President Recep Tayyıp Erdoğan remembered Alija Izetbegovic, Bosnia-Herzegovina's first president who led the country to independence from the former Yugoslavia on the 20th anniversary of his death, late Thursday.

"I remember with longing and mercy, Alija Izetbegovic, the first President of our friend and brother country Bosnia and Herzegovina, a wise leader and an exceptional compassionate soul... with his nobility, courage and stance," President Erdoğan said on X.

Erdoğan said Izetbegovic carried the entire Islamic world along with Bosnia in his heart.

Often dubbed the "Wise King," Izetbegovic is one of the most important Muslim thinkers of the last century.

The first president of Bosnia-Herzegovina managed to gain independence for his country on March 1, 1992, months after Slovenia and Croatia broke away from the former Yugoslavia.

He died in Sarajevo on Oct. 19, 2003, due to natural causes, having served as the president of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina from 1992 to 1996 and as chairperson of the Bosnian presidency until October 2000.