Sven Alkalaj
| Sven Alkalaj | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe | |
|
In office 8 March 2012 – 8 April 2014 |
|
| Preceded by | Ján Kubiš |
| Succeeded by | Christian Friis Bach |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
|
In office 9 February 2007 – 10 February 2012 |
|
| Prime Minister | Nikola Špirić |
| Preceded by | Mladen Ivanić |
| Succeeded by | Zlatko Lagumdžija |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
11 November 1948 Sarajevo, SFR Yugoslavia |
| Citizenship |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina
 Croatia
|
| Political party | Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (SBiH) |
| Alma mater | University of Sarajevo |
Sven Alkalaj (born 11 November 1948) is a Bosnian-Croatian diplomat who served as the country's Foreign Minister from 2007 to 2012 under Prime Minister Nikola Špirić. More recently, Alkalaj held the post of Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe between 2012 and 2014. Alkalaj is one of the most prominent Bosnian Jews of Sephardic origin and is a longtime member of the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (SBiH) led by Haris Silajdžić.
Alkalaj was born on 11 November 1948 in Sarajevo to a Sephardi Jewish father and Bosnian Croat Catholic mother. He was raised Jewish.
His paternal family emigrated from Spain and settled in Sarajevo hundreds of years ago when they fled the Spanish inquisition. Alkalaj graduated mechanical engineering at the University of Sarajevo in 1974. He returned to the university in 1987 and earned a degree in economics.
Alkalaj was criticised and his resignation demanded in 2007 after it was published in Bosnian media that he had taken Croatian citizenship in 2006 based upon his mother's lineage.
Alkalaj was charged by prosecutors in a case before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina with misconduct in his office as Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina related to his "signing off on a cash award of 13,418.59 KM to his then deputy [Mrs] Ana Trišić-Babić for her work at the BiH Council of Ministers NATO coordination team."
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