Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina's declaration of sovereignty in October of 1991, was followed by a referendum for independence from the former Yugoslavia in February of 1992. The Bosnian Serbs - supported by neighboring Serbia - responded with armed resistance aimed at partitioning the republic along ethnic lines and joining Serb-held areas to form a "greater Serbia." In March 1994, Bosnia's Bosniaks and Croats reduced the number of warring factions from three to two by signing an agreement creating a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 21 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the warring parties signed a peace agreement that brought to a halt the three years of interethnic civil strife (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995). The Dayton Agreement divides Bosnia and Herzegovina roughly equally between the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serb Republika Srpska. In 1995-96, a NATO-led international peacekeeping force (IFOR) of 60,000 troops served in Bosnia to implement and monitor the military aspects of the agreement. IFOR was succeeded by a smaller, NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) whose mission is to deter renewed hostilities. SFOR remains in place, with troop levels to be reduced to about 19,000 by spring 2000.
The Dayton Peace Accords halted the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. There were outbreaks of mob violence against expatriates early in 2001, particularly in the Herzegovina region, which has since largely ceased and 2005 has been relatively calm.
There are still risks from occasional localized political violence, land mines, unexploded ordnance, and car-jackings. As many as one million landmines are still scattered throughout the country, and visitors are advised to remain on well-trafficked surfaces and roadways.
Although physical infrastructure was devastated by the war, in recent years there has been significant improvement, and reconstruction is accelerating. Utility service has improved dramatically, but gas, electrical, and especially water outages still occur.
One of the most difficult problems left by the war was to ensure that around two million displaced people could return home safely. Evidence of success in overcoming it came late in 2004 when the United Nations announced that over a million of them had done so, about three quarters to the Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina and the rest to the Republika Srpska
Under the terms of the 1995 Dayton peace agreement, Bosnia and Herzegovina is divided into two distinct entities: Republika Srpska (Serbian Republic) and Federacija Bosne I Hercegovine (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina). A central government based in Sarajevo, the Council of Ministers, is responsible for national functions including foreign, external trade and finance policies. It consists of a three-person executive presidency and a national assembly in which two-thirds of the seats are reserved for Federation candidates and one-third for Serbs. In addition, Republika Srpska elects its own president and national assembly while the Federation elects a national assembly.
Dayton also established the Office of the High Representative, a role fulfilled by British politician Paddy Ashdown since May 2002. The representative has wide-ranging powers to impose decisions in cases where the authorities are unable to agree, or where political and economic interests are considered to be at stake.
Borislav Paravac (Serb Democratic Party), Sulejman Tihic (Muslim Party of Democratic Action) and Ivo Miro Jovic (Croatian Democratic Union). The responsibilities of the presidency lie largely in international affairs.
Parliamentary elections in October 2002 saw nationalist parties put up a strong showing overall in both the Bosnia-Herzegovina parliament and the assemblies of the entities. Many voters expressed disillusionment with what they saw as the failure of politicians to improve their economic lot and turnout was low. After three months of negotiations, the Bosnia-Herzegovina parliament approved a government dominated by nationalists with backing from moderate parties.
Prime Minister Adnan Terzic of the Muslim Party of Democratic Action has pledged to introduce economic and social reforms intended to steer Bosnia towards integration with Europe. He lists growth and investment and fighting crime and corruption as his government's priorities. He has promised to work with the international community to achieve these goals. Mladen Ivanic, a former moderate Bosnian Serb prime minister, is foreign minister. Terzic will be the first prime minister since the end of the war in 1995 to serve a full four-year term. Previously the post was rotated between representatives of the three main ethnic communities.
