Azra Osmancevic is the leader of the year in Sweden and is the first Bosnian to receive this important recognition. In an emotional conversation with N1, she spoke about her life's journey from Brcko to Skopje and on to Sweden and how she built her way from the civil service, to the private sector, and ultimately to becoming a young entrepreneur. She did not hide that she would like to share her knowledge and skills with young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who delighted her and to ultimately invest in her own BiH.

Azra explained from whom she received this important recognition.

“It is the largest leadership organization in Sweden. They definitely make that list, 75 women under 35 or up to 35. Last year I was in 12th place, and this year I was in first place. I'm like wine, every year I get better and better,” Azra said jokingly.

According to her, women from the former Yugoslavia are extremely successful in Sweden.

“Out of 75 of us, 13 are from the Balkans. Of all residents in Sweden, 0.3 percent are from the Balkans, and we are doing very well,” Osmancevic explained.

Road to Sweden

Due to a salmonella outbreak in the hospital, Azra was born in Brcko instead of Tuzla.

“I was four years old when the war started and when the bridge fell in Brcko, where my grandfather and grandmother lived, my parents agreed that my mother and I would leave Bosnia and go to Skopje with my mother's friend, and we stayed for a couple of weeks after which we came to the bus station. There were posters that said: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany and you could choose. Mom chose Sweden because it’s relatively close,” Osmancevic recalled.

Emotionally, she remembered how she separated from her father and when he cried because she was leaving.

Life in Sweden

In Sweden, Azra received an education and graduated from the Faculty of Law and passed all the steps from government work and the private sector to her own business.

“I am also a mother of two girls, but I never planned for any of it. Somehow I wanted to feel what my next move would be. I want to invest my money and time in something positive that will change and improve society,” says Osmancevic.