Bosnia and Herzegovina–Spain relations were formally established on 14 December 1992. Historical ties date back to the introduction of the

Spanish language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

to Bosnia by Spanish-speaking Jews fleeing Spain after the enactment of the

Alhambra Decree The Alhambra Decree (also known as the Edict of Expulsion; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Decreto de la Alhambra'', ''Edicto de Granada'') was an edict issued on 31 March 1492 by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdi ...

in 1492. During the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

of 1992 to 1995, Spain sent troops to support the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

peacekeeping effort in Bosnia.

History

Spanish language

Spanish language was first introduced to Bosnia and Herzegovina when it was settled by the Spanish-speaking

Sephardic Jews Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

, who had fled the

Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Castile, Castile and Kingd ...

and the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

following the enactment of the Alhambra Decree by

Isabella I of Castile Isabella I (; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''Isabel la Católica''), was Queen of Castile and List of Leonese monarchs, León from 1474 until her death in 1504. She was also Queen of Aragon ...

and

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II, also known as Ferdinand I, Ferdinand III, and Ferdinand V (10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of ...

in 1492. According to the 1921 census, Judaeo-Spanish language was the mother tongue to about 10,000 out of 70,000 inhabitants of Sarajevo.

The Holocaust in the Independent State of Croatia ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

puppet state A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its ord ...

that included all of Bosnia and Herzegovina) in the 1940s and the

in the 1990s severely depleted Bosnia and Herzegovina's Jewish population; very few of the remaining Jews speak Judaeo-Spanish as their first language. The only university in Bosnia and Herzegovina offering courses of the Spanish language is the

University of Sarajevo The University of Sarajevo (Bosnian language, Bosnian, Croatian language, Croatian and Serbian language, Serbian: ''Univerzitet u Sarajevu'' / Sveučilište u Sarajevu / Универзитет у Сарајеву) is a List of universities in Bo ...

Formal relations

Formal diplomatic relations between both countries were established on 14 December 1992. Spain allied with Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian War (1992–1995). Following the passage of Resolution 770 by the

Security Council in 1993, which guaranteed delivery of humanitarian aid by UN troops even under force, Spain, along with France, Italy, and Belgium, sent troops to aid the effort. Spain also joined France, Great Britain, and the United States in signing a May 22, 1993, "joint strategy" agreement to guard "safe areas" against Serbian invasion. From 1992 on, Spain sent over 46,000 troops to Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of UN, NATO and UE missions. As of 2022, Spain military deployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina takes place under the purview of the EUFOR-Althea operation.

Resident diplomatic missions

While Spain maintains two diplomatic missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the latter maintains only one mission in Spain. The Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina is located in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. The Embassy of Spain in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was opened in 1999. The economic and trade relations are rather limited, due to the lack of Spanish entrepreneurs and the still on-going process of standardization in the latter country, as well as due to the issues posed by the

bureaucracy Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...

and corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina. One of the goals set by the embassy is the promotion of Spanish culture by conducting concerts, exhibitions and academic events. Spain also maintains a consulate in

Mostar Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre 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 situated on the Neretva Riv ...

. Additionally, the city of

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

signed an agreement of friendship and cooperation with Sarajevo in 1994, and opened the Local Democracy Embassy, staffed by Barcelona's representative, in Sarajevo in 1996. File:Madrid - Calle de Lagasca, Embajada de Bosnia-Herzegovina 1.jpg, Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Madrid File:Spanish Embassy, Sarajevo 4.jpg, Embassy of Spain in Sarajevo

References

External links

Official webpage of the Embassy of Spain in Sarajevo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bosnia and Herzegovina-Spain relations

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Bilateral relations of Spain