National Theatre Sarajevo without management: Ministry of Culture seeks changes to director requirements, Management Board has not yet announced a competition

(Patria) - The Trade Union of Secondary and Higher Education, Science and Culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina - Cantonal Board Sarajevo Canton has announced via social media regarding the current situation at the National Theatre Sarajevo, which is without management structures. Although Dino Mustafić's mandate has expired, he has remained in this transitional period in his position, even though he was appointed director of the International Youth Centre in Grbavica, which operates under the auspices of the Novo Sarajevo Municipality. Edin Mustafić is still listed as director in the court register.

They state that the National Theatre Sarajevo has been in a serious managerial and institutional crisis for months, caused by multiple and inconsistent decisions of the Management Board, and the failure to announce a public competition in a timely manner for the appointment of a director for this key cultural institution of Sarajevo Canton.

"According to available documentation, the Management Board of the Public Institution National Theatre Sarajevo first dismissed the director on September 4, 2025, then on September 22, 2025, while the third decision was made on December 1, 2025. Despite the fact that more than three months have passed since the first decision, a public competition for the appointment of a director for a full mandate period has not been announced during that time.

At the same time, on December 11, 2025, the decision in the form of consent for the appointment of an acting director was submitted to the Professional Service of the Sarajevo Canton Government.

However, at the meeting of the Sarajevo Canton Government held on December 18, 2025, a clear stance was taken not to proceed with the appointment of an acting director, but to instruct the Management Board to announce a public competition for the director for a full mandate.
Of particular concern is the fact that the Management Board of the Public Institution National Theatre Sarajevo has in the meantime, acting on the initiative of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Sarajevo Canton, initiated the procedure for amendments and supplements to the Rules of the National Theatre Sarajevo. These amendments provide for changes to the conditions for performing the director's function, thereby further redirecting the issue of director selection from an operational to a normative level.

Although the Ministry has the legitimate right to initiate the improvement of the normative framework, the question arises about the justification and temporal coordination of such an initiative at a time when the institution is already functioning without stable leadership. The initiation of changes to key general acts during a management vacuum has objectively led to further delays in the process of announcing a public competition, and has created circumstances in which the issue of appointing a director is postponed indefinitely.

The Trade Union of the Public Institution National Theatre Sarajevo has repeatedly warned the Management Board, the relevant ministry, and competent institutions about these risks and possible consequences, pointing out the need for an urgent announcement of a public competition, preservation of the legality of procedures, and avoidance of further deepening of institutional instability. However, those warnings have not resulted in concrete and timely solutions to date.

The appointment of an acting director, according to valid legal and management standards, represents an exceptional and temporary mechanism used exclusively in urgent and unpredictable situations. In the case of the National Theatre Sarajevo, considering the months-long passage of time since the first decision on dismissal, the justification for such a solution is further called into question precisely because of the simultaneous conduct of normative procedures at the initiative of the relevant ministry.

Due to the absence of a competition procedure and the parallel implementation of changes to general acts, the National Theatre Sarajevo is functioning in a prolonged state of legal and organizational uncertainty, which directly affects management stability, repertoire planning, financial operations, project implementation, and relations with partners and sponsors," the Trade Union's statement reads.

In this context, the question of institutional coordination between the Management Board and the relevant ministry is increasingly being raised in public, as well as the question of political and managerial responsibility for the months-long delay in announcing a public competition for the director of an institution of exceptional importance for the cultural life of Sarajevo Canton.

"As a possible solution to overcome the current crisis, the need to announce a public competition for the appointment of a director for a full mandate period, without further delay, while preserving the continuity of work until the competition procedure is concluded, is increasingly being highlighted. This would prevent further normative improvisation and ensure the legality of operations and the stability of the National Theatre Sarajevo.

In the past period, the National Theatre Sarajevo, despite all challenges, has realized a number of significant programs and projects in cooperation with the Sarajevo Canton Government and the Ministry of Culture and Sports. Precisely because of this, the cultural and wider public rightly expect the relevant ministry, in cooperation with the Management Board, to take a more active and clearly defined responsibility in establishing legal, transparent, and long-term sustainable management of this institution," the Trade Union concludes.