Croatian nationalist Borjana Kristo, of the HDZ BiH party, was elected prime minister by Bosnia-Herzegovina’s parliament this Wednesday, becoming the first woman to head the government of the country, which held general elections last October.
Kristo received the support of 23 of the 42 deputies of the Chamber of Deputies of the Central Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Bosnian presidential trio, consisting of a Serb, a Croat and a Muslim, had already entrusted Kristo with the formation of the government last week, although confirmation from parliament was still not forthcoming.
One of the main priorities is the rapprochement of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the European Union (EU) and NATO.
Kristo, a 61-year-old lawyer, was a co-candidate for the HDZ BiH, a coalition of eight moderate Bosnian Muslim parties and the Serbian nationalist party SNSD.
These parties, which are preparing to form a governing coalition, are ousting the Bosnian Muslim nationalist SDA party for the first time in more than 20 years.
Nationalist parties, which focus their messages on ethnic divisions, continue to dominate the country almost three decades after the civil war between Serbs, Croats and Muslims.
After the end of the conflict in 1995, Bosnia was divided into two autonomous entities: one for Muslims and Croats, and one for Serbs, who in recent months have accentuated their secession strategy and threats to break with the central institutions.
Source: DN
