A two-day session of the Governing Board of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) begins today in Sarajevo, where one of the key topics will be the choice of a successor to the current high representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The meeting comes at a time when the international community is looking for a solution to fill one of the most important functions in the post-Dayton structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina, after the current High Representative Christian Schmidt resigned a month ago and announced that he will remain in office until his successor is appointed.
According to information available ahead of the session, PIC members will consider at least three candidacies for this position. Among the names mentioned is the American politician William Ruger, a former official of the administration of President Donald Trump, who enjoys the support of part of American political circles.
In addition to him, there are also two experienced European diplomats in the competition. France nominated diplomat Rene Troccaz for the position of high representative, while Italy proposed Antonio Zanardi Landi, a diplomat who, according to available information, has the support of Rome, as well as a significant part of the American administration.
What is required for the election of a new high representative?
The selection of the high representative takes place through consultations among the members of the PIC Board of Directors, who consider the received candidacies and assess which candidate has the greatest support and capacity to perform the function.
Formal consensus of all members of the Management Board is not necessary for the appointment, but it is necessary to ensure broad political support of the key countries participating in the work of the PIC.
Precisely because of the different geopolitical interests and attitudes of individual members, the election process often requires multiple rounds of consultations before the final decision is made.
The procedure implies that the information and biographies of the candidates are submitted to the member states, after which their references, political and diplomatic experience and the possibility to perform the function of high representative in the complex political environment of Bosnia and Herzegovina are analyzed during the sessions of the Board of Directors.
After the discussion, the members can support one of the candidates, ask for additional consultations or postpone the decision if they judge that a sufficient degree of agreement has not been reached.
Possible postponement of the decision
Although the question of Christian Schmidt’s successor is expected to dominate the meeting in Sarajevo, it is not certain that a final decision will be made during this session. Diplomatic sources do not rule out the possibility that the process will be extended for a few more weeks if significant differences remain among PIC members in terms of support for individual candidates.
In that case, the consultations would continue even after the end of the Sarajevo meeting, until a sufficient level of support is reached for one candidate who would assume the position of high representative and the responsibility for supervising the civilian implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement.
The outcome of the two-day session could therefore give the first indications as to whether the international community is close to an agreement on a new high representative or whether the election process will continue through additional diplomatic talks in the coming period.
