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Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

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This article is about the political entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina. For the country itself, seeBosnia and Herzegovina.For the country as it existed from 1992 to 1995, seeRepublic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine
Федерација Босне и Херцеговине
Entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Location of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (blue) within Bosnia and Herzegovina. Brčko District is light blue. a
Location of the Federation of Bosnia and
Herzegovina (blue) withinBosnia and Herzegovina.Brčko District is light blue.a
CountryBosnia and Herzegovina
Washington Agreement18 March 1994
Recognized as
part of Bosnia
and Herzegovina		14 December 1995
Capital
and largest city
Sarajevo
43°51′30″N18°24′50″E/ 43.85833°N 18.41389°E/43.85833; 18.41389
Official
languages[1]
Ethnic groups
(2013)
GovernmentFederated state
Lidija Bradara
Nermin Nikšić
LegislatureParliament
•Upper house
House of Peoples
•Lower house
House of Representatives
Area
• Total
26,110.5 km2(10,081.3 sq mi)
Population
• 2013 census
2,219,220[2]
• Density
91/km2(235.7/sq mi)
GDP(nominal)2022 estimate
• Total
€15.2 billion[3]
• Per capita
€7,036
CurrencyConvertible markb(BAM)
Time zoneUTC+1(CET)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+2(CEST)
Calling code+387
ISO 3166 codeBA-BIH
aFormally,Brčko Districtis held incondominiumbyboth partsof Bosnia and Herzegovina (namely, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina andRepublika Srpska).De facto,however, it is a third entity, as it has the same powers as the Federation and Republika Srpska and is under the direct sovereignty of BiH.[4]
bLatin version

TheFederation of Bosnia and Herzegovina[a]is one of the twoentitiescomposingBosnia and Herzegovina,the other beingRepublika Srpska.The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of ten autonomouscantonswith their own governments and legislatures.

The Federation was created by the 1994Washington Agreement,which ended theCroat–Bosniak Warwithin theBosnian War,and established aconstituent assemblythat continued its work until October 1996.

The Federation has acapital,government,president, parliament, customs and police departments and two postal systems. It occupies about half of the land of Bosnia and Herzegovina. From 1996 until 2005 it had its own army, theArmy of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina,later merged in theArmed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.The capital and largest city isSarajevowith 275,524 inhabitants.[5]

History[edit]

Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1997
Bosniak-controlled areas
CroatHerzeg-Bosnia
Flag of the Federationfrom 1996 to 2007
Coat of arms of the Federationfrom 1996 to 2007
Main article:Washington Agreement

The basis for the creation of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was laid down by theWashington Agreementof March 1994.[6]Under the agreement, the combined territory held by theArmy of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovinaand theCroatian Defence Councilforces was to be divided into ten autonomous cantons along the lines of theVance-Owen plan.The cantonal system was selected to prevent dominance of one ethnic group over another. However, much of the territory Croats and Bosniaks claimed for their Federation was at that point still controlled by the Bosnian Serbs.

The Washington Agreement was implemented during the spring of 1994, by convoking a Constitutional Assembly, which on 24 June adopted and proclaimed the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[7]

In 1995,Bosniakforces andBosnian Croatforces of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina defeated forces of theAutonomous Province of Western Bosnia,and this territory was added to the federation (Una-Sana Canton).

Post-war[edit]

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1995–1999)– OHR.int

Main article:Dayton Agreement

By theDayton Agreementof 1995 that ended the four-year war, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was defined as one of the two entities ofBosnia and Herzegovina,comprising 51% of country's area, alongsideRepublika Srpska.Cantons and federal structure were built rather slowly after the war. Separatist CroatHerzeg-Bosniainstitutions existed and functioned parallel to Federation ones up until 1996–97, when they were phased out. On 8 March 2000, theBrčko Districtwas formed as an autonomous district within Bosnia and Herzegovina and it was created from part of the territory of both Bosnian entities. Brčko District is now a condominium that belongs to both entities.

In 2001–2002, theOffice of the High Representative(OHR) imposed amendments to the Federation's Constitution and its electoral law, in compliance with the decisions of theConstitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovinaon the political equality of the three constituent peoples (U-5/98).[8]This triggered the grievances ofBosnian Croats,who claimed they were deprived of their rights to representation as Bosniaks had come to control the majority in the upper house as well.[9] Dissatisfied Croat politicians set up a separateCroatian National Assembly,held a referendum parallel to the elections and proclaimedtheir self-rulein Croat-majority areas in the Federation. Their attempts ended shortly after a crackdown bySFORand legal proceedings.

Dissatisfied with the representation of Croats in the Federation, Croat political parties insist on creating aCroat-majority federal unitinstead of several cantons.SDAand other Bosniak parties strongly oppose this. In September 2010, theInternational Crisis Groupwarned that "disputes among and between Bosniak and Croat leaders and a dysfunctional administrative system have paralyzed decision-making, put the entity on the verge of bankruptcy and triggered social unrest".[10][dead link]In January 2017,Croatian National Assemblystated that "if Bosnia and Herzegovina wants to become self-sustainable, then it is necessary to have an administrative-territorial reorganization, which would include a federal unit with a Croatian majority. It remains the permanent aspiration of the Croatian people of Bosnia and Herzegovina."[11]

In2010–14the Federation's Governmentwas formedbySDPwithout the consent of major Croat political parties, leading to a political crisis.

