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Željko Komšić
President of Bosnia and Herzegovina
In office 10 July 2011 – 10 March 2012
Prime Minister	Nikola Špirić Vjekoslav Bevanda
Preceded by	Nebojša Radmanović
Succeeded by	Bakir Izetbegović
In office 6 July 2009 – 6 March 2010
Prime Minister	Nikola Špirić
Preceded by	Nebojša Radmanović
Succeeded by	Haris Silajdžić
In office 6 July 2007 – 7 March 2008
Prime Minister	Nikola Špirić
Preceded by	Nebojša Radmanović
Succeeded by	Haris Silajdžić
Croat Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 November 2006
Preceded by	Ivo Miro Jović
Personal details
Born	(1964-01-20) 20 January 1964 (age 60) Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Nationality	Bosnian
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	Social Democratic Party (until 2012)
Spouse	Sabina Komšić
Alma mater	University of Sarajevo Georgetown University
Awards	Order of the Golden Lily
Military service
Allegiance	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Years of service	1992-1995
Battles/wars	Bosnian War

Željko Komšić (pronounced [ʒeʎko komʃitɕ]; born 20 January 1964) is a Bosnian politician who currently serves as Croat Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Komšić was a prominent figure of the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina until he left it in July 2012, apparently because of the SDP's agreement with the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZ) about the new majority in the Federal Parliament.

Early life and the Bosnian War

Komšić has a law degree from University of Sarajevo and he also studied at Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He is a lawyer by profession. During the Bosnian war, he served in the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and received the Golden Lily — the highest military decoration awarded by the Bosnian-Herzegovinian government.

Many consider him to be an illegitimate representative of Bosnian Croats as he was elected by mostly Bosniak voters.

Political career

After the war, Komšić embarked on a political career as a member of the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SDP-BiH). He was a councilman of the municipality of Novo Sarajevo and in the city council of Sarajevo, before being elected the head of the municipal government of Novo Sarajevo in 2000. He then also served as the deputy mayor of Sarajevo for two years. When the "Alliance for Democratic Change" coalition came to power in 1998, Komšić was named the ambassador to the now defunct Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in Belgrade. He resigned this commission after the election in 2002 when SDP went back into opposition. He is one of the three vice-presidents of the Social Democratic Party.

First term presidency

Komšić was SDP's candidate for the Croatian seat in the Presidency in the Bosnia and Herzegovina general election, 2006. He received 116,062 votes, or 39.6% ahead of Ivo Miro Jović (HDZ; 26.1%), Božo Ljubić (HDZ 1990; 18,2%), Mladen Ivanković-Lijanović (NSRB; 8,5%), Zvonko Jurišić (HSP; 6.9%) and Irena Javor-Korjenić (0,7%). He was sworn into office on 1 October 2006. His victory was widely attributed to a split in the HDZ-BiH party, enabling the SDP to win a majority of the Bosniaks votes. Many nationalist Croats claim him to be an illegitimate representative of Bosnian Croats and suggest he was elected by mostly Bosniak voters.

In May 2008, the Bosniak Member of the State Presidency, Haris Silajdžić, stated during his visit to Washington D. C. that there is only one language in Bosnia and Herzegovina and that it goes by three names. His statement created negative reactions from Croat political parties and, at the time, Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik. Komšić replied to Silajdžić that he is not the one who will decide how many languages are being spoken in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to a study conducted by the National Democratic Institute in 2010, Komšić was the most popular politician among the Bosniaks.

Second term presidency

At the 2010 general election, Komšić won 337,065 votes, 60,6% of total. He was followed by Borjana Krišto (HDZ; 19,7%), Martin Raguž (HK; 10,8%), Jerko Ivanković-Lijanović (NSRB; 8,1%), Pero Galić (0,3%), Mile Kutle (0,2%) and Ferdo Galić (0,2%)

References

1. Krešić, Zoran (23 July 2012). "Komšić napustio SDP zbog sporazuma s HDZ-om". Večernji list (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 30 July 2012.
2. Željko Komšić - član predsjedništva BIH iz reda hrvatskog naroda - Biografija:
3. Southeast European Times - ZeljkoKomsic - Member of the Presidency, Bosnia and Herzegovina
4. ^ Vogel, T. K. (9 October 2006). "Bosnia: From the Killing Fields to the Ballot Box". The Globalist. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
5. ^ "Opći izbori 2006 - potvrđeni rezultati: hrvatski član Predsjedništva" (in Serbo-Croatian). Central Election Committee of BiH. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
6. "Komšić: U BiH se ne govori samo jedan jezik" (in Serbo-Croatian). Klix. 26 May 2008. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
7. "Najpopularniji Komšić, HDZ raste, pad SDA". Večernji list (in Serbo-Croatian). 20 May 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
8. "Potvrđeni rezultati Općih izbora 2010. godine: Predsjedništvo BiH - Hrvatski član" (in Serbo-Croatian). Central Election Committee of BiH. Retrieved 30 July 2012..

External links

• Official web site of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency Template:Bs icon
• Official web site of Željko Komšić Template:Bs icon

Template:Persondata

• 1964 births
• Bosnia and Herzegovina diplomats
• Bosnia and Herzegovina politicians
• Ambassadors of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Yugoslavia
• Current national leaders
• Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni
• Living people
• Members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Chairmen of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• People from Sarajevo
• Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina politicians
• Sarajevo Law School alumni
• Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina