{{Short description|Yugoslav businessman and politician (1911–1984)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox officeholder |name = Emerik Blum |image = Emerik Blum.jpg |caption = |office = 26th Mayor of Sarajevo |term_start = 1981 |term_end = 1983 |predecessor = Anto Sučić |successor = Uglješa Uzelac |birth_date = {{Birth date|1911|08|07|df=yes}} |birth_place = Sarajevo, Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria-Hungary |death_date = {{Death date and age|1984|06|24|1911|08|07|df=yes}} |death_place = Fojnica, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia |party = League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovina |spouse = Matusja Blum (until 1984, his death) |alma_mater = Czech Technical University (BS) }} '''Emerik Blum''' ({{lang-sh-Cyrl|Емерик Блум}}; 7 August 1911 – 24 June 1984) was a Yugoslav businessman, philanthropist and politician who served as the 26th mayor of Sarajevo from 1981 to 1983. However, he is best known for being the founder and first director of one of Southeast Europe's largest conglomerates, Energoinvest.
==Early life and education== Emerik Blum was born to immigrant Hungarian Jewish parents on 7 August 1911 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was then part of Austria-Hungary.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sarajevo.co.ba/sjecanje-emerik-blum/|title=SJEĆANJE: EMERIK BLUM|publisher=Sarajevo|date=24 June 2013|accessdate=13 January 2014}}</ref> In 1939, he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the Czech Technical University in Prague.
==Career== After graduating, Blum returned to Sarajevo with his wife, pianist Matusja. He was arrested on 23 June 1941 and sent to Ustasha-run concentration camps, including Jasenovac, from which he escaped in 1944.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jadovno.com/the-director-of-sarajevo-energoinvest-witness-of-slana.html|title=THE DIRECTOR OF SARAJEVO “ENERGOINVEST” WITNESS OF SLANA|publisher=Jadovno|date=11 July 2010|accessdate=13 January 2014}}</ref>
In 1951, Blum founded and was the first director of Energoinvest, the largest company in ex-Yugoslavia, which continues working and is headquartered in Sarajevo. He was the mayor in the Ministry of Industry and Mining of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, director of "Elektrobih" and "Elektrocentar", general engineer of the General direction of the Union electric power industry, and general director of the Directorate for electric power and industry of the Yugoslav Federal Executive Council. Additionally, Blum was an assistant Minister of electric power and industry of SFR Yugoslavia and president of the Committee for electric power and industry. He also served as mayor of Sarajevo from 1981 to 1983, becoming the city's first-ever Jewish mayor.
Blum was a member of the Organizing Committee of the 1984 Winter Olympics, which were held in Sarajevo.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slobodna-bosna.ba/vijest/1436/emerik_blum_financial_times_ga_je_opisao_kao_olichenje_socijalistichke_poslovnosti.html|title=EMERIK BLUM: Financial Times ga je opisao kao "oličenje socijalističke poslovnosti"|publisher=Slobodna-Bosna|date=25 June 2012|accessdate=13 January 2014}}</ref>
==Death and legacy== Blum entered a hospital in Fojnica in May 1984, and died there on 24 June 1984, aged 72.<ref name="radiosarajevo">{{cite web|url=https://radiosarajevo.ba/metromahala/lica/emerik-blum-proslo-je-39-godina-od-smrti-genijalnog-sarajevskog-vizonara/501795|title=Emerik Blum: Prošlo je 39 godina od smrti genijalnog sarajevskog vizonara|date=24 June 2023|access-date=24 June 2023|language=bs|publisher=Radio Sarajevo}}</ref>
There is a student association in the Czech Republic and a street in Sarajevo (former Beogradska) named after him.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nap.ba/post/738310/emerik-blum-sarajlija-koji-je-jugoslaviju-uveo-na-svjetsko-trziste|title=Emerik Blum: Sarajlija koji je Jugoslaviju uveo na svjetsko tržište|date=24 June 2018|access-date=24 June 2018|language=bs|website=nap.ba}}</ref> A documentary film, titled ''Blum: Masters of Their Own Destiny'', depicting Blum's transformation of Energoinvest from a small studio into a major company, was released in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://zagrebdox.net/en/film/blum-gospodari-svoje-buducnosti |title=Blum: Masters of Their Own Destiny |first=Jasmila |last= Žbanić |date=31 May 2025|access-date=16 September 2025|website= ZagrebDox |language=en}}</ref>
==Honours== *Sixth of April Sarajevo Award (1966)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sarajevo.ba/ba/stream.php?kat=51 |title=Dobitnici Šestoaprilske nagrade od 1956. godine do danas |access-date=20 April 2018 |archive-date=10 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310073258/http://sarajevo.ba/ba/stream.php?kat=51 |url-status=dead }}</ref> *Légion d'honneur (1974)<ref name="radiosarajevo"/> *Order of the Hero of Socialist Labour (1984; posthumously)<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1 August 1984 |title=Орден уручен породици |url=https://istorijskenovine.unilib.rs/view/index.html#panel:pp|issue:UB_00064_19840801|page:14|query:%D1%98%D1%83%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%B0%20%D1%81%D0%BE%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%20%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B0 |journal=Borba |pages=14}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Commonscat-inline}}
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=Anto Sučić}} {{s-ttl|title=Mayor of Sarajevo|years=1981–1983}} {{s-aft|after=Uglješa Uzelac}} {{s-end}}
{{Mayors of Sarajevo}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blum, Emerik}} Category:1911 births Category:1984 deaths Category:Businesspeople from Sarajevo Category:People from the Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina Category:Bosnia and Herzegovina Ashkenazi Jews Category:Bosnia and Herzegovina people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Category:Yugoslav Jews Category:Yugoslav businesspeople Category:Yugoslav politicians Category:Czech Technical University in Prague alumni Category:Mayors of places in Yugoslavia Category:Mayors of Sarajevo Category:Recipients of the Sixth of April Sarajevo Award Category:Recipients of the Legion of Honour Category:Recipients of the Order of the Hero of Socialist Labour