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Bosnia and Herzegovina is a mountainous country in the western Balkans. Its capital is Sarajevo and it was formerly part of Yugoslavia. It is divided into two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and
Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska.
History
Main article: History of
Bosnia and Herzegovina
For the first centuries of the Christian era, Bosnia was part of the Roman Empire. After the fall of Rome, Bosnia was contested by Byzantium and Rome's successors in the West. Slavs
settled the region in the 7th century, and the kingdoms of Serbia and Croatia split control of Bosnia in the 9th century. The 11th and 12th centuries saw the rule
of the region by the kingdom of Hungary. The medieval kingdom of Bosnia gained its
independence around 1200 A.D. Bosnia remained independent up until 1463, when Ottoman Turks conquered the region.
During Ottoman rule, many Bosnians dropped their ties to Christianity in
favor of Islam. Bosnia was under Ottoman rule until 1878, when it was given to Austria-Hungary as a colony.
While those living in Bosnia were from 1908 officially in Austro-Hungarian Empire, South
Slavs in Serbia and elsewhere were calling for a South Slav state; World War
I began when Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip assassinated the
Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Following the Great War, Bosnia became part of the
South Slav kingdom of Yugoslavia, only to be given to
Nazi-puppet Croatia in World War II. The Cold War saw the establishment of the Communist Yugoslavia under Tito, and the
reestablishment of Bosnia as a republic within its medieval borders.
The Bosnian declaration of sovereignty in October of 1991, was followed by a referendum for independence from Yugoslavia
in February of 1992. The Bosnian Serbs -
supported by neighboring Serbia - responded with armed resistance aimed at partitioning
the republic along ethnic lines and joining Serb-held areas. In March 1994, Bosniaks and Croats reduced the number of warring factions from three to two by signing an
agreement creating a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On November 21, 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the warring parties signed a peace agreement that brought to a halt the three years of
interethnic civil strife (the final agreement was signed in Paris on December 14, 1995). The Dayton Agreement divides Bosnia and Herzegovina roughly equally between the
Federation of Bosnia and
Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serb Republika Srpska.
Politics
Main article: Politics of
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Chair of the Presidency
of Bosnia and Herzegovina rotates among three members (Bosniak, Serb, Croat), each elected for a 4-year term. The three
members of the Presidency
are elected directly by the people (Federation votes for the Bosniak/Croat, Republika Srpska for the Serb). The Chair of the
Council of Ministers is nominated by the Presidency and approved by the House of Representatives. She/he is then responsible for
appointing a Foreign Minister, Minister of Foreign Trade, and others as appropriate.
The Parliamentary Assembly is the lawmaking body in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It consists of two houses: the House of Peoples
and the House of Representatives. The House of Peoples includes 15 delegates, two-thirds of which come from the Federation (5
Croat and 5 Bosniaks) and one-third from the Republika Srpska (5 Serbs). The House of Representatives is composed of 42 Members,
two-thirds elected from the Federation and one-third elected from the Republika Srpska.
The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the supreme, final arbiter of legal matters. It is composed of nine
members: four members are selected by the House of Representatives of the Federation, two by the Assembly of the Republika
Srpska, and three by the President of the European Court of Human Rights after consultation with the Presidency.
Political divisions
Main article: Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina is divided into the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska. The district of Brčko is not part of either
entity.
The Federation is further divided into 10 cantons:
The RS is composed of 5 regions:
The Cantons and the Regions are further subdivided into municipalities.
Geography
Main article: Geography of
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia is located in the Western Balkans, bordering Serbia
and Montenegro to the east and Croatia to the north and south-west. The port city
of Neum in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton is the only
link to the sea.
Economy
Main article: Economy of
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Next to Republic of Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina
was the poorest republic in the old Yugoslav Federation. For the most part, agriculture has been in private hands, but farms have been small and inefficient, and food has traditionally
been a net import for the republic. The centrally planned economy has resulted in some legacies in the economy. Industry is
greatly overstaffed, reflecting the rigidity of the planned economy. Under Josip Broz Tito, military industries were pushed in the republic; Bosnia hosted a large share of
Yugoslavia's defense plants.
Three years of interethnic strife destroyed the economy and infrastructure in Bosnia, causing unemployment to soar and
production to plummet by 80%, as well as causing the death of anywhere between 60 and 200 thousand people and displacing half of
the population. With an uneasy peace in place, output recovered in 1996-98 at high percentage rates on a low base; but output
growth slowed appreciably in 1999, and GDP remains far below the 1990 level.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Bosnia and Herzegovina
According to the 1991 census, Bosnia is 44% ethnically Bosniak (then declared as
"Muslims"), 31% Serb, and 17% Croat, with 6% people
declaring themselves Yugoslav, comprising people from mixed marriages as well as hardcore Yugoslav patriots. There is a strong
co-relation between ethnic identity and religion; 88% of Croats are Roman
Catholics, 90% of ethnic Muslims practice Islam, and 99% of Serbs are Orthodox Christians.
According to 2000 data from the CIA World Factbook, Bosnia is ethnically 48% Bosniak, 37.1% Serb, 14.3% Croat, 0.6% other.
The major cities are the capital Sarajevo, Banja Luka in the northwest, Tuzla in the northeast and Mostar, the capital of Herzegovina.
See also: List of
cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Culture
Main article: Culture of
Bosnia and Herzegovina
See also:
Miscellaneous topics
External links
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