roots of the Iranian Revolution, co-author with the Iranian writer Reza Baraheni, Belgrade: NIN-Politika, 1979.[11]

Beirut in Poetry (translation and interpretation of contemporary Palestinian poetry), Sarajevo: Radio-Sarajevo, 1987.[12]

Bosnia Today - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Limkokwing, 2003.[13]

Mahathir, tajna malezijskog čuda, Sarajevo: Dani, 2003.[14]

Mahathir: The Secret of the Malaysian Success, Kuala Lumpur: Pelanduk, 2003.[15]

Ghassan Kanafani: From the Country of Sad Oranges, Sarajevo: Dobra knjiga, 2012.[16]

Personal View of the World, Sarajevo: Rabic, 2012.[17]

Sarajevo: My City, co-author, Sarajevo: Rabic, 2013.[18]

Palestinian Naqba, Sarajevo: Rabic, 2015. (Palestinska nakba)[19]

Are we anti-semitic? Links between the nations of former Yugoslavia with Jews and Palestinians, Sarajevo: Rabic, 2017. (Jesmo i antisemiti? Veze naroda bivše Jugoslavije sa Jevrejima i Palestincima) (promoted in Sarajevo 19 June 2017, Zagreb, Croatia 21 June 2017[20] and Ljubljana, Slovenia 22 June 2017[21])

Gasana Kanafani iz dežele žalostnih pomorandž, Hajrudin and Lejla Somun, Forma 7, Ljubljana, Slovenija, 2017.[22])

Sefernameh from Iran (Sefernama iz Irana), Sarajevo: Dobra knjiga, 2019.(promoted in Sarajevo 14 February 2019 book review [23][24]

Notable articles

Bosnia-Herzegovina Diaspora, Forum Bosnae, Vol. 1 No.1/2, pp 128–135, Sarajevo: Forum Bosnae, 1998.

"Bosnia and Herzegovina – Turkey, 1992-1995," in A Bridge Between Cultures: Studies on Ottoman and Republican Turkey in memory of Ali Ihsan Bagis, edited by Sinan Kuneralp. The ISIS Press, Istanbul, 2006.[25]

Turkish Foreign Policy in the Balkans and "Neo-Ottomanism": A Personal Account, Insight Turkey Vol. 13 / No. 3 / 2011 pp. 33–41[26]

How Middle East revolutions relativize theories on „neo-Ottomanism", Politeia, Year 1, No. 2, Dec 2011[27]

Policy analysis: “Iran and the Middle East – Perspectives Resting on Old Premises”, Foreign Policy Initiative BiH and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Sarajevo, October 2016[28][29]

Interviews

Novo vrijeme, newsportal, Hajrudin Somun: Ekstremisti ISIS-a će formirati novu, ekstremističku državu[30]

From Sarajevo to Tehran and Back, Iranian.com by Fariba Amini[31]

Conference presentation: Debating New Turkey, 10 December 2010[32]

OBN TV, Reflex: Political Situation in Egypt and Turkey, 29 July 2013[33]

Federal Radio, The World Today, 4 January 2014,[34]

Liberty TV, 30 Years Since Sarajevo Winter Olympic Games, 2 February 2014,[35]

Radio Free Europe, Sarajevo Three Decades Later: Far Away from the Olympic Motto, 8 February 2014[36]

TV1 Ukraine Crisis, 19 April 2014[37]

HRT1 News, On ISIS and Iraq, 26 June 2014[38]

FACE TV Face to Face Interview, 12 December 2015[39]

OSM TV Face of the Nation Interview, 26 October 2016[40]

TV1 Refugees and Berlin Attack, 21 December 2016[41]

N1 - CNN - There will be no war! 2 February 219 [42]

