3 GeoFroggy

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Continent:

Geography

People &
Society

Government

Economy

Energy

Communications

Military &
Security

Transportation

Terrorism

Transnational Issues
View Large Map

Country Name

Conventional long form: none

Conventional short form: Bosnia and Herzegovina

Local long form: none

Local short form: Bosna i Hercegovina

Former: People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abbreviation: BiH

Administrative Divisions

3 first-order administrative divisions - Brcko District (Brcko Distrikt) (ethnically mixed), Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine) (predominantly Bosniak-Croat), Republika Srpska (predominantly Serb)

Independence

1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia); note - referendum for independence completed on 1 March 1992; independence declared on 3 March 1992

National Holiday

Independence Day, 1 March (1992) and Statehood Day, 25 November (1943) - both observed in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entityVictory Day, 9 May (1945) and Dayton Agreement Day, 21 November (1995) - both observed in the Republika Srpska entity note: there is no national-level holiday

Constitution

History: 14 December 1995 (constitution included as part of the Dayton Peace Accords); note - each of the political entities has its own constitution

Amendments: decided by the Parliamentary Assembly, including a two-thirds majority vote of members present in the House of Representatives; the constitutional article on human rights and fundamental freedoms cannot be amended; amended several times, last in 2009 (2016)

Legal System

civil law system; Constitutional Court review of legislative acts

International Law Organization Participation

Has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship

Citizenship by birth: no

Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Dual citizenship recognized: yes, provided there is a bilateral agreement with the other state

Residency requirement for naturalization: 8 years

Suffrage

18 years of age, 16 if employed; universal

Executive Branch

Chief of state: Chairman of the Presidency Milorad DODIK (chairman since 20 November 2018, presidency member since 20 November 2018 - Serb seat); Zeljko KOMSIC (presidency member since 20 November 2018 - Croat seat); Sefik DZAFEROVIC (presidency member since 20 November 2018 - Bosniak seat)

Head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers Denis ZVIZDIC (since 11 February 2015)

Cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairman, approved by the state-level House of Representatives

Elections:

Election results: percent of vote - Milorad DODIK (SNSD) 53.9% - Serb seat; Zeljko KOMSIC (DF) 52.6% - Croat seat; Sefik DZAFEROVIC (SDA) 36.6% - Bosniak seat

Note: President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Marinko CAVARA (since 11 February 2015); Vice Presidents Melika MAHMUTBEGOVIC (since 11 February 2015), Milan DUNOVIC (since 11 February 2015); President of the Republika Srpska Milorad DODIK (since 15 November 2010); Vice Presidents Ramiz SALKIC (since 24 November 2014), Josip JERKOVIC (since 24 November 2014)

Legislative Branch

Description: bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists of

Elections: House of Peoples - last constituted in 11 February 2015 (next likely to be constituted in 2019) House of Representatives - last held on 7 October 2018 (next to be held in October 2022)

Election results: House of Peoples - percent of vote by coalition/party - NA; seats by coalition/party - NA; composition - men 13, women 2, percent of women 13.3% House of Representatives - percent of vote by coalition/party - SDA 17%, SNSD 16%, SDS/NDP/NS/SRS-VS 9.8%, HDZ-BiH/HSS/HKDU/HSP-AS BiH/HDU BiH 9.1%, DF, 5.8%, PDP 5.1%, DNS 4.2%, SBB BiH 4.2%, NS/HC 2.9%, NB 2.5%, PDA 2.3%, SP 1.9%, A-SDA 1.8%, other 17.4%; seats by coalition/party - SDA 9, SNSD 6, SDP 5, HDZ-BiH/HSS/HKDU/HSP-AS BiH/HDU BiH 5, SDS/NDP/NS/SRS-VS 3, DF 3, PDP 2, SBB BiH 2, NS/HC 2, DNS 1, NB 1 PDA 1, SP 1, A-SDA 1; composition - men 33, women 9, percent of women 21.4%; note - total Parliamentary Assembly percent of women 19.3%

Judicial Branch

Highest courts: Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members); Court of BiH (consists of 44 national judges and 7 international judges organized into 3 divisions - Administrative, Appellate, and Criminal, which includes a War Crimes Chamber)

Judge selection and term of office: BiH Constitutional Court judges - 4 selected by the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives, 2 selected by the Republika Srpska's National Assembly, and 3 non-Bosnian judges selected by the president of the European Court of Human Rights; Court of BiH president and national judges appointed by the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council; Court of BiH president appointed for renewable 6-year term; other national judges appointed to serve until age 70; international judges recommended by the president of the Court of BiH and appointed by the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina; international judges appointed to serve until age 70

