Šamac (Serbian Cyrillic: Шамац, pronounced [ʃâmat͡s]),^[1] formerly Bosanski Šamac (Serbian Cyrillic: Босански Шамац) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. There are also small, uninhabited, parts located in the municipalities of Odžak^[2] and Domaljevac-Šamac, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.^[3]

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Šamac Шамац
Town and municipality
Šamac
Location of Šamac within Republika Srpska
Šamac Location of Šamac within Bosnia and Herzegovina Show map of Republika Srpska Šamac Šamac (Bosnia and Herzegovina) Show map of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Coordinates: 45°03′38″N 18°28′3″E
Country	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Entity	Republika Srpska
Geographical region	Posavina
Government
• Municipal mayor	Đorđe Milićević (SDS)
• Municipality	177.54 km2 (68.55 sq mi)
Population  (2013 census)
• Town	5,390
• Municipality	17,273
• Municipality density	97/km2 (250/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Area code	54
Website	www.opstinasamac.org

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As of 2013, the town has a population of 5,390 inhabitants, while the municipality has 17,273 inhabitants. It is situated on the right bank of the Sava river. Across the river is Slavonski Šamac in Croatia.

The modern town was founded by Muslim Bosnian refugees expelled from the Sanjak of Smederevo in 1862, after the Principality of Serbia gained autonomy from the Ottoman Empire and the ethnic conflicts surrounding the Čukur Fountain incident. These refugees hailed mainly from Užice and Sokol. At the time Šamac was initially called Gornja Azizija (Upper Azizija after Sultan Abdulaziz).^[4] It was part of the Vilayet of Bosnia by the time it was annexed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1887.^{[citation needed]} After World War I, the city became part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. From 1929 to 1939, it was part of Drina Banovina; and from 1939 until 1941 it was part of the Banovina of Croatia. During World War II, Šamac, as all the rest of Bosnia-Herzegovina, was included into Nazi-controlled Independent State of Croatia. After 1945, the city was reintegrated within the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Tito's Yugoslavia.

In the early stages of the Bosnian war the town was occupied by Bosnian Serbs who established the provisional municipal government. Most Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats were ethnically cleansed between April and November 1992.^[5][6] During the war, a semi-permanent front line was established against Croatian and Bosniak forces towards the neighboring Orašje. In 2003, three Bosnian Serb town leaders at the time of the Yugoslav Wars were sentenced in ICTY for crimes against humanity.^[7]

The town lies on an important strategic position in Republika Srpska, near Brčko. As with most other places under Serb control, Srpska authorities removed the "Bosnian" adjective from the town's official name and changed it to "Šamac". Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats continued to refer to it by its historical name of "Bosanski Šamac" (Serbian Cyrillic: Босански Шамац, pronounced [bǒsanskiː ʃâmat͡s]).^[1] causing tension among the inhabitants. A court order had the official name changed to simply Šamac, removing any ethnic divisions in its previous names.^[8]

Aside from the town of Šamac, the municipality includes the following settlements:

The following table gives a preview of total number of registered employed people per their core activity (as of 2016):^[9]

The local football club, FK Borac Šamac, plays in the third tier-Second League of the Republika Srpska.

• Milica Babić-Jovanović (1909–1968), costume designer at the Serbian National Theatre
• Ljubo Miloš (1919–1948), Croatian World War II official and concentration camp commandant executed for war crimes
• Alija Izetbegović (1925–2003), first President of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Sulejman Tihić (1951–2014), Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Zoran Đinđić (1952–2003), former prime minister of Serbia
• Srebrenko Repčić (b. 1954), former football player
• Predrag Nikolić (b. 1960), chess Grand Master
• Stevo Nikolić (b. 1984), footballer
• Mario Mandžukić (b. 1986), footballer

• Municipalities of Republika Srpska
• Šamac oil field