Staša Košarac

Staša Košarac
Сташа Кошарац
Košarac in 2023
Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations
Incumbent
Assumed office
23 December 2019
Prime MinisterZoran Tegeltija
Borjana Krišto
Preceded byMirko Šarović
Parliamentary offices
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
9 December 2014 – 23 December 2019
Member of the House of Peoples
In office
9 June 2011 – 9 December 2014
Personal details
Born (1975-03-19) 19 March 1975
Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia
PartyAlliance of Independent Social Democrats (1998–present)
Spouses
Tanja Tanović
​
(divorced)​
Sanja Stanković
​
(divorced)​
Aleksandra Ivković
​
(m. 2021)​
Children4
Alma materUnion University (BBA)

Staša Košarac (Serbian Cyrillic: Сташа Кошарац; born 19 March 1975) is a Bosnian Serb politician serving as Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations since December 2019. He is also the current Vice-chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving alongside Zukan Helez. He was previously a member of the national House of Representatives.

Košarac was born in Sarajevo in 1975. He has been a member of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats since 1998. Košarac was elected to the National Assembly of Republika Srpska in 2004. He was a member of the national House of Peoples from 2011 to 2014. He was elected to the national House of Representatives in the 2014 general election. Re-elected in the 2018 general election, Košarac served as member of the House of Representatives until December 2019, when he was appointed Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations.

Early life

Košarac was born on 19 March 1975 to Bosnian Serb parents Milorad and Zoranka in Sarajevo, where he finished elementary and then high school Đuro Pucar Stari in Vogošća.[1] In 2014, he earned a degree in business administration from Union University in Belgrade.[1]

Political career

Košarac is a member of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, and got his first public position when he was 25 years old as a councilor in the Municipal Assembly of Višegrad.[1] In 2004, he got elected to the National Assembly of Republika Srpska.[1] In January 2010, he became the head of the Team for Coordination of War Crimes Investigation and Search for Missing Persons of Republika Srpska by the decision of the government of Republika Srpska.[2]

In 2011, Košarac became a member of the national House of Peoples.[1] In the 2014 general election, he was elected to a parliamentary seat in the national House of Representatives.[1] He was re-elected to the House of Representatives in the 2018 general election, obtaining over 37,000 votes.[3]

On 23 December 2019, Košarac was appointed as Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations in the cabinet of Zoran Tegeltija.[4] In October 2021, the cabinet, at the proposal of Košarac, drafted a decision on temporary suspension and reduction of customs rates on imports of new electric and hybrid cars until 31 December 2022.[5] He stayed as minister in the cabinet of Borjana Krišto.[6] Additionally, Košarac was appointed as the new vice-chairman of the Council of Ministers on 22 August 2023.[7]

In December 2024, the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on Košarac.[8][9] In October 2025, the United States lifted sanctions against Košarac, Milorad Dodik, and several other officials. According to media reports, the decision followed lobbying efforts by several close allies of U.S. President Donald Trump, including MAGA activist Laura Loomer and former Trump administration officials Rudy Giuliani and Michael Flynn.[10][11]

Personal life

Košarac was first married to Tanja Tanović, with whom he has a daughter, Minja.

Following their divorce, he married journalist Sanja Stanković, and the couple had two sons, Marko and Uroš.[12] In December 2020, Stanković publicly accused Košarac of threatening her and being unfaithful.[13] While addressing Bosnia and Herzegovina's Temporary Commission on the Judiciary, she later alleged that prosecutors had ignored evidence she submitted in connection with her criminal complaint, including claims that Košarac had assaulted her and attempted to strangle their child.[14] She further stated that her son's testimony had been disregarded in favor of Košarac's statement and alleged that he had threatened to have her declared mentally ill. Her criminal complaint against Košarac and unnamed employees of the Istočno Sarajevo Social Welfare Centre was ultimately dismissed.[15][16]

