Dragan Čović
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Dragan Čović (; born 20 August 1956) is a
Bosnian Croat The Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina (), often referred to as Bosnian Croats () or Herzegovinian Croats () are the third most populous ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina, ethnic group in the country after Bosniaks and Serbs of Bosnia and H ...
politician who served as the 4th Croat member of the
Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina The presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Predsjedništvo Bosne i Hercegovine, separator=" / ", Предсједништво Босне и Херцеговине) is a three-member body which collectively serves as head of state of ...
from 2002 to 2005 and from 2014 to 2018. He is the current president of the Croatian Democratic Union and is a member of the national House of Peoples. Born in
Mostar Mostar (, ; sr-Cyrl, Мостар, ) is a city and the administrative center of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is sit ...
, Čović graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at University Džemal Bijedić in his hometown in 1979. He also attended studies at the
University of Sarajevo The University of Sarajevo ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Univerzitet u Sarajevu'' / Sveučilište u Sarajevu / Универзитет у Сарајеву) is a public university located in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the larges ...
and holds a PhD
University of Mostar The University of Mostar ( hr, Sveučilište u Mostaru; la, Universitas Studiorum Mostariensis) is the largest public university located in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Previously it was called the University Džemal Bijedić of Mostar, n ...
, obtaining it in 1996. Prior to the
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
, Čović worked as a manager at Yugoslav aircraft manufacturer
SOKO Soko ( sh-Cyrl, Соко) was a Yugoslav aircraft manufacturer based in Mostar, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina. The company was responsible for the production of many military aircraft for the Yugoslav Air Force. SOKO was created in 1950 by the rel ...
. He entered into politics by joining the
Croatian Democratic Union The Croatian Democratic Union ( hr, Hrvatska demokratska zajednica, lit=Croatian Democratic Community, HDZ) is the major conservative, centre-right political party in Croatia. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Croa ...
in 1994, becoming its president in 2005. As president of the Croatian Democratic Union, he took part in many
constitutional reform A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, ...
talks, most notably in those regarding the Prud Agreement between 2008 and 2009, and in the 2010–2012 government formation. Earlier in his career, Čović served as Federal Minister of Finance from 1998 to 2001 and was the acting Federal Prime Minister in 2001. At the 2002 general election, Čović was elected Croat member of the Bosnian Presidency, serving as its member until 2005, when he was removed from office by
High Representative The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European Union (EU). The position is currently held b ...
Paddy Ashdown Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, (27 February 194122 December 2018), better known as Paddy Ashdown, was a British politician and diplomat who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1988 to 1999. Internati ...
, for abuse of power and position. After serving a term in the national House of Peoples from 2011 to 2014, he was once again elected Croat member of the Presidency at the 2014 general election. Čović served as member until 2018, after losing his bid for re-election at the 2018 general election. Since 2019, he has again been serving as member of the national House of Peoples. In November 2006, Čović was sentenced to five years in prison for exempting the Ivanković-Lijanović company of paying taxes on meat imports. The Bosnian Court, on appeal, annulled the sentence and acquitted him for lack of jurisdiction. In 2009, he was accused of spending public funds to buy private homes for certain people. In April 2010, he was acquitted. In May 2010, a third indictment for Čović and six other persons was confirmed by the Court of the
Herzegovina-Neretva Canton The Herzegovina-Neretva Canton ( hr, Hercegovačko-neretvanska županija; bs, Hercegovačko-neretvanski kanton) is one of 10 cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The canton mainly comprises the Neretv ...
, this time for abuse of power and position. In May 2012, he was acquitted.


