Haris Silajdžić

3.1. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister

From 1990 to 1993, during the tumultuous period of the Bosnian War, Silajdžić served as the first Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Subsequently, he was appointed Prime Minister of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a position he held from October 1993 to January 1996. During the height of the war, Silajdžić emerged as one of the most influential Bosnian officials and was a close ally and consultant to Alija Izetbegović, the first and only President of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Following the establishment of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, he served as its first Prime Minister from 31 May 1994 to 31 January 1996.

3.2. Co-chairman of the Council of Ministers

After the conclusion of the Bosnian War, Haris Silajdžić was appointed Co-chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 3 January 1997. He served in this capacity until 6 June 2000, working alongside Boro Bosić and Svetozar Mihajlović.

In the 2000 Bosnian parliamentary election, Silajdžić's Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (SBiH) formed a coalition with the Social Democratic Party, led by former wartime deputy prime minister Zlatko Lagumdžija. This coalition, known as the "Alliance for Change," aimed to gain a majority and remove the dominant nationalist parties from power. They successfully garnered support from several other smaller parties. The coalition government achieved a significant legislative milestone by facilitating the passage of the Election Law, which was crucial for democratic development and a prerequisite for Bosnia and Herzegovina's accession to the Council of Europe. The SDP BiH and the SBiH led the government until the October 2002 Bosnian general election, when nationalist parties were re-elected due to public dissatisfaction with the pace of political reform.

4.1. 2006 General Election and Domestic Policy

In the 2006 Bosnian general election, Silajdžić made a strong political comeback, securing 62.8% of the vote and being elected as the fifth Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He served as a member of the Presidency from 6 November 2006 until 10 November 2010.

In 2007, the International Court of Justice in The Hague acquitted Serbia of charges of complicity in genocide, which had been brought against the "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" by the Bosnian government. Silajdžić expressed his disappointment with this ruling but acknowledged the court's finding that Serbia and Montenegro had violated the Genocide Convention by failing to prevent or punish the perpetrators of the genocide.

As a member of the Bosnian delegation that negotiated the US-brokered Dayton Agreement, Silajdžić initially recognized its importance in ending the genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, he later came to view it as a significant obstacle to the country's reunification. In 2006 and 2007, he took strong positions, making claims and proposing steps to cancel certain parts of the Dayton Agreement, directly opposing the existing Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This stance made him a highly controversial political figure, celebrated among Bosniaks who sought a more centralized state and largely criticized by Serbs who viewed his proposals as a threat to their autonomy. His primary goals were the abolition of Republika Srpska, the severing of certain ties with Serbia, and the overall reform of the country towards greater unity. Throughout his four-year term, Silajdžić received support from various authorities and organizations across Bosnia and Herzegovina that expressed dissatisfaction with the Dayton Agreement provisions and opposed the autonomy of the Republika Srpska entity.

In the 2010 Bosnian general election, Silajdžić sought a second term in the Presidency but was unsuccessful, receiving 25.10% of the votes. This placed him behind Fahrudin Radončić (by 5%) and the eventual winner, Bakir Izetbegović, son of Alija Izetbegović (by 9%).

4.2. Constitutional Reform Efforts

The debate on constitutional reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina was reignited by the 2005 Opinion of the Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the Dayton Agreement. This push for modernization of the country's institutions was largely driven by U.S. diplomacy.

U.S. Ambassadors Douglas L. McElhaney in Sarajevo and Donald Hays in Washington led discussions with party leaders, resulting in a compromise proposal for constitutional amendments known as the April Package (aprilski paket^Bosnian). This package aimed to better define and partially expand State competences, streamline institutions, and in part, limit the veto powers of ethnic groups. Key proposed amendments included the introduction of an individual President (with two deputies, one for each constituent people, rotating every 16 months instead of 8), who would be indirectly elected by the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina and serve a more ceremonial role. The reforms also sought to reinforce the position of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Despite these efforts, the constitutional amendments failed to pass parliamentary approval, falling short by two votes (26 out of 42, with 28 required). This failure was attributed to the "maximalist pre-electoral positions" taken by Silajdžić's SBiH, which advocated for the abolition of entity voting, and by the Croatian Democratic Union 1990 (HDZ 1990) splinter party, which felt the proposal did not sufficiently protect the interests of Bosnian Croats. The U.S. attempted to revive the April Package in 2007 by facilitating further talks between Milorad Dodik, then in power in Republika Srpska, and Silajdžić, who had by then become a member of the Presidency, but these efforts ultimately proved unsuccessful.

