Bariša Čolak
Bariša Čolak (born 1 January 1956) is Bosnian Croat politician and lawyer. He is currently a Delegate of the House of Peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina (of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina) and previously served as the Minister of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2007 until 2014.
Bariša Čolak | |
---|---|
Croat Delegate to the House of Peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
Assumed office October 2014 | |
2nd Minister of Justice | |
In office 9 February 2007 – 31 March 2015 | |
Prime Minister | Nikola ŠpirićVjekoslav Bevanda |
Deputy | Srđan Arnaut |
Preceded by | Slobodan Kovač |
Succeeded by | Josip Grubeša |
1st Minister of Security | |
In office 23 December 2002 – 11 January 2007 | |
Prime Minister | Adnan Terzić |
Deputy | Dragan Mektić |
Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Tarik Sadović |
Member of the House of Representatives of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
In office March 2002 – January 2003 | |
Prime Minister | Dragan MikerevićAdnan Terzić |
Federal Minister of Justice | |
In office September 1999 – March 2002 | |
Prime Minister | Edhem BičakčićDragan Čović (acting)Alija Behmen |
Prime Minister of the West Herzegovina Canton | |
In office 1996 – September 1999 | |
Preceded by | Office established |
Personal details | |
Born | Široki Brijeg, FPR Yugoslavia | 1 January 1956
Nationality | Croat |
Political party | Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Spouse(s) | Anela Čolak |
Children | 3 |
Residence | Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Alma mater | University of Mostar |
Occupation | Politician |
Profession | Lawyer |
Biography
Bariša Čolak was born on 1 January 1956 in Lištica, where he attended elementary and high school. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of University Džemal Bijedić of Mostar in 1979. He is currently attending postgraduate studies on subject Bosnia and Herzegovina and European Law, but because of his duties as a minister, study was on halt.
From 1979 to 1988 with a break from April 1980 to April 1981, he worked as director of the constructional hardware "Metalac Lištica" which was part of the SOKO company in Mostar. From 1988 to the end of 1993 he worked as a judge in Lištica, renamed Široki Brijeg. Čolak joined Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZ BiH) in 1993. After that, until 1996, he was assistant of the Minister of Justice, Deputy Minister of Justice and later Minister of Justice of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia. After the war, from 1996 until September 1999, he was first Prime Minister of the West Herzegovina Canton.
He was a member of the party's Municipal Board in Široki Brijeg and later member of the Cantonal Board of the West Herzegovina Canton and member of the Central Committee of the party. He was also repeatedly a member of the party's Presidency.
In 1999 he became Minister of Justice of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the 2000 elections he won 5,412 votes for a seat in the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but he continued to be a minister in the Government. From 2001 until 2002 he was acting president of the HDZ BiH, and in March 2002 he left Ministry of Justice and dedicated himself to the party's activity since he had become president of the HDZ BiH. At the elections of 2002, he won 16,721 votes and entered Federal Parliament. He remained party's president until 2005. In January 2003 he became Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina and held that duty until 2007. Again, in February 2007 he was named Minister of Justice, and he held this position until 2015. As of October 2014, he is a Delegate of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly BiH. He is also a member of the Presidency of HDZ BiH.
Personal life
Čolak is married to Anela Čolak; the couple has three children.
Sources
- Biografija za Bariša Čolak. CIN (in Bosnian)
- House of Peoples, Parliament BiH - Bariša Čolak. Parliament BiH (in English)