Education and managerial career

Čović attended elementary school and technical high school of mechanical engineering in Mostar until 1975. He graduated as a
mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...
from the Faculty of Engineering at the
University Džemal Bijedić of Mostar University Džemal Bijedić of Mostar ( Bosnian: ''Univerzitet "Džemal Bijedić" u Mostaru'' / ''Универзитет "Џемал Биједић" у Мостару'') is a public university located in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was esta ...
in 1979. In 1980, he joined the aircraft manufacturer
SOKO Soko ( sh-Cyrl, Соко) was a Yugoslav aircraft manufacturer based in Mostar, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina. The company was responsible for the production of many military aircraft for the Yugoslav Air Force. SOKO was created in 1950 by the rel ...
in Mostar, where he worked in technology and control sections.Official biography
;accessed 8 September 2018.
From 1986 to 1992, Čović was a manager at SOKO, including as director of business unit, director of production and vice president for industrialization. From 1992 until 1998, he took over as director-general of SOKO. Čović gained a master's degree in 1989 at the Faculty of Engineering in Mostar, and, from 1989 to 1991, he attended studies of management at the Faculty of Economy at the
University of Sarajevo The University of Sarajevo ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Univerzitet u Sarajevu'' / Sveučilište u Sarajevu / Универзитет у Сарајеву) is a public university located in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the larges ...
. He obtained a PhD from the
University of Mostar The University of Mostar ( hr, Sveučilište u Mostaru; la, Universitas Studiorum Mostariensis) is the largest public university located in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Previously it was called the University Džemal Bijedić of Mostar, n ...
in 1996. From 1994 to 1996, he taught Economics and Organization of Production as a senior assistant at the Faculty of Engineering in Mostar, after which he was named assistant professor and taught Development of Production Systems. Four years later, Čović became an associate professor and in 2004 he was a full professor of the University of Mostar. He worked at the Faculty of Economy in Mostar, and also in regular and postgraduate studies. In 2007, he became visiting professor at the University of Mostar's Faculty of Philosophy, and in 2014 member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.


Early political career

In 1994, Čović joined the
Croatian Democratic Union The Croatian Democratic Union ( hr, Hrvatska demokratska zajednica, lit=Croatian Democratic Community, HDZ) is the major conservative, centre-right political party in Croatia. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Croa ...
(HDZ BiH). Two years later, he became a member of the cantonal committee of the HDZ BiH. In 1997, he became the president of the city committee of the HDZ BiH in
Mostar Mostar (, ; sr-Cyrl, Мостар, ) is a city and the administrative center of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is sit ...
. In 1998, Čović became vice president of the HDZ BiH, while in 2002, he became the party's presidency member. In 2005, he was elected HDZ BiH president. From 1998 to 2001, Čović served as the Federal Minister of Finance. From 10 January 2001 to 12 March 2001, he served as Acting Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, succeeding the
Party of Democratic Action The Party of Democratic Action ( bs, Stranka demokratske akcije; abbr. SDA) is a Bosniak nationalist, conservative political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. History The Party of Democratic Action (SDA) was founded on 26 May 1990 in Sarajevo, ...
's Edhem Bičakčić. Čović served as Acting Prime Minister for two months, before he himself got succeeded by Alija Behmen of the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...
.


First presidency (2002–2005)

At the 2002 general election, Čović was elected member of the
Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina The presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Predsjedništvo Bosne i Hercegovine, separator=" / ", Предсједништво Босне и Херцеговине) is a three-member body which collectively serves as head of state of ...
with 114,606 votes. He served as Presidency member until 29 March 2005, when he was removed from office by the
High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, were created in 1995 immediately after the signing of the Dayton Agreement which ended the 1992–1995 Bos ...
,
Paddy Ashdown Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, (27 February 194122 December 2018), better known as Paddy Ashdown, was a British politician and diplomat who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1988 to 1999. Internati ...
, for abuse of power and position.


