Bosnia and Herzegovina - Government
Based on the etymolgy of Bosnia and Herzegovina, it was the larger northern territory is named for the Bosna River; the smaller southern section takes its name from the German word "herzog," meaning "duke," and the ending "-ovina," meaning "land," forming the combination denoting "dukedom". The Government system in this country is the parliamentary republic type and the different Administrative divisions includes: 3 first-order administrative divisions - Brcko District (Brcko Distrikt) (ethnically mixed), Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine) (predominantly Bosniak-Croat), Republika Srpska (predominantly Serb)
National symbols

Golden lily; national colors: blue, yellow, white.

The flag
The National flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina has a wide blue vertical band on the fly side with a yellow isosceles triangle abutting the band and the top of the flag; the remainder of the flag is blue with seven full five-pointed white stars and two half stars top and bottom along the hypotenuse of the triangle; the triangle approximates the shape of the country and its three points stand for the constituent peoples - Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs; the stars represent Europe and are meant to be continuous (thus the half stars at top and bottom); the colors (white, blue, and yellow) are often associated with neutrality and peace, and traditionally are linked with Bosnia.
The National Anthem
Title "Drzavna himna Bosne i Hercegovine" (The National Anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Lyric/music none officially/Dusan SESTIC
More about the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Date of Independence 1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia); note - referendum for independence completed on 1 March 1992; independence declared on 3 March 1992
National holiday Independence Day, 1 March (1992) and Statehood Day, 25 November (1943) - both observed in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity; Victory Day, 9 May (1945) and Dayton Agreement Day, 21 November (1995) - both observed in the Republika Srpska entity
Legal system civil law system; Constitutional Court review of legislative acts
International law organization participation has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Constitution
History 14 December 1995 (constitution included as part of the Dayton Peace Accords); note - each of the political entities has its own constitution
Amendments Decided by the Parliamentary Assembly, including a two-thirds majority vote of members present in the House of Representatives; the constitutional article on human rights and fundamental freedoms cannot be amended; amended several times, last in 2009
Citizenship
Citizenship by birth no
Citizenship by descent only at least one parent must be a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Dual citizenship recognized yes, provided there is a bilateral agreement with the other state
Residency requirement for naturalization 8 years
Executive Branch
Chief of state Chairperson of the Presidency Denis BECIROVIC (chairperson since 16 March 2024; presidency member since 16 November 2022 - Bosniak seat); Zeljka CVIJANOVIC (presidency member since 16 November 2022 - Serb seat); Zeljko KOMSIC (presidency member since 20 November 2018 - Croat seat)
Head of government Chairperson of the Council of Ministers Borjana KRISTO (since 25 January 2023)
Cabinet Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairperson, approved by the state-level House of Representatives
Elections/appointments 3-member presidency (1 Bosniak and 1 Croat elected from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 1 Serb elected from the Republika Srpska) directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term but then ineligible for 4 years); the presidency chairpersonship rotates every 8 months with the new member of the presidency elected with the highest number of votes starting the new mandate as chair; election last held on 2 October 2022 (next to be held in October 2026); the chairperson of the Council of Ministers appointed by the presidency and confirmed by the state-level House of Representatives
Election results
2022:
percent of vote - Denis BECIROVIC - (SDP BiH) 57.4% - Bosniak seat; Zeljko KOMSIC (DF) 55.8% - Croat seat; Zeljka CVIJANOVIC (SNSD) 51.7% - Serb seat

2018:
percent of vote - Milorad DODIK (SNSD) 53.9% - Serb seat; Zeljko KOMSIC (DF) 52.6% - Croat seat; Sefik DZAFEROVIC (SDA) 36.6% - Bosniak seat
Legislative branch
Description Bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists of:
House of Peoples or Dom Naroda (15 seats - 5 Bosniak, 5 Croat, 5 Serb; members designated by the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's House of Peoples and the Republika Srpska's National Assembly to serve 4-year terms)
House of Representatives or Predstavnicki Dom (42 seats to include 28 seats allocated to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 14 to the Republika Srpska; members directly elected by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)
Elections House of Peoples - last held on 2 October 2022 (next to be held in 2026)
House of Representatives - last held on 2 October 2022 (next to be held in 2026)
Election results House of Peoples - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA; seats by party/coalition - NA; composition - men 13, women 2, percentage women 13.3%

