Christian Schmidt, the international official overseeing the implementation of the Dayton peace accords in Bosnia & Herzegovina, said on May 11 he would step down after nearly five years in the role, ending one of the longest mandates held by a High Representative since the office was established after the 1992-95 Bosnian war.

In a statement, Schmidt said he had “taken the personal decision to conclude his service to the implementation of peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina” and had informed the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board, which supervises the Office of the High Representative (OHR), to begin searching for a successor. The German diplomat said he would remain in office during the transition period.

“Significant progress has been achieved to make Bosnia and Herzegovina’s institutions more functional,” the OHR statement said. “More must clearly be done, if Bosnia and Herzegovina is to make its Euro-Atlantic aspirations a reality.”

Schmidt, who took office in 2021, has been one of the most controversial figures in Bosnia’s post-war politics, repeatedly using the sweeping powers granted to the High Representative under the Dayton peace agreement to impose laws and amend legislation aimed at strengthening state institutions and election integrity.

His tenure was marked by escalating tensions with Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, the dominant politician in the Serb-run Republika Srpska entity, who has long rejected Schmidt’s legitimacy and opposed the authority of the OHR.

Last year, Bosnian authorities removed Dodik from the presidency of Republika Srpska and temporarily barred him from political activity after he defied decisions issued by Schmidt. Dodik, who has advocated the separation of Republika Srpska from Bosnia and eventual union with neighbouring Serbia, has frequently accused Western powers of undermining Serb autonomy.

His separatist rhetoric has fuelled concerns in Western capitals over renewed instability in the Balkans at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions in Europe. Dodik, who maintains close ties with Moscow, attended Russia’s Victory Day military parade in Moscow on Saturday.

The Office of the High Representative was created under the US-brokered Dayton agreement that ended Bosnia’s 1992-95 war, a conflict that killed more than 100,000 people and displaced millions. The High Representative has authority to impose legislation and dismiss officials deemed to be obstructing the peace process.

Schmidt defended the continued relevance of the institution, saying “a unified international community remains indispensable to the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its progress toward its Euro-Atlantic aspirations.”

“The economic and political stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the broader Western Balkan region are critical for broader European security and economic prosperity,” the statement added. “Therefore, the role of the OHR in Bosnia and Herzegovina remains important.”

Bosnia, which was granted candidate status for membership in the European Union in 2022, has struggled to advance reforms required for accession because of deep divisions among Bosniak, Serb and Croat nationalist leaders. The country remains split between two autonomous entities — Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation — linked by weak central institutions established under Dayton.

Schmidt acknowledged that reforms remained incomplete and said he had hoped his departure would coincide with the closure of the OHR following fulfilment of the so-called “5+2 agenda”, a set of conditions for ending international supervision.

“Critical reforms remain to be implemented by Bosnia and Herzegovina and so the work of OHR remains essential,” the statement said.

Schmidt also pointed to what he described as strengthening domestic institutions during his term, saying Bosnia’s courts had acted “resolutely to protect the constitutional and legal order of the state,” while “critical steps have been taken to make local institutions more functional and to ensure the integrity of elections.”

He added that more work was needed to implement rulings by both the European Court of Human Rights and Bosnia’s Constitutional Court.