Post-presidency (2005–2014)

Since 2005, Čović has been President of the
Croatian Democratic Union The Croatian Democratic Union ( hr, Hrvatska demokratska zajednica, lit=Croatian Democratic Community, HDZ) is the major conservative, centre-right political party in Croatia. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Croa ...
(HDZ BiH). In May 2011, he became a member of the national House of Peoples and in February 2012, he was named Chairman of the House of Peoples. Čović would chair the House once more in 2014. In 2011, he was also appointed President of the
Croatian National Assembly The Croatian National Assembly ( hr, Hrvatski narodni sabor) is a political organisation of Croat political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The organisation serves as a platform to coordinate political and cultural activities of different part ...
. During the numerous failed negotiations to implement the 2009
ECtHR The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
Sejdić-Finci judgment, Čović has been singled out by analysts as blocking a solution, maintaining that Bosnian Croats must be able to elect their own member in the
Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...
.


Prud Agreement

Together with the leaders of the three most important 'nationalist' political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who acted as representatives of the constituent peoples,
Milorad Dodik Milorad Dodik ( sr-cyrl, Милорад Додик, ; born 12 March 1959) is a Bosnian Serb politician serving as the 8th president of Republika Srpska since November 2022. Previously, he served as the 7th Serb member of the Presidency of Bo ...
of the
Alliance of Independent Social Democrats The Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (; abbr. СНСД or SNSD) is a Serb political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Founded in 1996, it is the governing party in Republika Srpska, with its leader, Milorad Dodik, serving as the current p ...
(SNSD) and
Sulejman Tihić Sulejman Tihić (26 November 1951 – 25 September 2014) was a Bosnian politician who served as the 4th Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2002 to 2006. He was a member and later president of the Party of Democratic ...
of the
Party of Democratic Action The Party of Democratic Action ( bs, Stranka demokratske akcije; abbr. SDA) is a Bosniak nationalist, conservative political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. History The Party of Democratic Action (SDA) was founded on 26 May 1990 in Sarajevo, ...
, Čović created the '' Prud Agreement'' or ''Prud Process'', an agreement that pertained to state property, census, constitutional changes, reconstructing the
Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Bosnian/ Croatian: ''Vijeće ministara Bosne i Hercegovine'', sr, Савјет министара Босне и Херцеговине), often called Bosnian Government ( bs, Vlada Bosne i He ...
and solving the legal status of
Brčko District Brčko District ( bs, Brčko Distrikt; hr, Brčko Distrikt; sr, Брчко Дистрикт, ), officially the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, Brčko Distrikt Bosne i Hercegovine; hr, Brčko Distrikt Bosne i Hercegovine; ), i ...
. The agreement was created in the village of Prud on 8 November 2008.http://www.sda.ba/files/file/ZAJEDNICKA IZJAVA.pdf The reforms promised by the agreement would "build the ability of the State to meet the requirements of the EU integration process". At a subsequent meeting in
Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...
on 26 January 2009, the party leaders set out a plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina as a
decentralized Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group. Conce ...
country with three levels of government. The middle level of government was anticipated to be made up by four territorial units with legislative, executive and judicial branches of government.Katana, G. 2009. 'Prudski trojac u Banjoj Luci podijelo BiH na četiri regije' (Prud troika divide BiH into four regions in Banja Luka), ''Oslobođenje'' 27 January 2009. Controversy surrounded the creation of a third entity,
Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Feder ...
’s territorial integrity, and the division of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A further meeting was held in
Mostar Mostar (, ; sr-Cyrl, Мостар, ) is a city and the administrative center of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is sit ...
on 23 February 2009, hosted by Čović. On 20 July 2009, the
High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, were created in 1995 immediately after the signing of the Dayton Agreement which ended the 1992–1995 Bos ...
,
Valentin Inzko Valentin Inzko (born 22 May 1949) is an Austrian diplomat who served as the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2009 to 2021. He also served as the European Union Special Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2009 to 201 ...
suggested that the process between the three 'nationalist' parties had effectively ended. Instead it had changed into a process involving many more political parties. Inzko believed that minor level constitutional reform can be delivered through the meetings. When the Prud process failed, Milorad Dodik and his SNSD party became close partners to Čović's HDZ BiH party.