Subordinate courts: the Federation has 10 cantonal courts plus a number of municipal courts; the Republika Srpska has a supreme court, 5 district courts, and a number of municipal courts

Political Parties and Leaders

Alliance for a Better Future of BiH or SBB BiH [Fahrudin RADONCIC]; Alliance of Independent Social Democrats or SNSD [Milorad DODIK]; Alternative Party for Democratic Activity or A-SDA [Nermin OGRESEVIC]; Croat Peasants' Party or HSS [Mario KARAMATIC]; Croatian Christian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HKDU [Ivan MUSA]; Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HDU-BiH [Miro GRABOVAC-TITAN]; Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HDZ-BiH [Dragan COVIC]; Croatian Democratic Union 1990 or HDZ-1990 [Ilija CVITANOVIC]; Croatian Party of Rights dr. Ante Starcevic or HSP-AS Bih [Karlo STARCEVIC]; Democratic Front of DF [Zeljko KOMSIC]; Democratic Peoples' Alliance or DNS [Marko PAVIC]; Independent Bloc or NB [Senad SEPIC]; Movement for Democratic Action or PDA [Mirsad KUKIC]; Progressive Srpska or NS [Goran DORDIC]; Our Party or NS/HC [Predrag KOJOVIC]; Party for Democratic Action or SDA [Bakir IZETBEGOVIC]; Party of Democratic Progress or PDP [Branislav BORENOVIC]; People's Democratic Movement or NDP [Dragan CAVIC]; Serb Democratic Party or SDS [Vukota GOVEDARICA]; Serb Radical Party-Dr. Vojislav Seselj or SRS-VS [Vojislav SESELJ]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Nermin NIKSIC]; Socialist Party or SP [Petar DOKIC];

Flag Description

A wide blue vertical band on the fly side with a yellow isosceles triangle abutting the band and the top of the flag; the remainder of the flag is blue with seven full five-pointed white stars and two half stars top and bottom along the hypotenuse of the triangle; the triangle approximates the shape of the country and its three points stand for the constituent peoples - Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs; the stars represent Europe and are meant to be continuous (thus the half stars at top and bottom); the colors (white, blue, and yellow) are often associated with neutrality and peace, and traditionally are linked with Bosnia note: one of several flags where a prominent component of the design reflects the shape of the country; other such flags are those of Brazil, Eritrea, and Vanuatu

National Symbols

Golden lily; national colors: blue, yellow, white

National Anthem

Lyrics:

Note: music adopted 1999; lyrics proposed in 2009 and others in 2016 were not approved; a parliamentary committee launched a new initiative for lyrics in February 2018

Year

Government Type

  • Parliamentary republic

Capital

  • Name
    Sarajevo
  • Geographic Coordinates
    43 52 N, 18 25 E
  • Time Difference
    UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
  • Daylight Saving Time
    +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Diplomatic Representation in the US

  • Chief Of Mission
    Ambassador Haris HRLE (since 23 October 2015)
  • Chancery
    2109 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20037
  • Telephone
    [1] (202) 337-1500
  • FAX
    [1] (202) 337-1502
  • Consulate(s) General
    Chicago, New York

Diplomatic Representation from the US

  • Chief Of Mission
    Ambassador Maureen CORMACK (since 16 January 2015)
  • Embassy
    1 Robert C. Frasure Street, 71000 Sarajevo
  • Mailing Address
    use embassy street address
  • Telephone
    [387] (33) 704-000
  • FAX
    [387] (33) 659-722
  • Branch Office(s)
    Banja Luka, Mostar

International Organization Participation

  • BIS
  • CD
  • CE
  • CEI
  • EAPC
  • EBRD
  • FAO
  • G-77
  • IAEA
  • IBRD
  • ICAO
  • ICC (NGOs)
  • ICCt
  • ICRM
  • IDA
  • IFAD
  • IFC
  • IFRCS
  • ILO
  • IMF
  • IMO
  • IMSO
  • Interpol
  • IOC
  • IOM
  • IPU
  • ISO
  • ITSO
  • ITU
  • ITUC (NGOs)
  • MIGA
  • MINUSMA
  • MONUSCO
  • NAM (observer)
  • OAS (observer)
  • OIC (observer)
  • OIF (observer)
  • OPCW
  • OSCE
  • PFP
  • SELEC
  • UN
  • UNCTAD
  • UNESCO
  • UNIDO
  • UNWTO
  • UPU
  • WCO
  • WHO
  • WIPO
  • WMO
  • WTO (observer)
Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took.
Product
Company
Resources
Contact
mail@geofroggy.com