House of Representatives - percent of vote by party/coalition - SDA 17.2%, SNSD 16.3%, HDZ BiH 8.8%, SDP 8.2%, SDS 7.1%, DF-GS 6.4%, NiP 5%, PDP 4.6%, NS/HC 3.1%, NES 3%, For Justice and Order 2.1%, DEMOS 1.9%, US 1.6%, BHI KF 1.3%, other 13.4%; seats by party/coalition - SDA 9, SNSD 6, SDP 5, HDZ BiH 4, DF-GS 3, NiP 3, SDS 2, PDP 2, NS/HC 2, NES 2, For Justice and Order 1, DEMOS 1, US 1, BHI KF 1; composition - men 34, women 8, percentage women 19.1%; total Parliamentary Assembly percentage women 17.5%
Judicial branch
Highest court(s) Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members); Court of BiH (consists of 44 national judges and 7 international judges organized into 3 divisions - Administrative, Appellate, and Criminal, which includes a War Crimes Chamber)
Judge selection and term of office BiH Constitutional Court judges - 4 selected by the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives, 2 selected by the Republika Srpska's National Assembly, and 3 non-Bosnian judges selected by the president of the European Court of Human Rights; Court of BiH president and national judges appointed by the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council; Court of BiH president appointed for renewable 6-year term; other national judges appointed to serve until age 70; international judges recommended by the president of the Court of BiH and appointed by the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina; international judges appointed to serve until age 70
Subordinate courts The Federation has 10 cantonal courts plus a number of municipal courts; the Republika Srpska has a supreme court, 5 district courts, and a number of municipal courts
Diplomatic representation in the US
Chief of mission Ambassador Sven ALKALAJ (since 30 June 2023)
Chancery 2109 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20037
Telephone [1] (202) 337-1500
FAX [1] (202) 337-1502
Email address and website
[email protected]

http://www.bhembassy.org/index.html
Consulate(s) general Chicago
Diplomatic representation from the US
Chief of mission Ambassador Michael J. MURPHY (since 23 February 2022)
Embassy 1 Robert C. Frasure Street, 71000 Sarajevo
Mailing address 7130 Sarajevo Place, Washington DC  20521-7130
Telephone [387] (33) 704-000
FAX [387] (33) 659-722
Email address and website
[email protected]

https://ba.usembassy.gov/
Branch office(s) Banja Luka, Mostar
National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites 4 (3 cultural, 1 natural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales Old Bridge Area of Mostar (c); Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge (c); Stećci Medieval Tombstones Graveyards (c); Primeval Beech Forests - Janj Forest (n)
Key Political parties and their leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • International organization participation
  • BIS
  • CD
  • CE
  • CEI
  • EAPC
  • EBRD
  • FAO
  • G-77
  • IAEA
  • IBRD
  • ICAO
  • ICC (NGOs)
  • ICCt
  • ICRM
  • IDA
  • IFAD
  • IFC
  • IFRCS
  • ILO
  • IMF
  • IMO
  • IMSO
  • Interpol
  • IOC
  • IOM
  • IPU
  • ISO
  • ITSO
  • ITU
  • ITUC (NGOs)
  • MIGA
  • MONUSCO
  • NAM (observer)
  • OAS (observer)
  • OIC (observer)
  • OIF (observer)
  • OPCW
  • OSCE
  • PFP
  • SELEC
  • UN
  • UNCTAD
  • UNESCO
  • UNIDO
  • UNWTO
  • UPU
  • WCO
  • WHO
  • WIPO
  • WMO
  • WTO (observer)
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    Bosnia and Herzegovina is found in Southeast Europe