Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Predsjedništvo Bosne i Hercegovine/Предсједништво Босне и Херцеговине) is the head of state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Overview

According to the Article V of the Constitution, the Presidency consists of three members: one Bosniak and one Croat elected from the Federation and one Serb elected from the Republika Srpska. Together, they serve one four-year term.

The member with the most votes becomes the chairman unless he or she was the incumbent chairman at the time of the election, but the chairmanship rotates every eight months, to ensure equality.

The Presidency is responsible for:

• Conducting the foreign policy of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
• Appointing ambassadors and other international representatives, no more than two thirds of which may come from the Federation;
• Representing Bosnia and Herzegovina in European and international organizations and institutions and seeking membership in such organizations and institutions of which it is not a member;
• Negotiating, denouncing, and, with the consent of the Parliamentary Assembly, ratifying treaties of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
• Executing decisions of the Parliamentary Assembly;
• Proposing, upon the recommendation of the Council of Ministers, an annual budget to the Parliamentary Assembly;
• Reporting as requested, but no less than annually, to the Parliamentary Assembly on expenditures by the Presidency;
• Coordinating as necessary with international and nongovernmental organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and;
• Performing such other functions as may be necessary to carry out its duties, as may be assigned to it by the Parliamentary Assembly, or as may be agreed by the Entities.

Heads of State of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Chairman of the Anti-Fascist Council of People's Liberation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Vojislav Kecmanović (25 November 1943 - 26 April 1945)
• Presidents of the Presidium of the People's Assembly
  • Vojislav Kecmanović (26 April 1945 - November 1946)
  • Đuro Pucar (November 1946 - September 1948)
  • Vlado Segrt (September 1948 - March 1953)
• Presidents of the People's Assembly
  • Đuro Pucar (December 1953 - June 1963)
  • Ratomir Dugonjić (June 1963 - 1967)
  • Džemal Bijedić (1967–1971)
  • Hamdija Pozderac (1971 - May 1974)
• Presidents of the Presidency
  • Ratomir Dugonjić (May 1974 - April 1978)
  • Raif Dizdarević (April 1978 - April 1982)
  • Branko Mikulić (April 1982 - 26 April 1984)
  • Milanko Renovica (26 April 1984 - 26 April 1985)
  • Munir Mesihović (26 April 1985 - April 1987)
  • Mato Andrić (April 1987 - April 1988)
  • Nikola Filipović (April 1988 - April 1989)
  • Obrad Piljak (April 1989 - 20 December 1990)

Presidency of the early Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

When the country declared independence in 1992, the Presidency consisted of:

• two Bosniak members - Alija Izetbegović and Fikret Abdić
• two Serb members - Biljana Plavšić and Nikola Koljević
• two Croat members - Stjepan Kljujić and Franjo Boras
• one other member - Ejup Ganić

Over the course of the Bosnian war, the Presidency underwent several changes: the Serb members Plavšić and Koljević, as well as the Croat member Boras, left the Presidency early on and were replaced by Nenad Kecmanović, Mirko Pejanović and Ivo Komšić, respectively. Kecmanović soon also left, and was replaced by Tatjana Ljujić-Mijatović. After a while, Abdić was replaced with Nijaz Duraković.

Presidency elected in 1996

Elected members:

• Alija Izetbegović for the Bosniaks
• Momčilo Krajišnik for the Serbs
• Krešimir Zubak for the Croats

Presidency elected in 1998

Elected members:

• Alija Izetbegović for the Bosniaks, since 5 October 1996 (chairman between 14 February and 14 October 2000)
• Živko Radišić for the Serbs, since 13 October 1998
• Ante Jelavić for the Croats, September 1998 to March 2001

Živko Radišić with 52% of the Serb vote was elected chairman of the collective presidency for the first 8 months; Ante Jelavić with 52% of the Croat vote followed Radišić in the rotation; Alija Izetbegović with 87% of the Bosniak vote won the highest number of votes in the election but was ineligible to serve a second term until Radišić and Jelavić had each served a first term as Chairman of the Presidency. Ante Jelavić was replaced by Jozo Križanović for the remainder of his term based on a decision issued by Wolfgang Petritsch, High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Presidency elected in 2002

Election held 5 October 2002.

Elected members:

• Dragan Čović for the Croats
• Mirko Šarović for the Serbs
• Sulejman Tihić for the Bosniaks

Mirko Šarović with 35.5% of the Serb vote was elected chairman of the collective presidency for the first eight months; Dragan Čović received 61.5% of the Croat vote; Sulejman Tihić received 37% of the Bosniak vote.

Mirko Šarović resigned in 2003 due to his implication in the scandal regarding the selling of arms to Iraq. The Parliament replaced him with Borislav Paravac.

Dragan Čović was dismissed by the High Representative Paddy Ashdown, after Čović was indicted for financial corruption; however, the trial hasn't taken place yet. The Parliament replaced him with Ivo Miro Jović.

Presidency elected in 2006

Election held 1 October 2006.

Elected members:

• Željko Komšić for the Croats
• Nebojša Radmanović for the Serbs
• Haris Silajdžić for the Bosniaks

Presidency elected in 2010

Election held 3 October 2010.

Elected members:

• Željko Komšić for the Croats
• Nebojša Radmanović for the Serbs
• Bakir Izetbegović for the Bosniaks

See also

• Chairmen of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina

External links

• Website of the Presidency
• Article V of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Holding Bosnian presidents accountable, ISN Security Watch, 21 December 2006