Zukan Helez
Helez in 2023
Minister of Defence
Assumed office
25 January 2023
Prime MinisterBorjana Krišto
Preceded bySifet Podžić
Federal Minister for Veterans and Disabled Veterans
In office
17 March 2011 – 31 March 2015
Prime MinisterNermin Nikšić
Preceded byZahid Crnkić
Succeeded bySalko Bukvarević
Parliamentary offices
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
6 December 2018 – 25 January 2023
Personal details
Born (1964-01-01) 1 January 1964
Kupres, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia
NationalityBosnian
Political partySocial Democratic Party
Children3
Alma materUniversity of Sarajevo
Military service
Allegiance Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Branch/serviceArmy of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Years of service1991–1993
Battles/warsBosnian War

Zukan Helez (born 1 January 1964) is a Bosnian politician serving as Minister of Defence since January 2023. He is also the current Vice-chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving alongside Staša Košarac. He was previously a member of the national House of Representatives from 2018 to 2023.

Helez served as Federal Minister for Veterans and Disabled Veterans from 2011 to 2015. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party.

Early life and education

Helez was born on 1 January 1964 in Kupres where he finished elementary school. He attended high school in Bugojno between 1979 and 1983, after which he attended the Faculty of Science and Mathematics in Sarajevo, where he graduated in 1988. After his studies, Helez got a job as a professor in Skender Vakuf. In May 1992, at the beginning of the Bosnian War, he became a member of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[1]

After he was demobilized at the end of the war, Helez started working as a teacher in secondary schools in Donji Vakuf and Bugojno. In Italy, Germany and France, he participated in international seminars in the secondary education reform project in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[2]

Political career

A member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP BiH), Helez was elected vice president of the SDP BiH Cantonal Committee of the Central Bosnia Canton in 2003, and president in 2005. In the 2000 parliamentary election, he was elected to the Federal House of Representatives. He was re-elected in the 2002, 2006 and the 2010 general elections.[1]

Helez served his fourth term in the Federal Parliament until 17 March 2011, when he was appointed Federal Minister for Veterans and Disabled Veterans in the government of Nermin Nikšić. He served as Federal minister until 31 March 2015.[3] In the Federal House of Representatives, he was a member of several working bodies, boards and commissions as vice president and president.[2]

In the 2018 general election, Helez was elected to the national House of Representatives.[4] He was re-elected to the national House of Representatives in the 2022 general election.[5]

On 25 January 2023, following the formation of a new Council of Ministers presided over by Borjana Krišto, Helez was appointed as the new Minister of Defence and also as vice-chairman of the Council of Ministers within Krišto's government.[6] On 23 November 2023, Helez claimed that paramilitary camps backed by Russia were detected in Republika Srpska, one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[7] His statement angered top level Bosnian Serb politicians, who said Helez "has no proof" and that he "is spreading lies that aim to cause unrest and fear."[8] On 25 November, the Intelligence-Security Agency informed the Council of Ministers that it had no information about the existence of any military camps or paramilitary formations in the country.[9] Following his claims, Helez gave a witness statement to the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[10]

Personal life

Helez is married and has three children.[1] Besides his native Bosnian, he speaks English and Russian fluently.[11] He commonly refers to himself in the third person.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Zukan Helez". javnarasprava.ba (in Bosnian). Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Ministarstvo za pitanja boraca i invalida odbrambeno-oslobodilačkog rata". fbihvlada.gov.ba (in Bosnian). Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  3. ↑ E.F. (31 March 2015). "Federacija BiH konačno dobila novu Vladu" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Zastupnici saziv 2018 - 2022". parlament.ba (in Bosnian). Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  5. ↑ S.S. (1 December 2022). "Konstituisan novi saziv: Ovo su imena poslanika Predstavničkog doma Parlamentarne skupštine BiH". Avaz.ba (in Bosnian). Dnevni avaz. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  6. ↑ N.V. (25 January 2023). "BiH dobila novo Vijeće ministara, državnu vlast sada čini SNSD, HDZ, SDP, NiP, NS, DNS..." (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  7. ↑ M.G. (23 November 2023). "Helez tvrdi da u RS-u postoje ruski paravojni kampovi, Košarac odmah zatražio sastanak s OSA-om" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  8. ↑ "Russia-backed paramilitary camps detected in Bosnia's Republika Srpska, defence minister says". intellinews.com. 24 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  9. ↑ "OSA nema informacije o postojanju vojnih kampova i paravojnih formacija u BiH". faktor.ba (in Bosnian). 25 November 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  10. ↑ S.Š. (27 November 2023). "Helez danas daje izjavu u Tužilaštvu BiH: Naoružan sam informacijama" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  11. ↑ "Zukan Helez". parlament.ba (in Bosnian). Retrieved 15 January 2023.
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