Preceded by Mehmed Kapetanovic Role Politician Name Nezir Skaljic | Religion Sunni Islam Succeeded by Esad Kulovic | |
Died 1905, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina | ||
Nezir Škaljić (1844 – 1905) was a Bosnian politician who served as the third Mayor of Sarajevo between 1899 and 1905. His governance saw the development of asphalt, a sewage system and the spa Bentbaša in Sarajevo. Škaljić was also a judge in several smaller towns and later on Bosnia's Supreme Court.
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Early life
Škaljić was born and educated in the eastern Bosnian town of Rogatica. He became a local judge in his birth-town as well as the towns of Fojnica and Srebrenica.
Political career
Škaljić was one of the four founding fathers of the independent 'Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina' (Bosnian: Rijaset Islamske Zajednice BiH). Its creation enabled Bosniak religious and political emancipation from the Ottoman Empire. Škaljić was recipient of a first class 'Grand Cross' Imperial Austrian Order of Franz Joseph.
In 1899, Škaljić took over as mayor of Sarajevo when Mehmed Kapetanović was forced to step down due to ill health.
Austria-Hungary in this period in Sarajevo carried out the development of a modern sewage system. In 1901, the first modern asphalts appeared in Sarajevo, first surrounding the Sacred Heart Cathedral and later throughout the city. He opened the narodna banja (the people's spa) Bentbaša, on 20 July 1902. The spa is still in operation.
Family history
The Škaljić family emigrated to Sarajevo in 1672, during the Great Turkish War, from Škaljari, their settlement in the Bay of Kotor. Once in Sarajevo, the family bought large portions of land "stretching from the outskirts of Sarajevo to Rogatica in eastern Bosnia". They excelled as merchants, trading primarily with the German speaking world. Other Škaljić's were political leaders, Islamic and legal scholars. One of Sarajevo's streets still bears the family name–'Škaljića sokak'.
Nezir Škaljić's great-grandson is modern-day Bosnian politician Fehim Škaljić.
Other Škaljić family members include Abdulah Škaljić, the Balkan linguist and author of the book Turcisms in Serbo-Croatian language (bos. Turcizmi u srpsko-hrvatskom jeziku), first published in 1966. The book has since been published in ten editions, and is still considered "a unique and irreplaceable" source for the study of South Slavic language and culture.