Safvet beg Bašagić

In 1910, he was elected president of the Bosnian council. He is also known for compiling over 700 biographies throughout his life.

• Name — Safvet-beg Bašagić • Pen Name — Mirza Safvet • Born — 6 May 1870 • Birthplace — Nevesinje, Bosnia Vilayet, Ottoman Empire • Birth Name — Safvet Bašagić • Died — 9 April 1934 • Place of death — Sarajevo, Drina Banovina, Kingdom of Yugoslavia • Occupation — Writer • Resting Place — Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque, Sarajevo • Citizenship — Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, Yugoslav • Education — University of Vienna

• Illustration — Tomb of Safvet-beg Bašagić in Sarajevo Bašagić was born on 6 May 1870 in Nevesinje into a Bosnian Muslim noble family. His maternal grandfather was Dedaga Čengić, the son of agha Smail Agha Čengić (1780–1840). Bašagić completed his primary education in Konjic, Mostar, and Sarajevo, and later earned a doctorate from the University of Vienna, where he studied Arabic and Persian. In 1908, he became the first parliamentary president of the Muslim National Organisation. He taught Oriental languages at the University of Zagreb and was an associate of Silvije Strahimir Kranjčević. As president of the Diet of Bosnia, Bašagić advocated for either unification of Bosnia and Herzegovina with Croatia or for autonomy. He served as curator of the Archaeological Museum in Sarajevo from 1919 to 1927. Bašagić died in 1934 in Sarajevo and was buried in the cemetery of Gazi Husrev-beg's Mosque.

The Bašagić Collection of Islamic manuscripts and old books, housed at the University Library in Bratislava, was inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 1997. Parts of the collection are available online through the World Digital Library and the Digital Library of the University Library in Bratislava.

He also worked under the name Mirza Safvet. The authorities additionally record the heading Mirza Safvet. His recorded languages were Bosnian and Croatian. His recorded confession was Islam.