Vice-President Moslem-Croat Federation

Date of birth: March 3, 1946, Sebecevo village near Novi Pazar (Sandzak). He has the right to FRY citizenship.

Education: Graduated technology high school in Novi Pazar, graduated technology-metallurgy school at Belgrade university in 1970, completed post-graduate studies in 1972, became a doctor of science in Massachusetts (MIT) with thesis on thermo-fluid sciences.

Career I: Chicago university professor till 1982 then taught at Sarajevo machine engineering school. Also a member of the UNIS management board, founder and director of the UNIS industrial development institute, founder and editor in chief of the Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science magazine published in New York and secretary general and executive director of the World Assembly on Thermal and Fluid Science. Ganic is also author of over 100 papers, co-author of six books published in the US. Got the Veselin Maslesa award in 1987. Guest teacher at the Lomonosov university in Moscow.

Career II: entered politics as member of the presidency of the Bosnian Reformist Party. Elected to Bosnian state presidency in 1990 as declared Yugoslav with support from the Moslem SDA. Early in the war (1992) chaired the Bosnian crisis staff. During Alija Izetbegovic’s illness was appointed acting Bosnian president (February 23, 1996).

Tendency for coup: Ganic was twice accused of wanting to take over. When General Milutin Kukanjac held Izetbegovic prisoner, Ganic’s opponents criticized him over their public phone conversation. (Izetbegovic:" Order a cease-fire!" Ganic: "Alija, your orders are countermanded because you’re issuing them under pressure... I’m taking command now!"). Accused of another attempt a year later when Izetbegovic was out of Sarajevo. He did not clearly deny speculation that he was preparing a coup with some generals.

In fact: Ganic is seen as the closest and most trusted of Izetbegovic’s associates. Muhamed Filipovic called him "Izetbegovic’s executor".

Political rating: Believed to be a fierce advocate of armed conflict to resolve the Bosnia crisis and member of the hard-line Sandzak (Moslem) faction in Bosnia. Also made several controversial statements.

On the Serbs: "We should have joined forces with the Serbs but when the war broke out it was too late," he said on July 21, 1993 in the Sarajevo magazine published in Ljubljana. "The Moslems in Bosnia were originally Serbs and in terms of religion they were close to the Orthodox Christian religion before Islam".

On Serbia and Croatia: "We will destroy Croatia before we surrender and push Serbia back into the middle ages. They simply aren’t strong enough to beat us." (1993).

On the peace forces: Accused UNPROFOR of bringing secretaries in from Belgrade. He said they don’t speak English but provide sex services and spy for the Serbs (1993).

On the Russians: "As one of our boys said we’ll offer them cigarettes and whiskey and they’ll start singing Moslem songs. That’s the Russian orientation towards a market economy" (1994).

What was he consistent in: "Bosnia will be a unitary state in its historic borders. Everyone will feel what they are, they’ll live together although side by side for a while. Bosnia will rise like the phoenix - it’s an example of a country that all evils have been tried against".

How does official Belgrade see him: The Belgrade military court chief investigator ordered an investigation into war crimes charges against Ganic on July 21, 1994. He was charged with responsibility in the mass killing of volunteers in Sarajevo in 1992 and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

About himself: "Me - extremist? Never. I am a rational man. I studied in Belgrade, got a doctor’s degree in the US. I’m a professor in Illinois. I came back after 10 years in the US. I was a big fish in a big pool there, in Bosnia I’m an even bigger fish because the pool is smaller."