References

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  1. ^ "Duhovnost bez isključivosti" Edina Smajović in Preporodov Journal 150-151, April 2013, p.6 http://islamska-zajednica.hr/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/PREPORODOV-Journal-br.-150-151.pdf Archived 22 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "DNBIH". www.dnbih.ba. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  3. ^ "Sarajevo tri decenije kasnije: Daleko od olimpijskog gesla". Radio Slobodna Evropa.
  4. ^ TEMPEST, RONE (4 January 1993). "France Backs Bush on Bosnia 'No-Fly' Action" – via LA Times.
  5. ^ "Business - U.N. Force Unpopular From Start In Sarajevo - Seattle Times Newspaper". community.seattletimes.nwsource.com.
  6. ^ Somun, Hajrudin (2003). Hajrudin Somun The Secret of the Malaysian Success Tra Edition. ISBN 9679788792.
  7. ^ "Hajrudin Somun tagged in N1/CNN".
  8. ^ "Hajrudin Somun - The Guardian". the Guardian.
  9. ^ "BANGLADEŠ - Počasni generalni konzulat". www.mvp.gov.ba.
  10. ^ "Hašemitska kraljevina Jordan / Hajrudin Somun COBIB.SR". vbs.rs.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ "Koreni iranskog revolta / Reza Baraheni, Hajrudin Somun COBIB.SR". vbs.rs.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ "Bejrut u pjesmi / izbor, prevod i predgovor Hajrudin Somun COBIB.BH". bh.cobiss.net.[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ "Bosnia Today, Hajrudin Somun, Limkokwing" (PDF). media.limkokwing.net.
  14. ^ "Mahathir, tajna malezijskog čuda / Hajrudin Somun COBIB.BH". bh.cobiss.net.[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ Somun, Hajrudin (2003). Hajrudin Somun The Secret of the Malaysian Success Tra Edition. ISBN 9679788792.
  16. ^ "Gasan Kanafani iz zemlje tužnih narandži, Hajrudin Somun, Dobra knjiga, POINT knjižara, on-line trgovina". www.knjiga.ba.
  17. ^ "Lična strana svijeta, Hajrudin Somun, Rabic, POINT knjižara, on-line trgovina". www.knjiga.ba.
  18. ^ "Sarajevo moj grad, knjiga 5. Rabic, POINT knjižara, on-line trgovina". www.knjiga.ba.
  19. ^ "Hajrudin Somun: "Palestinska Nakba" - DW - 25.05.2015". DW.COM.
  20. ^ Dogodeksi.com. "Promocija knjige Hajrudina Somuna: Jesmo li antisemiti ?". Dogodeksi.com.[permanent dead link]
  21. ^ "Okrugli stol: Jesmo li antisemiti? - Ifimes". www.ifimes.org.
  22. ^ "Nase knjige". www.zalozbaforma7.si.
  23. ^ oslobodjenje.ba (13 February 2019). "Knjiga Hajrudina Somuna 'Sefarnama iz Irana': O kulturnim vrijednostima iranske civilizacije". oslobodjenje.ba.
  24. ^ knjiga.ba. "Knjiga Hajrudina Somuna 'Sefarnama iz Irana'". knjiga.ba.
  25. ^ "A Bridge Between Cultures: Studies on Ottoman and Republican Turkey in memory of Ali Ihsan Bagis, edited by Sinan Kuneralp". amazon.com.
  26. ^ Somun, Hajrudin (July 2011). "Turkish Foreign Policy in the Balkans and "Neo-Ottomanism": A Personal Account by Hajrudin Somun". Insight Turkey.
  27. ^ "Почетна - Факултет политичких наука - Универзитет у Бањој Луци". fpn.unibl.org.
  28. ^ "Presentation of policy analysis: "Iran and the Middle East – Perspectives Resting on Old Premises" Hajrudin Somun". vpi.ba.
  29. ^ "Policy analysis: "Iran and the Middle East – Perspectives Resting on Old Premises" by Hajrudin Somun" (PDF). vpi.ba.
  30. ^ "Hajrudin Somun: Ekstremisti ISIS-a će formirati novu, ekstremističku državu". Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  31. ^ "From Sarajevo to Tehran and Back by Fariba Amini". 1 August 2002.
  32. ^ The SETA Foundation at Washington DC (10 December 2010). "Debating New Turkey - Panel II, Hajrudin Somun - Part I" – via YouTube.
  33. ^ "OBN TV, Reflex: Political Situation in Egypt and Turkey - Hajrudin Somun interview". www.youtube.com.
  34. ^ "Federalna.ba - Hajrudin Somun interview". www.federalna.ba.
  35. ^ "ZOI 84 - SPECIJALNO IZDANJE". Radio Slobodna Evropa.
  36. ^ "Sarajevo tri decenije kasnije: Daleko od olimpijskog gesla". Radio Slobodna Evropa.
  37. ^ "TV1 Ukraine Crisis - Hajrudin Somun interview". www.youtube.com.
  38. ^ Damir Ilic (27 June 2014). "ISIL - poraz u Siriji i osvajanje Iraka" – via YouTube.
  39. ^ FACE HD TV (12 December 2015). "Hajrudin Somun u CD-u: Što više bombarduju ISIL, on više napreduje" – via YouTube.
  40. ^ Televizija OSM (26 October 2016). "LICE NACIJE OSMTV 26 10 2016 gost HAJRUDIN SOMUN bivsi ambasador BiH u Turskoj i Maleziji" – via YouTube.
  41. ^ TV1 HD (21 December 2016). "Gost Dnevnika TV1 - Hajrudin Somun" – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  42. ^ "Hajrudin Somun za N1 Nece biti rata - N1 - CNN - There will be no war!". 2 February 2019.
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