News: Bosnia and Herzegovina, possible OHR candidates and reactions from Republika Srpska

The possible succession of Christian Schmidt as head of the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina is fueling political debate in the country and among international partners. Among the main candidates are Italian diplomat Antonio Zanardi Landi, former Slovenian president Borut Pahor, and former EU delegation head in Belgrade Emanuele Giaufret.

The selection process takes place within the Peace Implementation Council (PIC), which is meeting to discuss the future of the international institution created by the Dayton Peace Agreement. The role of the High Representative, still considered central to Bosnia’s stability, remains a point of strong disagreement between Western countries and the Serb leadership in Bosnia, which has long contested its legitimacy and called for its abolition.

Among the names circulating, Zanardi Landi is seen as a possible candidate backed by Rome and viewed favorably by several Western capitals, while Pahor and Giaufret are considered profiles with experience in the Balkans and in European institutions. Other options remain on the table, including a possible restructuring of the OHR or its integration with the EU delegation in Sarajevo.

Uncertainty over the future of the Office also fits into a broader debate on the role of the international community thirty years after the Dayton Agreement. While some argue that the country should fully assume responsibility for its own political path, others believe that a premature withdrawal of international supervision could worsen existing ethnic and institutional divisions.

Former High Representatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina Carl Bildt and Wolfgang Petritsch appear to support the first view, having called for the closure of the OHR.

The leadership of Republika Srpska has also renewed its call for the end of the OHR mandate. The National Assembly of Republika Srpska adopted a declaration requesting the closure of the Office and urging the UN Security Council to formally terminate the High Representative’s mandate. According to the initiative’s proponents, led by parliamentary speaker Nenad Stevandić, the OHR has exceeded its Dayton mandate by gradually expanding its powers and intervening in local institutional decisions. The declaration specifically criticizes the imposition of laws and measures by foreign officials and calls for the full return of competencies to Bosnian institutions.

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