2010–2012 government formation

Following the 2010 general election, a process of
formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...
of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Council of Ministers (i.e. the national government) had begun. The resulting election produced a fragmented political landscape without a coalition of a parliamentary majority more than a year after the election. The centre-left
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...
(SDP BiH), and the
Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби у Босни и Херцеговини, Srbi u Bosni i Hercegovini) are one of the three constitutive nations (state-forming nations) of the country, predominantly residing in the politi ...
autonomist SNSD, each had 8 MPs of the total 42 MPs of the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
. The major
Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...
(HDZ BiH and
HDZ 1990 The Croatian Democratic Union 1990 ( hr, Hrvatska demokratska zajednica 1990, abbreviated HDZ 1990) is a political party of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It split from the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is led by Ili ...
) and
Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
parties (SNSD and SDS) contended that a
gentlemen's agreement A gentlemen's agreement, or gentleman's agreement, is an informal and legally non-binding agreement between two or more parties. It is typically oral, but it may be written or simply understood as part of an unspoken agreement by convention or th ...
existed in which the chairmanship of the Council of Ministers rotates between the three constitutional nationalities. In this case, it would be the turn for a Croat politician to chair the Council. As the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ BiH), led by Čović, and the Croatian Democratic Union 1990 (HDZ 1990) received the overwhelming share of Croat votes at the 2010 general election, the parties demanded that a member of one of them receive the position of Chairman. The SDP BiH on the other hand, claimed that the only necessity is the ethnicity of the individual, and not the party, demanding the right to appoint a Croat Chairman from SDP BiH ranks, calling upon the right of having assumed most votes nationwide. The
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
and the Office of the High Representative repeatedly attempted negotiations to appease the
Bosniak The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...
–Bosnian and Serb–Croat divided political blocs, in parallel to the Bosnian constitutional crisis, all ending in failure. The Bosniak-Bosnian coalition insisted that the seat would have to go to them as the party that received the largest number of votes, while the Serb–Croat alliance insisted that due to the fact that according to tradition, the next Chairman of the Council of Ministers must be an ethnic Croat, it must come from an authentic Croat party (Croatian Democratic Union), and not the multi-ethnic SDP BiH. A round of talks between party leaders was held in Mostar on 5 September 2011, hosted by Croat politicians
Božo Ljubić Božo Ljubić (born 30 September 1949) is a Bosnian Croat politician who is the current president of the Supreme Council of the Croatian National Assembly. Formerly, he was a member of both the national House of Peoples and national House of Rep ...
and Čović, with Milorad Dodik, Mladen Bosić, Sulejman Tihić and
Zlatko Lagumdžija Zlatko Lagumdžija (born 26 December 1955) is a Bosnian former politician who served as the 4th Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2001 to 2002. He also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2001 to 2002 and ...
in attendance. The parties agreed to a further round of discussion in mid-September. A meeting between the six major party leaders was held in
Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
on 15 September, hosted by Zlatko Lagumdžija. Topics discussed at the meeting included holding a national census, military assets and the Sejdić-Finci ruling. On the same day, an EU spokesperson warned that the country risked losing funding through the
Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance The Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, or simply IPA, is a funding mechanism of the European Union. As of 2007, it replaced previous programmes such as the PHARE, ISPA, SAPARD SAPARD (Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural ...
if the political situation did not stabilize. Another meeting on 26 September 2011 failed as well. An agreement was finally reached on 28 December 2011 between the six political parties: the Social Democratic Party, the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), the Croatian Democratic Union, the Croatian Democratic Union 1990, the Serb Democratic Party and the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats.
Vjekoslav Bevanda Vjekoslav Bevanda (; born 13 May 1956) is a Bosnian Croat politician who is the current Minister of Finance and Treasury. He is also the current Vice-chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving alongside Bisera Turk ...
, a Bosnian Croat, became the new Chairman of the Council of Ministers.


