Executive Power: Who were the Presidents and Vice-Presidents of FBiH from 1994 to today

The Parliament of the Federation of BiH today elected the 12th President of FBiH, and this position will be held by Marinko Čavara (HDZ BiH), writes the BiH news agency Patria (NAP).

The President of the Federation has most often been elected from among the Croats. And, as many as seven times, they were elected from HDZ BiH.

After Čavara was confirmed as the President of FBiH today, he is the eighth HDZ president at the head of the Federation in the 20 years that the office of president has existed.

The President of the Federation of BiH is the head of the executive power in this BiH entity. The office was established on May 31, 1994, and the first president was Krešimir Zubak (HDZ BiH).

From then until today, the Federation has had 11 presidents, with some of them, such as Ejup Ganić and Ivo Andrić Lužanski, being elected to this position twice.

Since the establishment of the institution of the President of the Federation, a vice-president has also been elected. If the president is a Croat, the vice-president is elected from among the Bosniaks. Since 2002, and in accordance with the Decision on Constituent Peoples, two vice-presidents of the Federation have been elected.

Until 2002, in the election of the president and vice-president of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Houses of Peoples (Bosniak and Croat) separately nominated one person each. A majority in each House of Peoples chamber was required.

After 2002, in the elections for the president and two vice-presidents of the Federation of BiH, a joint list was introduced, which was formed with the support of at least one-third of the deputies from the chambers (Bosniak, Croat, Serb). A majority in each House of Peoples chamber was no longer required, only one-third.

The first president of FBiH was Krešimir Zubak, one of the most influential Croatian politicians. He remained in that position until 1997. Ejup Ganić, then a member of the Presidency of RBiH, held the position of deputy.

Zubak was succeeded by Vladimir Šoljić, also from among the Croats. His deputy was still Ejup Ganić. Šoljić and Ganić did not have significant influence, as they were under pressure from the international community and the Office of the High Representative.

Ganić and Šoljić rotated in 1997, so Ganić was appointed president of FBiH this time, and Šoljić was vice-president. They would hold this duty until 1999.

In the early years, there were frequent changes in these positions.

Ivo Andrić Lužanski, the current president of the Assembly of the Croatian Community of Herceg-Bosna, was elected the fourth president of the Federation in 1999. He was one of the leading figures of HDZ. Just a year later, Ganić replaced him in this position again, and already the next year Lužanski was re-appointed president of FBiH. In his second term, Lužanski held this position for only two months, from January 1 to February 28, 2001.

After Lužanski, Karlo Filipović from the Social Democratic Party was elected president of FBiH. He would hold this duty for a year. His deputy was Safet Halilović, from the Party for BiH (SBiH).

The following year, Halilović was elected president of FBiH, and Filipović became his deputy. They would hold the duty for a year. This was the time of the Alliance for Changes.

Niko Lozančić, a Croatian politician, was elected the ninth president of the Federation in 2003, and Šahbaz Džihanović and Desnica Radivojević were appointed vice-presidents of the Federation.

From 1997 to 2011, the Federation was headed by a woman for the first time. Borjana Krišto from HDZ BiH was appointed president, and Mirsad Kebo and Spomenka Mičić were appointed vice-presidents of the Federation.

The last president of the Federation, before Čavara, was Živko Budimir, a Croatian general. Mirsad Kebo and Svetozar Pudarić held the position of vice-president.

COMPETENCIES

The President of the Federation is responsible for appointing the Government, judges of federal courts, signing decisions of the Parliament of the Federation after their adoption, signing and ratifying international agreements on behalf of the Federation, granting pardons to prisoners except for war crimes and crimes against humanity and genocide...

The Vice-President of the Federation is responsible for: replacing the President of the Federation when the need arises, cooperating with the President of the Federation, and performing duties entrusted by the President and the Parliament of the Federation.