In parallel to EU-facilitated talks on theSejdic-Finci issueat State level, in February 2013 the US embassy supported an expert working group which presented its 188 recommendations to the FBIH House of Representatives in 2013,[12]aiming to address the costly and complex governance structures with overlapping competences between the Federation, the Cantons and the municipalities as currently entailed in the Federation Constitution.[13]The initiative was finally not adopted by the Parliament.

Following an appeal by HDZ BiHBožo Ljubić,in December 2016 the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina abolished the electoral formula for the indirect election of the Federation House of People, stating that it did not guarantee the legitimate representation of constituent peoples.[14]Notably, the ruling did not concur with anamicus curiaeopinion of the Venice Commission on the same matter. Lacking legislative amendments to revise the Election Law, in Summer 2018 theCentral Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovinaprovisionally enacted a new formula for the composition of the House of People, based on the minimal representation formula (one deputy per each constituent people per each canton) and on the2013 census.

In 2022, the High Representative imposed amendments to the federal Constitution and the Election Law, implementing the Ljubic verdict. The changes also reconstructed the original balance of power between Croats and Bosniaks in the Federation, as envisioned in Washington Agreement.

In 2023, the High Representative suspended the federal Constitution for one day in order to impose a new government. This created a huge scandal and political crisis.[15]Some see this as an act of "treason".[16]

Geographic boundary[edit]

Main article:Inter-Entity Boundary Line

TheInter-Entity Boundary Line(IEBL) that distinguishes Bosnia and Herzegovina's two entities runs along the frontlines as they existed at the end of theBosnian War,with adjustments (most importantly in the western part of the country and around Sarajevo), as defined by the Dayton Agreement. The total length of the IEBL is approximately 1,080 km. The IEBL is an administrative demarcation and not controlled by the military or police and there is free movement across it.[17]

Five of the cantons (Una-Sana, Tuzla, Zenica-Doboj, Bosnian Podrinje and Sarajevo) are Bosniak-majority cantons, three (Posavina, West Herzegovina and Canton 10) are Croat-majority cantons, and two (Central Bosnia and Herzegovina-Neretva) are 'ethnically mixed', meaning there are special legislative procedures for protection of the constituent peoples.[18]

A significant portion ofBrčko Districtwas also part of the Federation; however, when the district was created, it became shared territory of both entities, but it was not placed under control of either of the two, and is hence under direct jurisdiction of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[19]Currently the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has 79 municipalities.[17]

Politics[edit]

The government and politics of the Federation are dominated by three large parties, the BosniakParty of Democratic Action(SDA), the multi-ethnicSocial Democratic Party(SDP BiH) and theCroatian Democratic Union(HDZ BiH).[10]

Entity-level institutions include:

Since Bosniaks compose roughly 70.4% of the Federation's population, Croats 22.4% and Serbs just around 2%, the Parliament's House of Peoples (with equal representation for all three nationalities) is supposed to ensure that the interests of Croats, Serbs and national minorities are fairly represented during government creation and in the legislative process.

The Federation is also divided into ten highly autonomous cantons. They each have their own governments,assembliesand exclusive and shared competencies. In 2010, the Federation's Constitutional Court ruled that two Federation's ministries – the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Culture and Sports – are unconstitutional since education and culture are an exclusive competence of the cantons.[20]

Political divisions[edit]

Main article:Cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina comprises ten cantons (Bosnian:kantoni,Croatian:županije):

No. Canton Center No. Canton Center
1 Una-Sana Bihać 6 Central Bosnia Travnik
2 Posavina Orašje 7 Herzegovina-Neretva Mostar
3 Tuzla Tuzla 8 West Herzegovina Široki Brijeg
4 Zenica-Doboj Zenica 9 Sarajevo Sarajevo
5 Bosnian-Podrinje Goražde 10 Canton 10 Livno

Demographics[edit]

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina comprises 51% of the land area of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is home to 62.85% of the country's total population.

Ethnic composition in 1991 (pre-war)
Ethnic composition in 2013
Population of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina according to ethnic group 1991–2013[21]
Ethnic

