Benjamin Samokovlija was born in Sarajevo on 31 March 1918. He originates from a middle-class family. His father, Asher, was a textile merchant and had a shop, and his mother, Cipora, took care of the home and the family. Benjamin had three sisters, all partisans. The oldest, Laura, died in combat in 1945, and Rahela and Bjanka survived to see the liberation. His parents were killed in Jasenovac. Sephardic culture and tradition were nurtured in this family. Because finances were not an issue, the children had the opportunity to learn foreign languages ​​and instruments. Until the outbreak of World War II, Benjamin lived and worked in Sarajevo as a textile worker.

He spent the war years as a partisan. He was mobilized on 5 April 1941 and joined the partisan units in September 1941, leaving Ravna Gora where he was waiting for a connection with the partisans. He took part in the Igman march in January 1942, and then moved to Serbia, where he was captured and sent to a camp in Salonika. There he was a translator because he spoke several languages. He came to Macedonia in 1944. After escaping from the camp, he connected with the partisans from the First Kosovo-Macedonian Brigade, in the third battalion. He was a company commander in the 10^th Macedonian Brigade. He met his life partner Natalia Spirkoska (later Samokovlija), with whom he entered into a partisan marriage after the liberation of Kichevo in 1945. After the liberation, they have two children: Laura and Branimir Samokovlija.

After the end of the war, he graduated from Economic Techniqum, which at that time was considered higher education. He has held managerial positions in several companies: textile factory "Armaganian", "Red Star" for socks, "11 October" - Prilep, "Macedonian Folklore". As an experienced manager and a good connoisseur of the textile business, he was sent to a management position at the "Jugoetiopian" factory in Ethiopia, where he lived for 4 years with his family. He retires at “Interrexport” as a senior commercial adviser. He actively spoke 4 languages ​​(French, German, Italian and Spanish).

He was president of the Jewish Municipality in Macedonia for almost 20 years. Thanks to his experience in management, he performed this function without difficulty, building friendly relations with other religious communities in the then Socialist Republic of Macedonia. His benevolent attitude toward people has brought many friends to the Jewish community. He was a good example of a leader who had to strike a balance between religion and the then social order. The survival of the Jewish community and its current positioning in relation to other religious communities has its roots in the time when Benjamin Samokovlija was managing the community.

Awards:

Medal of Courage 04.11.1963

Distinguished by the President of the SFRY, Josip Broz Tito, with the Order of Brotherhood and Unity with a silver wreath 31.03.1977

Order of Military Merit with silver swords

Order of the Republic with a silver wreath

Medal from the State of Israel

He died on 28 February 1996 in Skopje