Tahir Hasanović
„željan da popravlja mostove tamo gde bi drugi voleli da ih ruše“

Tokom decenije duge političke karijere, Tahir Hasanović je stekao ugled konstruktivnog, umerenog i liberalnog političara, željnog da popravljava mostove tamo gde bi drugi voleli da ih ruše. Bio je Predsednik Saveza studenata Univerziteta u Beogradu, Predsednik omladine Beograda i poslednji “ministar spoljnih poslova“ omladine bivše Jugoslavije 1989. godine. Takođe je bio član Predsedništva Centralnog komiteta Komunističke partije 1990. godine iako je tada imao samo 30 godina.

Tahir je bio jedan od osnivača stranke Nova demokratija koja je prerasla u Liberalnu stranku i kasnije njen prvi generalni sekretar. Vršio je bitnu funkciju Predsednika Kadrovske komisije stranaka okupljenih u DOS (Demokratska opozicija Srbije) u vreme demokratske vlade Premijera Zorana Đinđića. Po povlačenju sa političke scene, Tahir danas vreme raspoređuje između porodice – supruge i dve kćerke, filantropskog rada i obaveza koje ima kao član Upravnog odbora u nekoliko srpskih i stranih preduzeća. Ulaže velike napore da Srbiju u svetu promoviše kao liberalnu i tolerantnu zemlju zbog čega je često na putu.

Tahir je jedan od dvoje ljudi na Balkanu koji imaju diplomu poznatog Dale Carnegie kursa za liderstvo i ljudske odnose u Sent Luisu i ovlašćeni je Dale Carnegie instruktor. Danas druge uspešno podučava veštinama ljudskih odnosa, poverenju i entuzijazmu, koji su preko potrebni ovom delu sveta. Predsedništvo EWB nedavno je imenovalo Tahira na mesto Izvršnog sekretara Srpske nacionalne grupe Trilateralne komisije.

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Tahir Hasanovic has long been considered a grey eminence among Serbia’s business and political elite. Although he graduated from university as a physicist, in communist Yugoslavia, Hasanovic was active in politics from a young age and held politically prominent positions, first as President of the Belgrade University Students’ Association, then as President of the Youth Organization of Belgrade, and finally as the last “youth foreign minister” of ex-Yugoslavia in 1989. His rise was so rapid that by the age of 30 he was a member of the Central Committee of the League of Communists (Communist Party). At this time he developed extremely close relations with a Party colleague, the current Prime Minister of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, which continue to this day. During the Milosevic era in 1993, Hasanovic was a co-founder and first Secretary General of an opposition party, New Democracy, which was part of the DOS coalition that unseated Milosevic in October 2000. Under DOS, Hasanovic was Chairman of the cadre committee, which oversaw all appointments to government and state-owned industry posts. In this post he developed close ties with the parties that are currently in opposition (ex-President Tadic’s DS, etc.). Since the overthrow of Milosevic, Hasanovic has earned a reputation as perhaps the only individual in Serbia who gets along well with both the governing parties and opposition.

Hasanovic withdrew from active politics sometime around 2003 and devoted himself full-time to business. He has founded and developed successful local companies in several fields, including telecommunications, and has overseen their sale to foreign investors. He sat on the board of directors of two state-owned companies, Centrobanka and the Railway Company. He also either owned or was the director of several other successful companies.

Hasanovic is very active in Serbia’s social life, both via private philanthropic activities, and memberships in key social clubs and investors’ associations. Significantly, Hasanovic is head of Serbia’s Masonic Lodge, which is important given that Serbia’s political elites are all closet-Masons. He is also actively involved with efforts to promote Serbia’s image abroad. For example, he plays a leading role in Serbia’s branch of the Tri-Lateral Commission, as well as being executive director of the East-West Bridge organization.

His contacts should not be underestimated, either in Serbia or throughout the former Yugoslavia. He was offered — and turned down — two very prominent posts in the current government, and has frequent private contacts with Serbia’s Prime Minister, the Defence Minister, and President, as well as with the opposition.