group

census 1991 census 2013
Number % Number %
Bosniaks 1,423,593 52.34% 1,562,372 70.40%
Croats 594,362 21.85% 497,883 22.44%
Serbs 478,122 17.58% 56,550 2.55%
Yugoslavs 161,938 5.95%
Others 62,059 2.28% 102,415 4.61%
Total 2,720,074 2,219,220
Largest cities or towns in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
2013 Census[22]
Rank Canton Pop. Rank Canton Pop.
Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Tuzla
Tuzla 		1 Sarajevo Sarajevo Canton 275,524 11 Lukavac Tuzla Canton 44,520 Zenica
Zenica
Mostar
Mostar
2 Tuzla Tuzla Canton 110,979 12 Tešanj Zenica-Doboj Canton 43,063
3 Zenica Zenica-Doboj Canton 110,663 13 Gradačac Tuzla Canton 41,836
4 Mostar Herzegovina-Neretva Canton 105,797 14 Sanski Most Una-Sana Canton 41,475
5 Ilidža Sarajevo Canton 71,892 15 Visoko Zenica-Doboj Canton 41,352
6 Cazin Una-Sana Canton 66,149 16 Velika Kladuša Una-Sana Canton 40,419
7 Živinice Tuzla Canton 57,765 17 Zavidovići Zenica-Doboj Canton 40,272
8 Bihać Una-Sana Canton 56,261 18 Srebrenik Tuzla Canton 39,678
9 Travnik Central Bosnia Canton 53,482 19 Kakanj Zenica-Doboj Canton 38,937
10 Gračanica Tuzla Canton 48,395 20 Livno Canton 10 37,487

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Serbo-Croatian:Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine(FBiH) / Федерација Босне и Херцеговине (ФБиХ),pronounced[federǎːtsijabôsneːixěrtseɡoʋineː]ⓘ.

References[edit]

  1. ^Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and HerzegovinaArchived5 March 2021 at theWayback Machine.Official Gazette of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
  2. ^ab"Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2013 Final Results"(PDF).Sarajevo, juni 2016: BHAS. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 24 December 2017.Retrieved30 June2016.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: location (link)
  3. ^"Database of economic indicators of RS".www.irbrs.net.Archivedfrom the original on 18 December 2021.Retrieved26 March2023.
  4. ^"Brcko Chart".30 August 2002. Archived fromthe originalon 30 August 2002.Retrieved4 January2018.
  5. ^"Preliminary Results of the 2013 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in Bosnia and Herzegovina"(PDF).Bhas.ba.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 13 November 2013.Retrieved4 January2018.
  6. ^"Washington Agreement (1994)"(PDF).Archived(PDF)from the original on 15 April 2023.Retrieved28 December2018.
  7. ^"CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERATION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA".1 March 2002. Archived fromthe originalon 1 March 2002.
  8. ^"Decision on Constitutional Amendments in the Federation".13 May 2002. Archived fromthe originalon 13 May 2002.
  9. ^Bose, Sumantra:"Bosnia After Dayton: Nationalist Partition and International Intervention",Oxford University Press, 2002; p. 82
  10. ^ab"Federation of Bosnia And Herzegovina – A Parallel Crisis".International Crisis Group.28 September 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 13 October 2010.[dubious–discuss]
  11. ^Rose, Eleanor:"Bosniaks Slap Down Calls for Bosnian Croat Entity"Archived30 September 2018 at theWayback Machine,Balkan Insight, 30 January 2017
  12. ^ustavnareformafbih.blogspot.com Ustavna Reforma FBIH
  13. ^"EC Progress Report 2013, p.6-7"(PDF).Archived(PDF)from the original on 23 June 2021.Retrieved24 December2020.
  14. ^Rose, Eleanor:"Bosnian Court Ruling Lends Weight to Croat Agitation"Archived30 September 2018 at theWayback Machine,Balkan Insight, 15 Dec 16
  15. ^Service, RFE/RL's Balkan."International Envoy Imposes Amendments To Bosnian Constitution To Spur Formation Of Government, Strengthen Elections".RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty.Archivedfrom the original on 1 August 2023.Retrieved1 August2023.
  16. ^Sito-sucic, Daria (28 April 2023)."Regional Bosnia government formed as protesters chant 'treason'".Reuters.Archivedfrom the original on 1 August 2023.Retrieved1 August2023.
  17. ^abCox, Marcus (2003)."Building Democracy from the Outside: the Dayton Agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina".In Bastian, Sunil; Luckham, Robin (eds.).Can Democracy be Designed?: the Politics of Institutional Choice in Conflict-torn Societies.London: Zed Books Ltd. pp. 253–276 [259].ISBN1-84277-150-7.Archivedfrom the original on 19 July 2023.Retrieved21 April2018.These were required to withdraw to their respective territories, and a demilitarised Zone of Separation was created, extending for two kilometres on either side of the IEBL and heavily patrolled by international forces.
  18. ^Richard G. Johnson (25 February 1999)."Negotiating the Dayton Peace Accords through Digital Maps".U.S. Institute of Peace.Archived fromthe originalon 10 January 2007.Retrieved23 January2007.Digital technology had matured enough by late 1995 that Dayton marked the first significant appearance of "digital maps" in diplomatic negotiations.
  19. ^Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina,U-5/98 (Partial Decision Part 1), p. 18,Sarajevo,29 and 30 January 2000
  20. ^"Odluka USBiH, Broj: U-29/09 28. septembra 2010. godine".Ustavnisudfbih.ba.Archivedfrom the original on 5 April 2023.Retrieved4 January2018.
  21. ^"Popis 2013 u BiH – Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine".Archivedfrom the original on 19 July 2023.Retrieved26 September2020.
  22. ^"Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in Bosnia and Herzegovina 2013"(PDF).Federal Bureau of Statistics. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 5 December 2013.Retrieved3 April2015.

Sources[edit]

External links[edit]

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