A Bosnian politician who embodied a multi-ethnic resistance coalition
Nurija Pozderac was a Bosnian Muslim politician and former teacher who built a popular base in the Cazin region. He rejected collaboration with the Ustaša state, opposed persecution of Serbs and Jews, and sheltered Jewish refugees with his wife, Devleta. Elected vice president of the AVNOJ Executive Board at its first session in 1942, he gave the partisan-led coalition a visible multi-ethnic political presence. He died from wounds sustained during the Battle of Sutjeska in 1943.
Career Timeline
- 1910s–1930sTeacher in the Cazin region
- 1935Deputy in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
- 1941Rejected Ustaša collaboration and joined the National Liberation Movement
- 1942President of the Cazin National Liberation Committee
- 1942Vice president of the AVNOJ Executive Board
- 1943Participant in the Battles of Neretva and Sutjeska
- 1944Posthumously awarded the Order of the People’s Liberation