جمهورية البوسنة والهرسك الاشتراكية
Jerkić was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina to a Croat family. His father, Ivo Jerkić, was an official of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (within Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). He is the uncle of Ivan Barbalić, a Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the United Nations Organization.