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
etymology: the larger northern territory is named after the Bosna River; the smaller southern section takes its name from the German word "herzog," meaning "duke," and the ending "-ovina," meaning "land," creating the combination denoting "dukedom"
Government type:
federal democratic 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
Administrative divisions:
2 first-order administrative divisions and 1 internationally supervised district* - the Bosniak-Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine), the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska, Brcko District (Brcko Distrikt)*; note - Brcko District is in northeastern Bosnia and is a self-governing administrative unit under the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina and formally held in condominium between the two entities
Independence:
1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia); note - referendum for independence completed on 1 March 1992; independence declared on 3 March 1992
National holiday:
National Day (Statehood Day), 25 November (1943); note - observed only in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity
Constitution:
14 December 1995 (constitution included as part of the Dayton Peace Accords); amended several times, last in 2009; note - each of the entities has its own constitution (2015)
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
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state: Chairman of the Presidency Dragan COVIC (chairman since 17 July 2015; presidency member since 17 November 2014 - Croat) ; other members of the three-member presidency rotate every eight months
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/appointments: 3-member presidency (one Bosniak, one Croat, one Serb) directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term, but then ineligible for 4 years) by constituencies of the 3 ethnic groups; the chairmanship rotates every 8 months and resumes where it left off following each general election; election last held on 12 October 2014 (next to be held in October 2018); the chairman of the Council of Ministers appointed by the presidency and confirmed by the state-level House of Representatives
election results: percent of vote - Mladen IVANIC 48.7% - Serb seat; Dragan COVIC 52.2% - Croat seat; Bakir IZETBEGOVIC 32.9% - 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 the House of Peoples or Dom Naroda (15 seats - 5 Bosniak, 5 Croat, 5 Serb; members designated by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Peoples and the Republika Srpska's National Assembly to serve 4-year terms) and the state-level House of Representatives or Predstavnicki Dom (42 seats to include 28 seats allocated to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 14 to the Republika Srpska; members directly elected by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms); note - the Bosniak/Croat Federation has a bicameral legislature that consists of the House of Peoples (58 seats - 17 Bosniak, 17 Croat, 17 Serb, 7 other) and the House of Representatives (98 seats; members directly elected by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms); Republika Srpska's unicameral legislature is the National Assembly (83 directly elected delegates serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Peoples - last constituted in 11 February 2015 (next likely to be constituted in 2018); state-level House of Representatives - election last held on 12 October 2014 (next to be held in October 2018)
election results: House of Peoples - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA; seats by party/coalition - NA; state-level House of Representatives - percent of vote by party/coalition - Federation votes: SDA 27.9%, DF 15.3%, SBB BiH 14.4%, Croat People's Assembly coalition or HNS (HDZ BiH-HSS-NHI-HKDU-HSP-dr. Ante Starcevic-HSP Herceg-Bosne) 12.2%, SDP 9.5%, HDZ-1990 4.1%, BPS-Sefer Halilovic 3.7%, A-SDA 2.3%, other 10.6%; Republika Srpska votes: SNSD 38.5%, SDS 32.6%, PDP-NDP 7.8%, DNS 5.7%, SDA 4.9%, other 10.5%; seats by party/coalition - SDA 10, SNSD 6, SDS 5, DF 5, SBB BiH 4, Croat People's Assembly coalition or HNS (HDZ BiH-HSS-NHI-HKDU-HSP-Dr. Ante Starcevic-HSP Herceg-Bosne) 4, SDP 3, PDP-NDP 1, HDZ-1990 1, BPS-Sefer Halilovic 1, DNS 1, A-SDA 1
Judicial branch:
highest court(s): 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 Bosniak/Croat Federation's 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]
Bosnian-Herzegovinian Patriotic Party-Sefer Halilovic or BPS-Sefer Halilovic [Sefer HALILOVIC]
Croat Peasants' Party-New Croat Initiative or HSS-NHI [Ante COLAK]
Croatian Christian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HKDU [Ivan MUSA]
Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HDZ-BiH [Dragan COVIC]
Croatian Democratic Union 1990 or HDZ-1990 [Martin RAGUZ]
Croatian Party of Rights dr. Ante Starcevic or HSP dr. Ante Starcevic [Zvonko JURISIC]
Croatian Party of Rights of Herceg-Bosne or HSP Herceg-Bosne [Vesna PINJUH]
Democratic Front of DF [Zeljko KOMSIC]
Democratic Peoples' Alliance or DNS [Marko PAVIC]
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 [Mladen BOSIC]
Social Democratic Party or SDP [Nermin NIKSIC]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
other: war veterans; displaced persons associations; family associations of missing persons; private media
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)
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
Flag description:
a wide medium 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 medium 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 symbol(s):
golden lily; national colors: blue, yellow, white
National anthem:
name: "Drzavna himna Bosne i Hercegovine" (The National Anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina)
lyrics/music: none officially; Dusan SESTIC and Benjamin ISOVIC/Dusan SESTIC
note: music adopted 1999; lyrics accepted 2009 but not yet approved
NOTE: The information regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina on this page is re-published from the 2016 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Bosnia and Herzegovina Government 2016 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Bosnia and Herzegovina Government 2016 should be addressed to the CIA.
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This page was last modified 27-Apr-16