Constitutional reform

As “credible efforts” towards the implementation of the Sejdić–Finci ruling remained the outstanding condition for the entry into force of the
Stabilisation and Association Agreement In talks with countries that have expressed a wish to join the European Union, the EU typically concludes Association Agreements in exchange for commitments to political, economic, trade, or human rights reform in that country. In exchange, th ...
, in June 2012, Czech Commissioner
Štefan Füle Štefan Füle (born 24 May 1962 in Sokolov) is a former Czech diplomat who served as the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy from February 2010 until October 2014. Early life and education Füle was born on ...
launched a High Level Dialogue on the Accession Process (HLAD) with Bosnia and Herzegovina, tackling both the Sejdić–Finci issue and the need for a coordination mechanism for the country to speak with a single voice in the accession process. Talks were held in June and November 2012, with little success.Davide Denti
''The European Union and Member State Building in Bosnia and Herzegovina'', PhD thesis, University of Trento, 2018
In the summer of 2012, Čović and SDP BiH leader Lagumdžija agreed on the indirect election of the Bosnian Presidency members by the Bosnian Parliament, but the deal was not turned into detailed amendments. The HDZ BiH kept calling for electoral reform to prevent new Komšić cases. The same
Željko Komšić Željko Komšić (; born 20 January 1964) is a Bosnian politician and diplomat who is the 6th and current Croat member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is also its current chairman, since 2021. Previously, he was a member of the na ...
left the SDP BiH, in dissent with the agreement which would have excluded him from acceding to power again. The SDA also opposed it, as it would have created a further asymmetry, with one Presidency member (from Republika Srpska) elected directly, and two elected indirectly. In February 2013, the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
decided to step up its involvement, with the direct facilitation of talks by Füle, in coordination with the
Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...
's Secretary-General
Thorbjørn Jagland Thorbjørn Jagland (born Thorbjørn Johansen; , 5 November 1950) is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. He served as the secretary general of the Council of Europe from 2009 to 2019. He served as the 32nd prime minister of Norway from ...
. In March and April 2013, with the support of the Director-General for Enlargement
Stefano Sannino Stefano Sannino (born 24 December 1959 in Portici) is an Italians, Italian diplomat and European Civil Service, European civil servant. Career After studying political science at the University of Naples Federico II, University of Naples, San ...
, the EU Delegation in Sarajevo facilitated a series of direct talks between party leaders, with no concrete outcome. During the summer of 2013, Čović and Bosnian Presidency member
Bakir Izetbegović Bakir Izetbegović (; born 28 June 1956) is a Bosnian politician who served as the 6th Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2010 to 2018. He is the current president of the Party of Democratic Action and member of the ...
reached a political agreement on several files, from Mostar to Sejdić–Finci, in parallel to the initiative led by the
U.S. Embassy The United States has the second most Diplomatic mission, diplomatic missions of any country in the world List of diplomatic missions of China, after Mainland China, including 166 of the 193 member countries of the United Nations, as well as obse ...
for a constitutional reform of the Federal entity. An agreement on principles on how to solve the Sejdić–Finci issue was signed by political leaders in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
on 1 October 2013, but it evaporated right after. Three further rounds of negotiations among political leaders were led together with Štefan Füle, in a castle near
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
in November 2013, and later in Sarajevo in the first months of 2014, also with the presence of the U.S. and the
Venice Commission The Venice Commission, officially European Commission for Democracy through Law, is an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law. It was created in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin ...
. Despite high hopes, a solution could not be found, as the HDZ BiH required the absolute arithmetical certainty of being able to occupy the third seat of the Bosnian Presidency – which, given that the Sejdić–Finci ruling was actually about removing ethnic discrimination in the access to the same Presidency, could not be provided by any possible model. Talks were ended on 17 February 2014, while popular protests were ongoing in Sarajevo and in the rest of the country.


