Fadil Novalić

Fadil Novalić (born 25 September 1959) is a Bosnian politician who served as Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2015 to 2023.

Following the 2014 general election, Novalić was appointed Federal Prime Minister in March 2015, as a member of the Party of Democratic Action.

He is credited for reviving the automotive industry in his hometown of Gradačac after serving in the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian War.

[3] In March 2015, Novalić was appointed by the SDA to head the government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity, in coalition with the Croatian Democratic Union.

[5] Novalić stood up against the proliferation of small hydroelectric dams in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has some of the most biodiverse rivers in Europe.

[7] On 28 April 2023, after months of political deadlock in the formation of a new Federal Government, following the 2022 general election, Christian Schmidt intervened in his role of High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina by suspending the Constitution for twenty-four hours, with Social Democratic Party president Nermin Nikšić getting appointed as the new Prime Minister.

"[9] Novalić stirred controversy after announcing the results of his government's success at reviving the Federal defense industry, among which was the increased range of Bosnian grenades.

[10] Bakir Izetbegović, the president of the SDA which appointed Novalić, doubled down on the confidence asserting that weapons production will continue, both to increase exports and for the "God forbid, it comes to it" scenario of another aggression and attempted genocide.

[12] Novalić was detained for questioning and then arrested on 28 May 2020, for his alleged role in "illegal import" of medical ventilators by "FH Srebrena malina", a raspberry processing firm recruited for that purpose by the Federal Department of Civil Protection.

[14] Gordana Tadić, at the time head of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said in an interview given on Face TV that "Articles by news portals were the basis for the indictment.