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Bariša Čolak
Bariša Čolak
	Čolak in 2014
Minister of Justice
	In office; 11 January 2007 – 31 March 2015
Prime Minister	Nikola Špirić ; Vjekoslav Bevanda
Preceded by	Slobodan Kovač
Succeeded by	Josip Grubeša
Minister of Security
	In office; 23 December 2002 – 11 January 2007
Prime Minister	Adnan Terzić
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Tarik Sadović
Federal Minister of Justice
	In office; 15 September 1999 – 12 March 2001
Prime Minister	Edhem Bičakčić ; Dragan Čović (acting)
Preceded by	Ignjac Dodik
Succeeded by	Zvonko Mijan
Member of the House of Peoples
Parliamentary offices
Member of the House of Peoples
	In office; 31 March 2015 – 16 February 2023
Preceded by
Additional positions
President of the Croatian Democratic Union
	In office; 4 May 2002 – 5 June 2005
Preceded by	Ante Jelavić
Succeeded by	Dragan Čović
Premier of West Herzegovina Canton
	In office; 27 March 1996 – 15 September 1999
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Anđelko Mikulić
Personal details
Born	1 January 1956 (age 69); Široki Brijeg, FPR Yugoslavia
Nationality	Bosnian Croat
Political party	Croatian Democratic Union
Spouse	Anela Čolak
Children	3
Residence(s)	Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Alma mater	University of Mostar
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Lawyer

Bariša Čolak (born 1 January 1956) is a Bosnian Croat politician and lawyer who served as member of the national House of Peoples from 2015 to 2023. He previously served as Minister of Justice from 2007 to 2015.

Čolak was also Minister of Security from 2002 to 2007. He is a member and former president of the Croatian Democratic Union.

Early life and education

Čolak was born on 1 January 1956 in Široki Brijeg, where he attended elementary and high school. He graduated from the Faculty of Law, University of Mostar in 1979. He also attended postgraduate studies on subject Bosnia and Herzegovina and European Law, but because of his duties as a minister, study was on halt.

Early career

From 1979 to 1988, with a break from April 1980 to April 1981, Čolak worked as director of the constructional hardware "Metalac Lištica" which was part of the SOKO company in Mostar. From 1988 to the end of 1993, he worked as a judge in Lištica, renamed Široki Brijeg.

Political career

Čolak joined the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ BiH) in 1993. After that, until 1996, he was assistant of the Minister of Justice, Deputy Minister of Justice and later Minister of Justice of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia. After the war, from 27 March 1996 until September 1999, he was the first Premier of West Herzegovina Canton.

Čolak was a member of the party's Municipal Board in Široki Brijeg and later member of the Cantonal Board of the West Herzegovina Canton and member of the Central Committee of the party. He was also repeatedly a member of the party's presidency.

In 1999, Čolak became the Federal Minister of Justice. At the 2000 parliamentary election, Čolak won 5,412 votes for a seat in the Federal Parliament, but he continued to be a minister in the Federal Government. From 2001 until 2002, Čolak was acting president of the HDZ BiH.

At the 2002 general election, Čolak won 16,721 votes and entered the Federal Parliament once again. He remained the party's president until 2005. In January 2003, he became the national Minister of Security and held that duty until 2007. On 11 January 2007, Čolak was named national Minister of Justice, serving until 31 March 2015. Following the 2014 general election, in March 2015, he was appointed member of the national House of Peoples. He served as member of the House of Peoples until February 2023.^[1]