Bariša Čolak

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Bariša Čolak
Member of the House of Peoples
Incumbent
Assumed office 31 March 2015
Minister of Justice
In office 11 January 2007 – 31 March 2015
Prime Minister	Nikola Špirić Vjekoslav Bevanda
Preceded by	Slobodan Kovač
Succeeded by	Josip Grubeša
Minister of Security
In office 23 December 2002 – 11 January 2007
Prime Minister	Adnan Terzić
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Tarik Sadović
Federal Minister of Justice
In office September 1999 – March 2002
Prime Minister	Edhem Bičakčić Dragan Čović (acting) Alija Behmen
Prime Minister of West Herzegovina Canton
In office 1996 – September 1999
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Anđelko Mikulić
show Additional positions President of the Croatian Democratic Union In office 4 May 2002 – 5 June 2005 Preceded by Ante Jelavić Succeeded by Dragan Čović Member of the Federal House of Representatives In office March 2002 – January 2003
Personal details
Born	(1956-01-01) 1 January 1956 (age 65) Široki Brijeg, FPR Yugoslavia
Nationality	Bosnian Croat
Political party	Croatian Democratic Union
Spouse(s)	Anela Čolak
Children	3
Residence	Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Alma mater	University of Mostar
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Lawyer

Bariša Čolak (born 1 January 1956) is Bosnian Croat politician and lawyer. He is currently a member of the House of Peoples and previously served as Minister of Justice from 2007 until 2015.

Čolak was also Minister of Security from 2002 to 2007. He is a member and former president of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ BiH).

Early life and education[]

Čolak was born on 1 January 1956 in Široki Brijeg, where he attended elementary and high school. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of University Džemal Bijedić of Mostar in 1979. He also attended postgraduate studies on subject Bosnia and Herzegovina and European Law, but because of his duties as a minister, study was on halt.

Early career[]

From 1979 to 1988 with a break from April 1980 to April 1981, Čolak 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.

Political career[]

Čolak joined the Croatian Democratic Union (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 the first Prime Minister of West Herzegovina Canton.

Čolak 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 the Federal Minister of Justice. At the 2000 parliamentary election, Čolak won 5,412 votes for a seat in the Federal Parliament, but he continued to be a minister in the Federal Government. From 2001 until 2002, Čolak was acting president of the HDZ BiH, and in March 2002 he left the Federal Ministry of Justice and dedicated himself to the party's activity since he had become president of the HDZ BiH. At the 2002 general election, Čolak won 16,721 votes and entered the Federal Parliament once again. He remained the party's president until 2005. In January 2003, he became the national Minister of Security and held that duty until 2007. On 11 January 2007, he was named national Minister of Justice, and he held this position until 31 March 2015. Since March 2015, Čolak has been a member of the national House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is also a member of the Presidency of HDZ BiH.

Personal life[]

Bariša is married to Anela Čolak; the couple has three children.^{[citation needed]}

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bariša Čolak.

• Biografija za Bariša Čolak. CIN (in Bosnian)
• House of Peoples, Parliament BiH - Bariša Čolak. Parliament BiH (in English)