Second presidency (2014–2018)

At the 2014 general election, Čović was re-elected as
Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...
member of the
Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina The presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Predsjedništvo Bosne i Hercegovine, separator=" / ", Предсједништво Босне и Херцеговине) is a three-member body which collectively serves as head of state of ...
. He chaired the Presidency between November 2015 and March 2016, during which period on 15 February 2016, Bosnia and Herzegovina submitted its EU membership application. Čović held again the chair of the Presidency in the July–November 2017 period. On 7 June 2015, he met with
Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
in
Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
, as part of the Popes's 2015 papal visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the 2018 general election, Čović lost his bid for re-election as Croat member of the Bosnian Presidency to
Željko Komšić Željko Komšić (; born 20 January 1964) is a Bosnian politician and diplomat who is the 6th and current Croat member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is also its current chairman, since 2021. Previously, he was a member of the na ...
(former member of Presidency from 2006 until 2014). He and the
HDZ BiH The Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( hr, Hrvatska demokratska zajednica Bosne i Hercegovine or HDZ BiH) is a Christian democratic, nationalist political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina, representing the Croats of Bosnia and ...
accused Komšić to garner support from Bosniak rather than Croat voters and thus not to be a legitimate representative of Bosnian Croats in the country's Presidency.


Investigations and indictments

In November 2006, Čović was sentenced to five years in prison for exempting the Ivanković-Lijanović company of paying taxes on meat imports. The
Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, Sud Bosne i Hercegovine, Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Cyrillic: Суд Босне и Херцеговине; abbreviated as the ''Court of BiH'' in English language, English) is the highest ordinary court of ...
, on appeal, annulled the sentence and acquitted him for lack of jurisdiction. In 2009, Čović was accused of spending public funds to buy private homes for certain people. In April 2010, he was acquitted.CIN: Dragan Covic
/ref> On 14 May 2010, a third indictment for Čović and six other persons was confirmed by the Court of the
Herzegovina-Neretva Canton The Herzegovina-Neretva Canton ( hr, Hercegovačko-neretvanska županija; bs, Hercegovačko-neretvanski kanton) is one of 10 cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The canton mainly comprises the Neretv ...
, this time for abuse of power and position. He and other committee members of the Croatian Post and Telecom (HPT) were accused of transferring a debt of nearly 4,7 million convertible marks from the non-existing Ministry of Defence of the
Croatian Defence Council The Croatian Defence Council ( hr, Hrvatsko vijeće obrane or HVO) was the official military formation of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, an unrecognized entity that existed in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1991 and 1996. The HVO wa ...
to three private companies. By receiving the debt, those three companies became owners of shares in
HT Eronet HT Eronet, doing business as JP Hrvatske telekomunikacije d.d. Mostar, is a telecommunications company in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The company was created on after separating Hrvatska pošta Mostar (HP Mostar) and Hrvatske telekomunikacije (HT). ...
, the most profitable telecommunicational section of the HPT. At the time, Čović was Federal Minister of Finance and president of the Steering Committee of the HPT. The Court of the HNC asked that this case be brought in front of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but the Federal Supreme Court ruled the case had to be tried in Mostar. In May 2012, Čović was acquitted. In March 2021, Čović was sanction by the Conflict of Interest Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina with a reduction of 10% of his parliamentary salary for violation of the Law on Conflict of Interest, as in 2017 he received double compensation, both as member of the national House of Peoples and of the
Croatian National Assembly The Croatian National Assembly ( hr, Hrvatski narodni sabor) is a political organisation of Croat political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The organisation serves as a platform to coordinate political and cultural activities of different part ...
.


Personal life

Čović is married to Bernardica Prskalo and together they have two children. On 19 July 2020, it was confirmed that he tested positive for
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, amid its pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina; by 4 August, he recovered.


References


External links


CIN - imovina politicara - Dragan Čović
{{DEFAULTSORT:Covic, Dragan 1956 births Living people Politicians from Mostar Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina politicians Prime ministers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Members of the House of Peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina Chairmen of the House of Peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina Chairmen of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Heads of government who were later imprisoned