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Zlatko Hasanbegović

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Zlatko Hasanbegović
Member of Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office
14 October 2016
PresidentKolinda Grabar-Kitarović
Prime MinisterTihomir Orešković
ConstituencyI electoral district
Minister of Culture
In office
22 January 2016 – 19 October 2016
PresidentKolinda Grabar-Kitarović
Prime MinisterTihomir Orešković
Preceded byBerislav Šipuš
Succeeded byNina Obuljen Koržinek
Personal details
Born (1973-06-14) 14 June 1973 (age 51)
Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
(now Croatia)
Political partyCroatian Pure Party of Rights (1996-1997)
Croatian Democratic Union (2015-)
SpouseLamija Hasanbegović
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Zagreb
ProfessionHistorian

Zlatko Hasanbegović (pronounced [zlâtko xǎsanbeɡoʋit͜ɕ]; born 14 June 1973) is a Croatian historian who served as the 10th Minister of Culture in the Cabinet of Tihomir Orešković since 22 January until 19 October 2016.

Early life and education

Zlatko Hasanbegović was born on 14 June 1973 in Zagreb to Zumreta Hasanbegović (née Prohić) from Gračanica and Ibrahim Hasanbegović from Bosanska Gradiška. His mother's side of the family moved from Gračanica (modern day Bosnia and Herzegovina) to the Croatian capital of Zagreb in 1941. His grandfather Sabrija Prohić was a rich industrialist with properties across the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During World War II, the Prohić family helped hide a Jewish girl from Gračanica in their house in Zagreb. After the war, they were accused for smuggling of foreign currency and arrested by the Communists. Sabrija Prohić tried to escape to Argentina, but was caught and later killed as a "class enemy", while their entire property was confiscated.[3][4]

Hasanbegović finished elementary and high school in Zagreb, after which he enrolled in Zagreb Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences where he graduated in history. He gained his doctorate on the same Faculty in 2009 in the field of history under supervisory of Ivo Goldstein.[5]

Career

Hasanbegović is working as a research associate on the Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar. He is the editor of Pilar journal, member of executive committee of the Majlis of Zagreb's Muslim community,[6][7][8] President of the Supervisory Board of the Honorary Bleiburg Platoon, an organisation which is the main organizer of the commemoration for Bleiburg repatriations, and associate of various initiatives for the determination of victims of communist terror. The subject of his interest is the relation of modern Croatian national ideology, in particular the Party of Rights and its present-day offshoots, Islam in Croatia and Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 19th and 20th centuries. Hasanbegović researched the Muslim component of Croatian bourgeois culture until 1945 and the political and religious-ethnic relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the 1878 Austro-Hungarian rule until the communist takeover in the 1940s.[9][10] Hasanbegović has published Croatian translations of several essays: Against Democracy and Equality: The European New Right by Tomislav Sunić, The Holocaust Industry by Norman Finkelstein, Intellectual Terrorism by Jure Vujić, Communism and Nazism by Alain de Benoist, and Wahhabism by Hamid Algar.[11]

He entered politics in his youth when he was a member of the Croatian Pure Party of Rights (HČSP).[12] In 2015 he joined the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).[13] On 8 May 2015[14] during the „Otvoreno“ show on Croatian Radiotelevision Hasanbegović stated that anti-fascism is not in the foundations of the Croatian Constitution; "Croatian War of Independence is the only war in the 20th century from which Croats came out as true winners and the only basis on which Croatia should be built. Ghosts and goblins of the past will cause a permanent rift and endless debate. Anti-fascism is not the foundation of Croatia, but a platitude that has no basis in the constitutional text, not being mentioned anywhere."[15] Deputy Parliament Speaker and professor of constitutional law Robert Podolnjak from the governing Bridge of Independent Lists party, among many others, stated that anti-fascism is indeed foundation of the Croatian Constitution.[16] Hasanbegović said that his remarks about anti-fascism were related to the Yugoslav totalitarian legacy and Titoism:[17] "All who abuse the notion of anti-fascism, which can be fluid, as is well-known to historians, know that various meanings can be attributed to that notion. Stalin, Tito, Pol Pot and also U.S. General Patton were anti-fascists. Everyone knows that those were different persons. We are not talking about abstract anti-fascism but about the particular Yugoslav Communist totalitarian legacy."[18]

