Irfan Čengić (born 21 May 1992) is a Bosnian politician serving as municipal mayor of Stari Grad since November 2023. He previously served as member of the Federal House of Peoples from January to November 2023, and also served in the Federal House of Representatives from 2018 to 2022. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party.
Čengić was born in Sarajevo in 1992. He graduated from the PIM University in Banja Luka. He was elected to the Federal House of Representatives in the 2018 general election. In the 2022 general election, Čengić was elected to the Sarajevo Cantonal Assembly and later became member of the Federal House of Peoples. He was elected municipal mayor of Sarajevo municipality Stari Grad in a by-election in October 2023, taking office a month later in November. He was re-elected in the 2024 municipal elections.
A member of the Social Democratic Party since 2010, Čengić was its general secretary between 2014 and 2019.
Early life and education.
Čengić was born on 21 May 1992 in Sarajevo, at the start of the Bosnian War and the city's siege. He earned a degree in law from Banja Luka's private PIM University. He was active in the non-governmental sector and some student organizations, and is an author of several works on the topic of political and social activism.
Career.
A member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP BiH) since 2010, Čengić was first elected to office in the 2012 municipal elections, becoming member of Sarajevo's Stari Grad municipal council at the age of 20. He was appointed general secretary of the SDP BiH in December 2014. He was re-elected to the Stari Grad municipal council in the 2016 municipal elections.
In the 2018 general election, Čengić was elected to the Federal House of Representatives. In April 2019, he announced his departure from the office of SDP BiH general secretary. Following the failed appointment of Bogić Bogićević as mayor of Sarajevo in March 2021, Čengić resigned as member of the SDP BiH's presidency. He was elected to the Sarajevo Cantonal Assembly in the 2022 general election, obtaining over 10,000 votes. After the election, he was appointed member of the Federal House of Peoples in January 2023.
After Stari Grad municipal mayor Ibrahim Hadžibajrić lost a vote of no confidence in the wake of a serious corruption scandal, a by-election was called to elect a new municipal mayor for 29 October 2023. The SDP BiH announced Čengić's candidacy in August 2023. In the election, he was elected municipal mayor of Stari Grad, having obtained 62.96% of the vote. He was sworn in on 17 November 2023. In the 2024 municipal elections, he was re-elected as municipal mayor, obtaining 64.42% of the vote.
Personal life.
Irfan is married to Adna Čengić, and together they have a son, named Hamza. They live in Sarajevo.