Ante Jelavić

Ante Jelavić (born 21 August 1963) is a Bosnian Croat politician who served as the 2nd Croat member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1998 to 2001. He was the youngest person to hold the office of Presidency member and also the youngest Presidency member at the end of his tenure.

Jelavić previously served as the Federal Minister of Defence from 1996 to 1998. He was also president of the Croatian Democratic Union from 1998 to 2002.

Presidency (1998–2001) At the 1998 general election, Jelavić was elected to the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, having obtained 52.91% of the vote. The Social Democratic Party candidate, Gradimir Gojer, was second with 31.83%. Taking office at the age of 35, he was the youngest person to hold the office of Presidency member.

On 7 March 2001, Jelavić was removed from office by the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Wolfgang Petritsch. Petritsch justified his decision by observing that Jelavić had "directly violated the constitutional order of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and of Bosnia and Herzegovina"; in particular he cited Jelavić's leading role in the 'Croatian National Assembly' rally in Mostar on 3 March 2001, calling for a separate governing entity for Bosnian Croats.

Investigations and indictments On 22 January 2004, Jelavić was arrested in his home in Mostar, on charges of corruption. On 4 November 2005, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo found Jelavić guilty of abuse of office, embezzlement of office, and lack of commitment in office. The findings of guilt related, in part, to the use of funds from the Federal Ministry of Defence to purchase shares in banking and insurance firms Hercegovačka Banka and Herzegovina Osiguranje. Judge Malcolm Simmons presided, A sentence of ten years imprisonment was subsequently pronounced, although Jelavić was not present at the sentencing hearing and remained at large.

His attorney, Dragan Barbarić, acting in his client's absence, initiated a successful appeal against the first instance verdict on the grounds that it lacked proper factual description of the offence and as such was in violation of criminal procedural law. On 4 July 2006, with the verdict revoked, the appeal panel, presided over by Judge Nedžad Popovac, called for new proceedings in which evidence presented at the first trial will be re-presented and in which new evidence may also be presented.