Culture Minister

On 22 January 2016, Hasanbegović was appointed as Minister of Culture by Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković. A part of the cultural workers expressed their dissatisfaction mainly due to his comments about anti-fascism and his lack of experience in management of culture. Civic initiative Platform 112, which brings together 70 NGOs, held a protest in front of the Parliament on the day when the new Government was approved, urging MP's to vote against the Cabinet of Tihomir Orešković because of Hasanbegović.[19] The Croatian Journalists' Association issued a statement in which they strongly opposed the nomination of Hasanbegovic as Minister of Culture.[20] The Israel-based Simon Wiesenthal Center urged Croatian Government to dismiss Hasanbegović, saying he took a disdainful attitude towards Croatian resistance to fascism during World War Two.[21] The Croatian Helsinki Committee (HHO) and the Initiative EU 1481 of Matica hrvatska for encouraging public awareness of the totalitarian communist regime dismissed accusations against Hasanbegović as unfounded.[22][23][24] Hasanbegović stated that the protests against him were not supported by any facts but based on a selective use of his different statements.[18]

As one of his first moves as minister, Hasanbegović announced that there is no need for the continuation of government funding of any non-profit media.[25] The International and European Federations of Journalists joined their affiliates in Croatia, the HND and the Trade Union of Croatian Journalists (Sinoh) in condemning this decision, as well as the Hasanbegović's dissolution of the Expert Committee for non-profit media before the end of its mandate.[26] Under the new budget for 2016, the Croatian government stopped funding certain cultural projects and non-profit media, which Hasanbegović described as "racket money", adding that tax-payers' money will no longer be distributed in a non-transparent way for neither the left-wing nor right-wing media.[27]

In May, he signed a cooperation deal with Hungary's Minister Zoltán Balog.[28] At the 17th electoral convention of the HDZ, Hasanbegović was elected to the HDZ Presidency and received most votes.[29]

HOP controversy

In 1996, Hasanbegović wrote at least two articles in the magazine "The Independent State of Croatia", named after the fascist Independent State of Croatia (NDH), in which he glorified the Ustaše as heroes and martyrs.[30] The magazine was edited by the far-right Croatian Liberation Movement (HOP) and Hasanbegović was described as a young HOP member in it. Commenting on his texts from 1996 twenty years later, Hasanbegović said that the crimes of the Ustaše were "the biggest moral lapse" of the Croatian people in their history, adding: "Using totally peripheral statements I made as a student more than 20 years ago and taking them out of context is nothing but political manipulation".[31] He also denied that he was ever a member of the Croatian Liberation Movement.[17][18]

In the early 1990s, Hasanbegović posed for a photo in Split wearing a cap with what is allegedly an Ustaše badge.[32] The photograph's resurfacing in 2016 and its circulation in the Croatian media caused major backlash, despite Hasanbegović denying that he was wearing an Ustaša cap, claiming the photo was taken in 1993 and that it was manipulated.[33] He admitted to be in the photo, but claimed to have merely worn a black cap that was a part of the uniform of Croatian Defence Forces, Croatian Party of Rights' paramilitary (1991-1992).[34] CDF rank and file never wore such caps as part of their uniforms,[35] but some extremist members (such as Split battalion commander, Marko Skejo) did own and sport Ustaša caps.[36]

Publications

  • Muslims in Zagreb, 1878-1945. The Era of the Foundation; Majlis of the Islamic Community Zagreb - Institute of Social Sciences "Ivo Pilar", Zagreb, 2007.
  • Yugoslav Muslim Organisation 1929-1941 (In War and Revolution 1941-1945); Bosniac National Community - Institute of Social Sciences "Ivo Pilar" – Majlis of the Islamic Community Zagreb, Zagreb, 2012.

