DISPUTED BRAŠNJIĆ While POSKOK Investigates, FBiH Government Orders Cancellation of Public Competition for Director of FUCZ

(Patria) - While the Special Department of the Federal Prosecutor's Office is reviewing documentation and procedures in the case of Aldin Brašnjić's appointment as acting director (by authorization of the FBiH Government of April 17, 2024), the government of Nermin Nikšić, at a session held on March 18, made a decision to cancel the Public Competition for the appointment of the Director of the Federal Civil Protection Administration, published in the "Official Gazette of the Federation of BiH - Advertisements", number 54/25 of July 18, 2025.

"The Agency for Civil Service of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is tasked, in accordance with Article 24 of the Law on Civil Service in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to announce the cancellation of the Public Competition for the appointment of the Director of the Federal Civil Protection Administration," the FBiH Government's decision states.

That decision was published in the Official Gazette of the FBiH.

In September 2025, an amendment to the criminal complaint was filed with the Federal Prosecutor's Office against Aldin Brašnjić, as well as the Director of ADS FBiH Refik Begić, for abuse of office, in connection with the competition procedure for the Director of the Federal Civil Protection Administration. At that time, the Administrative Commission of the FBiH Government was also warned that NiP's candidate Aldin Brašnjić did not meet the conditions to be appointed Director of the Federal Civil Protection Administration.

In January of this year, Istraga reported that members of the Commission for Administrative Affairs of the FBiH Government were being questioned by the Special Department for Combating Corruption of the Federal Prosecutor's Office (POSKOK) as part of the investigation into the appointment of the Director of the Federal Civil Protection Administration (FUCZ) Aldin Brašnjić. The president of that Commission, Vojin Mijatović, and members Vedran Škobić, Federal Minister of Justice, and Nasiha Pozder, Federal Minister of Environment and Tourism, received invitations for questioning from POSKOK.

In December 2025, POSKOK investigators seized documentation from the FBiH Government related to the disputed appointment of the FUCZ Director. Aldin Brašnjić, a candidate from Narod i Pravda, did not meet the legal requirements for the position he holds at the time of his appointment, which is why the FBiH Government attempted to change the rulebook three times to "align" his mandate with the law.

Brašnjić was appointed acting director of FUCZ by the FBiH Government on April 17, 2024, until the completion of the competition procedure for the selection of a director in accordance with the Law on Civil Service in FBiH, for a maximum period of three months. According to the then-valid Rulebook on Internal Organization of FUCZ, he did not meet the conditions because he did not have the required educational qualifications, so the FBiH Government amended the Rulebook for his appointment. However, the Rulebook also stipulated that the director must have certain experience, which Brašnjić lacked, so on August 29 of the same year, the Government decided to amend the Decision on the temporary appointment of the FUCZ Director, which allowed Brašnjić to remain in the position of acting director for longer than three months, thereby acquiring the necessary conditions for appointment as director.

Aldin Brašnjić completed a three-year study at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Sarajevo (180 ECTS) in 2016, and obtained the additional ECTS credits (240) – which is a mandatory requirement for leadership positions – in September 2022 at the European University in Brčko. Therefore, at the time of his appointment as acting director of FUCZ, Brašnjić did not have the required 7 years of work experience with a higher education degree. Namely, according to the clear competition conditions, work experience is calculated exclusively after obtaining the diploma required by the competition, so it is entirely clear that Aldin Brašnjić could not have had seven years of work experience in his field after obtaining his diploma in 2022.

After Brašnjić requested the FBiH Government to amend the Rulebook on Internal Organization of FUCZ to adapt it to his educational qualifications, the Minister of Justice, Vedran Škobić, who is also a member of the Commission for Administrative Affairs of the FBiH Government, refused to give a positive opinion.

"Upon reviewing the submitted letter as a proposal for the rulebook, it is evident that it is signed by the head of the body, i.e., the director, which contradicts the explanation of the rulebook proposal, specifically the part 'Reasons for adopting the rulebook' which states 'The adoption of this Rulebook is necessary because Aldin Brašnjić was temporarily appointed as the Director of the Federal Civil Protection Administration by the Decision on temporary appointment of the Director of the Federal Civil Protection Administration, effective from April 18, 2024, for a maximum of 3 months. Given that the director has completed the Faculty of Political Sciences – majoring in Security and Peace Studies or Political Science, and that this is not listed in the current rulebook, it is necessary to adapt the conditions for performing the duties of the Director of the Administration.' For all the above reasons, we inform you that we cannot provide the requested opinion," wrote Škobić in a letter dated May 29, 2024.

At the same session where it made the decision to cancel the public competition, the FBiH Government approved the Rulebook on Amendments and Additions to the Rulebook on Internal Organization of FUCZ and gave consent to the Federal Civil Protection Administration to fill 15 (fifteen) vacant positions and 4 (four) trainees with higher education.

There is not much publicly available information about Brašnjić's biography and work experience before he took over the FUCZ. It is stated that he was employed by the Srebrenik City Administration, as well as the Civil Protection Service of the City of Srebrenik.