4.3. Foreign Policy Stances

Haris Silajdžić held notable positions on several foreign policy issues during his time in the Presidency. He notably opposed the ratification of an agreement with Croatia concerning dual citizenship. At the time, Bosnian nationality law stipulated that citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who did not renounce their citizenship with countries with which Bosnia did not have a dual citizenship agreement would lose their Bosnian citizenship. This posed a significant problem for nearly half a million Bosnian Croats, who would remain without Bosnian citizenship until 2014. The Bosnian Presidency eventually ratified the agreement with Croatia in October 2011.

Following Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia, Silajdžić initially stated that Bosnia and Herzegovina was "unlikely to recognize Kosovo's independence any time soon due to strong objections from its own Serb community." However, while attending the Sixty-third session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2008, Silajdžić expressed his personal support for Kosovo's independence in a Voice of America interview. He also stated his opposition to Serbia's request for the International Court of Justice to issue an opinion on the legitimacy of Kosovo's independence. It is important to note that Silajdžić spoke in his own name on this matter, as the Bosnian Presidency had not unanimously adopted a platform that would have allowed him to speak officially on behalf of the entire body.

6.1. Family and Relationships

Silajdžić was previously married to Maja Zvonić, with whom he has a son. In 2016, he married Selma Muhedinović, a former Bosnian pop singer. It was reported that they had been in a relationship for over fifteen years prior to their marriage. Silajdžić has publicly stated that their mutual inclination towards art-his being poetry and hers being music-was the initial spark of their attraction. They reside in Sarajevo.

6.2. Health

On 27 May 2020, Haris Silajdžić underwent successful open-heart surgery in Sarajevo. He decided to have the surgery due to a worsening condition of the blood vessels in his heart.

8.1. Historical Significance and Impact

Silajdžić's positive contributions include his influential role during the Bosnian War as a close confidant to President Alija Izetbegović and as a key diplomatic figure. His leadership as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister during the conflict was vital for international engagement and the functioning of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the post-war era, he was a vocal proponent of constitutional reform aimed at streamlining government and fostering national unity, believing that the Dayton Agreement hindered democratic development and social progress by entrenching ethnic divisions. His efforts, particularly through the "Alliance for Change" coalition, led to significant legislative achievements like the Election Law, which was a step towards modernizing the country's democratic framework and aligning it with European standards. His stance highlighted a vision of a more integrated and functional Bosnia and Herzegovina, reflecting a center-left perspective focused on collective progress over ethnic separatism.

8.2. Criticism and Controversies

Despite his significant roles, Silajdžić's political actions also drew criticism and controversy. His unwavering stance against the Dayton Agreement, which he deemed an obstacle to national unity, was particularly contentious. While he saw it as necessary for ending the genocide, his later calls for its significant alteration, including proposals to abolish Republika Srpska, were met with strong opposition, especially from the Bosnian Serb political establishment. Critics argued that his proposals were maximalist and destabilizing, contributing to the persistent political deadlock in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina. The failure of the "April Package" constitutional reforms, partly due to his own party's "maximalist" positions that sought to abolish entity voting, is often cited as an example where his reform efforts, while well-intentioned, did not yield desired outcomes due to perceived inflexibility or an inability to achieve broader consensus. His personal advocacy for Kosovo's independence, despite the lack of a unanimous position from the Bosnian Presidency, also created diplomatic friction.