Brčko District

Brčko District
Brčko Distrikt
Брчко Дистрикт

Coat of arms

Location of Brčko District within Bosnia and Herzegovina
Coordinates: 44°52′0″N 18°47′0″E / 44.86667°N 18.78333°E / 44.86667; 18.78333Coordinates: 44°52′0″N 18°47′0″E / 44.86667°N 18.78333°E / 44.86667; 18.78333
Sovereign state  Bosnia and Herzegovina
Established by final arbitration decision 5 March 1999
Seat Brčko
Government
 • Mayor Siniša Milić (SNSD)
 • President of the District Assembly Esed Kadrić (SDA)
 • International Supervisor[lower-alpha 1] Bruce G. Berton
Area
 • Total 493 km2 (173 sq mi)
Population (2013)
 • Total 93,028
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code 76100
Area code(s) (+387) 49
ISO 3166 code BA-BRC
Website Government website,
Assembly website
Map of the District
Dayton boundary lines before the formation of the Brčko District

Brčko District (pronounced [br̩̂tʃkoː]; Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian: Брчко Дистрикт/Brčko Distrikt) is a self-governing administrative unit in north-eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Officially a condominium of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, it was formed in 1999 to reflect Brčko and the surrounding areas' multi-ethnic nature and special status within the newly-independent Bosnia. In reality, it functions as a local self-government area, much like the other municipalities in the country.

The seat of the district is the city of Brčko.

History

The Brčko District was established after an arbitration process undertaken by the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the Dayton Peace Accords however, the process could only arbitrate the disputed portion of the Inter-Entity Boundary Line (IEBL).[1] The Brčko District was formed of the entire territory of the former Brčko municipality, of which 48% (including Brčko city) was in the new formed Republika Srpska, while 52% was in the old Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since the end of the Bosnian War, the European Union (EU) has maintained a diplomatic peace-keeping presence in the area.

Brčko was the only element in the Dayton Peace Agreement which was not finalized. The arbitration agreement was finalized in March 1999 resulting in a "district" as mentioned above which was to be administrated by an American Principal Deputy High Representative who is also ex officio the Brčko International Supervisor.

In 2006, under the Supervisory Order, all "Entity legislation in Brčko District and the IEBL" was abolished. The ruling made by the Brčko Supervisor Susan Johnson abolishes all Entity Laws in the District, as well as abolishing the Entity Border Line. The ruling makes the Laws of the District and the Laws of the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina (including the laws of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina) paramount within the District.[2]

Following a Peace Implementation Council (PIC) meeting on 23 May 2012, it was decided to suspend, not terminate, the mandate of the Brčko International Supervisor. The Brčko Arbitral Tribunal, together with the suspended Brčko Supervision, continues to exist.[3]

The first Brčko International Supervisor arrived in April 1997. Prior to that time, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) had a modest office headed by Randolph Hampton. During the interim time before the District of Brčko could be represented post arbitration agreement, local elections were held, and humanitarian relief was provided with cooperation from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and ECHO. The District became known as a center for different state-building programs run by foreign governments, particularly the United States.

Population

1961 census

According to 1961 census Municipality of Brčko had 62,952 inhabitants, including:

1971 census

According to 1971 census Municipality of Brčko had 74,771 inhabitants, including:

  • Bosniaks – 30,181 (40.36%)
  • Croats – 24,925 (33.33%)
  • Serbs – 17,709 (23.68%)
  • Yugoslavs – 1,086 (1.45%)
  • others – 870 (1.18%)

1981 census

According to 1981 census Municipality of Brčko had 82,768 inhabitants, including:

  • Bosniaks – 32,434 (39.19%)
  • Croats – 23,975 (28.97%)
  • Serbs – 16,707 (20.18%)
  • Yugoslavs – 8,342 (10.08%)
  • others – 1,310 (1.58%)

1991 census

According to 1991 census Municipality of Brčko had 87,627 inhabitants, including:

  • Bosniaks – 38,617 (44.07%)
  • Croats – 22,252 (25.39%)
  • Serbs – 18,128 (20.69%)
  • Yugoslavs – 5,731 (6.54%)
  • others – 2,899 (3.31%)

2013 census

According to 2013 census Municipality of Brčko had 83,416 inhabitants, including:

  • Bosniaks – 35,381 (42.36%)
  • Serbs – 28,884 (34.58%)
  • Croats – 17,252 (20.66%)
  • others – 1,899 (2.28%)

Government and politics

There are 29 seats in the Assembly of the Brčko District. The seats are divided as follows:[4]

Constituency[5] Council[6]
Party Popular vote % Seats
Brčko Serb Democratic Party—National Democratic Movement 5,908 15.06 5
Alliance of Independent Social Democrats 5,512 14.05 4
Party of Democratic Action 4,989 12.72 4
Croatian Democratic Union 3,940 10.04 3
Brčko Democratic Movement 3,247 8.28 2
Party of Democratic Progress—Progressive Srpska 2,754 7.02 2
Croatian Peasant Party of Stjepan Radić 2,335 5.95 2
Union for a Better Future of BiH 2,049 5.22 2
Social Democratic Party 2,045[7] 5.21 3[8]
Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina 1,780 4.54 1
Socialist Party 1,773 4.52 1
Democratic Front 1,312 3.34 1
Minority candidate Ćazim Dačaj (384) – 1
Total 41,772 31

Settlements

See also

Notable people

Notes

  1. ↑ Position suspended since 23 May 2012.

References

  1. ↑ Dayton Agreement, Annex 2, Article V Archived April 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ Supervisory Order Abolishes Entity Legislation, Ends Legal Significance of IEBL in Brčko District Archived August 13, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ Press Conference Following the Meeting of the Steering Board of the Peace implementation Council on 23/5/2012
  4. ↑ GRAFIČKI PRIKAZ SALE SKUPŠTINE BRČKO DISTRIKTA BIH
  5. ↑ The three-digit numbers in the municipality column are the codes used for the municipalities on the Central Electoral Commission site
  6. ↑ (in Croatian)Council results from Central Electoral Commission site
  7. ↑ additional 531 votes from minority constituency
  8. ↑ including one minority candidate
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.