Muhamed Kreševljaković

Muhamed Kreševljaković (1939 – 6 December 2001) was a Bosnian politician who served as the Mayor of Sarajevo from 1990–94. He was mayor when the Bosnian War broke out in 1992 and for the first two years of the Siege of Sarajevo.

Family

Kreševljaković was the son of Hamdija Kreševljaković, a historian, and Razija (née Ćorović). His paternal grandfather Mehmed (died 1929), was the son of Ibrahim Kreševljaković.

Mayor of Sarajevo (1990–94)

Kreševljaković was elected Mayor of Sarajevo in the December 1990 elections.^[1]

Siege of Sarajevo

American writer Susan Sontag gained attention for directing a production of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot in a candlelit Sarajevo theatre in the city, that Kevin Myers in the Daily Telegraph called "mesmerisingly precious and hideously self-indulgent." Myers wrote, "By my personal reckoning, the performance lasted as long as the siege itself."^[2] However, many of Sarajevo's besieged residents disagreed:

To the people of Sarajevo, Ms. Sontag has become a symbol, interviewed frequently by the local newspapers and television, invited to speak at gatherings everywhere, asked for autographs on the street. After the opening performance of the play, the city's Mayor, Muhamed Kreševljaković, came onstage to declare her an honorary citizen, the only foreigner other than the recently departed United Nations commander, Lieut. Gen. Phillippe Morillon, to be so named.^[3] "It is for your bravery, in coming here, living here, and working with us," he said.

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