By: Emerin Ahmetašević
14/01/2026
“Endangerment” of (powerful) Croats (HDZBiH) in BiH
Those who shout loudly that they are “neglected” actually control almost all the key levers of the system.
There are a number of absurdities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but one of the biggest is the narrative about the “endangerment of Croats” that the HDZ has been selling as a political product for decades, while at the same time their cadres rule over state institutions.
Those who shout loudly that they are “neglected” actually control almost all the key levers of the system. And this is not a mere coincidence, but the result of planned personnel engineering, tied up commissions, party coercion and brutal manipulation of laws and procedures. Numbers are the best way to dispel myths. Below — numbers.
In the last three years, out of 21 new employees in the Ministry of Security, only two are Bosniaks. These are the official data we have obtained, which show a drastically smaller number of Bosniaks employed in state institutions, which is directly contrary to the Constitution and laws.
In the Ministry of Finance, out of 28 new employees, five are Bosniaks. In the Directorate for Civil Aviation, out of 40 new employees, there are three Bosniaks, and as many as 32 Serbs. Seven Croats were newly employed in the Office of the Ombudsman for Consumer Protection, and one Bosniak and one Serb each. 33 new officers have been employed in the RAK: 22 are Serbs, six are Croats, three are Bosniaks and two are from the ranks of the Others. A total of 24 Serbs, 15 Croats and 11 Bosniaks sit in leadership positions in the Council of Ministers.
And speaking of the Council of Ministers, this is an overview of the 17 appointed directors and secretaries general in the current mandate of the Council of Ministers: eight Serbs, six Croats and only three Bosniaks.
We will also focus on several irregularities in individual ministries in the Council of Ministers. There are 10% fewer Bosniaks in the Ministry of Security. There are more Serbs and Croats. In the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the situation is almost identical. The Ministry of Justice of BiH employs many more Croats at the expense of Serbs, and especially Bosniaks, who are 12% less; There are 13% more Croats. The most obvious example of non-compliance with the law is in the Ministry of Finance. As many as 50% of employees are Serbs, Bosniaks are 20% less, but there are 13% more Croats. There is also an imbalance in the Ministry of Transport and Communications: there are 8% fewer Bosniaks, 7% more Serbs and 3% more Croats.
Here's the data for the three state agencies. 9% fewer Bosniaks are employed in SIPA, but almost 12% more Serbs are employed. In the Border Police of Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are fewer Bosniaks by 6%, Serbs by 3%, and Croats by 5%. The Agency for Identification and Data Exchange employs 4% fewer Bosniaks, 2% fewer Croats, but 15% more Serbs are employed.
State MP Šemsudin Mehmedović especially emphasizes the role of Anita Markić, director of the Civil Service Agency, and Robert Vidović, Secretary General of the Council of Ministers. He states that in the last two years, by appointing exclusively suitable members of the competition commissions for the selection of civil servants, this tandem has achieved its and HDZ's primary goal, which is to employ as few Bosniaks as possible, especially in managerial positions.
Article 9, paragraph 3 of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina stipulates that employment and appointments to managerial positions must reflect the ethnic structure of the population according to the last census. According to these data, Bosniaks make up more than 50 percent of the population, Serbs about 30 percent, Croats about 15 percent, while Others make up about three percent. However, as state delegate Džemal Smajić points out, these constitutional and legal provisions are not respected, but are consciously violated, to the detriment of the largest population. Paradoxically, those who are numerically dominant are, according to him, the most endangered in state institutions today.
Of all the new employees, one third are Bosniaks, and there are less than 20% of Bosniaks in managerial positions in the institutions of BiH, and there should be 50% of them. We know why the HDZ and SNSD are doing this — they are not for BiH. It is in their interest to collapse the institutions of BiH, to leave them in the hands of those who are not for BiH. It's a decades-long policy. This is known, but it is not known why the parties of the Troika did nothing; voted for all these decisions in the Council of Ministers. No appointment can pass without Bosniaks voting for it in the Council of Ministers,” Smajic said.