On 28 November 2020, Košarac tested positive for COVID-19 during the pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[17]

After the completion of his second divorce, Košarac married Aleksandra Ivković, who is 17 years younger than him, in Trebinje in October 2021.[18][19][20] The couple welcomed a daughter, Iskra, in 2025.[21] They reside in Istočno Sarajevo.[22]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Staša Košarac". imovinapoliticara.cin.ba (in Bosnian). Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  2. ↑ Формиран тим РС за истраживање ратних злочина („Фронтал”, 28. January 2010), (in Serbian)
  3. ↑ "Rezultati izbora". izbori.ba (in Bosnian). Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  4. ↑ Er.M. (23 December 2019). "Počela sjednica o imenovanju Vijeća ministara BiH" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  5. ↑ M.P. (11 October 2021). "Carine za električne i hibridne automobile koji se u BiH uvezu do kraja 2022. će biti smanjene" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  6. ↑ N.V. (25 January 2023). "BiH dobila novo Vijeće ministara, državnu vlast sada čini SNSD, HDZ, SDP, NiP, NS, DNS..." (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  7. ↑ A.B. (22 August 2023). "Kao što je i dogovoreno: Srđan Amidžić je novi ministar finansija BiH" (in Bosnian). Oslobođenje. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  8. ↑ "Jutarnji list - SAD sankcionirao Dodikovog ministra u Vijeću ministara BiH, tri poduzetnika i tvrtke". www.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 18 December 2024. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  9. ↑ "SAD pod sankcije stavio Dodikovog ministra, tri poduzetnika i tvrtke". Hrvatska radiotelevizija (in Croatian). Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  10. ↑ Evropa, Radio Slobodna (30 October 2025). "SAD ukinuo sankcije Miloradu Dodiku i još 48 fizičkih i pravnih lica". Radio Slobodna Evropa (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  11. ↑ "Ukinute američke sankcije Miloradu Dodiku, Željki Cvijanović i brojnim drugim saradnicima". etto.ba (in Bosnian). Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  12. ↑ Вишковић отворио Свесрпски куп („РТРС”, 21. December 2019), (in Serbian)
  13. ↑ "Supruga ministra Košarca objavila da je muž vara i da joj prijeti" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. 7 December 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  14. ↑ "SUPRUGE BH. POLITIČARA KOJE SU SVJEDOČILE O NASILJU: 'Rekao mi je da će me progutati mrak, da nigdje ne piše da djeca moraju imati majku... (VIDEO)". slobodna-bosna.ba (in Bosnian). Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  15. ↑ "Bivša supruga ministra Košarca u Parlamentu govorila o nasilju: Davljenje djeteta, udarci u potiljak". radiosarajevo.ba (in Croatian). 28 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  16. ↑ "U izvještaju o zlostavljanju žena u BiH, SAD su podsjetile na ispovijest bivše supruge Staše Košarca". Klix.ba (in Croatian). Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  17. ↑ A.Z. (20 November 2020). "Ministar Staša Košarac zaražen koronavirusom" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  18. ↑ "Ministar iz BiH oženio 17 godina mlađu curu zbog koje ga je javno napadala bivša žena". www.index.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  19. ↑ "IZ BURNOG RAZVODA U TREĆI BRAK Staša Košarac se razveo, pa oženio 17 godina mlađu ljubavnicu Aleksandru". blic.rs (in Bosnian). 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  20. ↑ "ŽENA OBJAVILA NJEGOVE FOTKE S LJUBAVNICOM: BiH tresao skandal Dodikovog ministra koji ne želi Dan žalosti zbog Gradačca". story.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  21. ↑ "Staša Košarac i njegova supruga dobili kćerku Iskru: "S tobom je rođena nova ljubav"". N1 info (in Bosnian). 3 November 2025. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  22. ↑ "Staša Košarac". Imovina političara u Bosni i Hercegovini (in Bosnian). Retrieved 26 July 2026.
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