References

  1. ^ Ante Srzić (2016-02-15). "'Čudno je da Srbi i Židovi kidišu na Hasanbegovića' - tportal.hr". M.tportal.hr. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  2. ^ Nermin Botonjić. "Islamska zajednica u Hrvatskoj – Priopćenje za javnost". Islamska-zajednica.hr. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  3. ^ Mamić, Tomislav (29 Jan 2016). "'HASANBEGOVIĆ NEĆE SMIJENITI FRLJIĆA, ALI IDE U REVIZIJU UGOVORA S NEVLADINIM UDRUGAMA' Na što su novac trošili H-alter, Muf, Mladi antifašisti...?". Jutarnji list. Retrieved 2 Feb 2016.
  4. ^ "Hasanbegović: Komunisti su nam uzeli 19 kuća, duhan, alkohol i devize, a djeda Sabriju su ubili'". Jutarnji.hr. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  5. ^ ""TIM'S TEAM": Biografije novih ministara". Nacional.Hr. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  6. ^ "Islamska zajednica u Hrvatskoj – Konstituiran izvršni odbor medžlisa Islamske zajednice Zagreb za period 2010-2014./1432-1436. h. g". Islamska-zajednica.hr. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  7. ^ "Islamska zajednica u Hrvatskoj – Članovi IOM-a". Islamska-zajednica.hr. 13 December 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Bilten" (PDF). Nkc-sisak.hr. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  9. ^ "ZLATKO HASANBEGOVIĆ Biografija novog ministra kulture". Dnevnik.hr. 2016-01-21. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  10. ^ "Hasanbegović ide u reviziju ugovora s nevladinim udrugama". Jutarnji.hr. 2016-01-29. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  11. ^ "Jure Vujić: O Puhovskom, Novostima i drugim čuvarima liberalno-lijevog jednoumlja". maxportal.hr. 26 February 2016.
  12. ^ "Povijest Mladeži HČSP-a". hcsp.hr. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  13. ^ "Predsjednik Karamarko na sjednici Gradskog odbora HDZ-a Grada Zagreba". hdz.hr. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  14. ^ "TKO JE KONTROVERZNI MINISTAR KULTURE? 'Hasanbegović je relevantan znanstvenik, a ne nekakav luđak kakvim ga se nastoji prikazati u javnosti'". Jutarnji.hr. 2016-01-23. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  15. ^ "Novi ministar kulture kontroverzan je čovjek, a ovo je 8 njegovih izjava –". Telegram.hr. 2016-01-21. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  16. ^ "Antifašizam jest temelj Ustava, a registar izdajnika je neprihatljiv. Oni će to to morati objasniti javnosti". vecernji.hr. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  17. ^ a b "Hasanbegović: Ako na internetu piše da sam ubio Kennedyja, ne znači da je to istina". vecernji.hr. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  18. ^ a b c "Culture Minister nominee says is exposed to "ideological lynching"". EBL News. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  19. ^ "Pred Saborom prosvjed protiv Hasanbegovića i Crnoje". hrt.hr. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  20. ^ "HND, Platform 112 against nomination of Hasanbegovic as culture minister". EBL News. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
  21. ^ "Anti-Nazi centre urges dismissal of Croatia's culture minister". Reuters UK. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
  22. ^ "Some associations against, some for ministers of culture, war veterans". EBL News. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  23. ^ "HHO dismisses accusations against new culture minister". EBL News. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  24. ^ "Corps of Internet Journalists backs culture minister's decision". EBL News. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  25. ^ "Minister says no need for nonprofit media commission". EBL News. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  26. ^ "Croatia: governmental attacks on Media Freedom | European Federation of Journalists". europeanjournalists.org. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
  27. ^ "Culture minister warns Srebrenica genocide negator criticises Croatia". EBL News. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  28. ^ "Hungary and Croatia ink cultural cooperation deal". EBL News. 24 May 2016.
  29. ^ "HDZ gets new presidency, Milijan Brkic elected Karamarko's deputy". EBL News. 29 May 2016.
  30. ^ "Minister say photo yet another attempt to vilify him". EBL News. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  31. ^ "Hasanbegovic: Ustasha crimes biggest moral lapse in history of Croatian people". EBL News. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  32. ^ Hockenos, Paul: "Croatia’s Far Right Weaponizes the Past", Foreign Policy, May 6, 2016
  33. ^ "Oporba složno: 'Ako je fotografija na kojoj Hasanbegović nosi ustašku kapu autentična, on mora otići' ", vijesti.hr, 10.02.2016
  34. ^ "Hasanbegović: Riječ je o montaži, ovo poprima obilježja ludila; Đikić: Nema sumnje u autentičnost", Slobodna Dalmacija, 10. 02. 2016.
  35. ^ Butorac, Davor: "RATNI ZAPOVJEDNIK HOS-a 'Mi smo nosili šahovnicu, a ne ‘U’; POVJESNIČAR 'HOS-ovci nikad nisu imali takve kape, već su nosili beretke'", Jutarnji list, 11.02.2016.
  36. ^ Bajto, Nikola. "HOS-ova kapa", Novosti, February 13th, 2016.
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