Nikola Špirić

Nikola Špirić
Никола Шпирић
Špirić in 2008
Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina
In office
11 January 2007 – 12 January 2012
President
See list
Preceded byAdnan Terzić
Succeeded byVjekoslav Bevanda
Member of the House of Peoples
Incumbent
Assumed office
28 February 2019
In office
20 March 2001 – 31 January 2003
Minister of Finance and Treasury
In office
12 January 2012 – 31 March 2015
Prime MinisterVjekoslav Bevanda
Preceded byDragan Vrankić
Succeeded byVjekoslav Bevanda
Parliamentary offices
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
9 December 2002 – 11 January 2007
Personal details
Born (1956-09-04) 4 September 1956 (age 68)
Drvar, PR Bosnia and Herzegovina, FPR Yugoslavia
NationalityBosnian Serb
Political partyAlliance of Independent Social Democrats (2002–present)
Other political
affiliations		Party of Democratic Progress (2000–2002)
SpouseNada Špirić
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Sarajevo (BEc, MEc, PhD)
Signature

Nikola Špirić (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Шпирић, pronounced [nǐkola ʃpǐːrit͡ɕ]; born 4 September 1956) is a Bosnian Serb politician who served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2007 to 2012. He has been serving as member of the national House of Peoples since 2019.

Špirić also served as Minister of Finance and Treasury from 2012 to 2015. He was previously a member of the national House of Representatives from 2002 to 2007.

Špirić was a member of the Party of Democratic Progress, until he left it in 2002 to join the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats.

Early life and education

Born in Drvar, PR Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the time FPR Yugoslavia, Špirić completed elementary education in his hometown, high school in Sarajevo and his undergraduate and postgraduate education at the University of Sarajevo. He holds a PhD in economics. His doctoral thesis was in monetary and public finance.

Early career

Špirić has been an economics professor at the University of Banja Luka since 1992. He held a number of governmental positions including a 2-year term as a representative at the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina for Milorad Dodik's SNSD party. He was a member of the House of Peoples from 2001 until 2003 and a member of the House of Representatives from 2002 until 2007.

Chairman of the Council of Ministers (2007–2012)

See also: Cabinet of Nikola Špirić I and Cabinet of Nikola Špirić II

On 11 January 2007, Špirić became the new Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, succeeding Adnan Terzić.[1] On 1 November 2007, he tendered his resignation in protest of parliamentary reforms imposed by High Representative Miroslav Lajčák. Špirić felt that the reforms would reduce the influence of Bosnia's Serb population. The resignation was deemed by some to be the country's most serious crisis since the end of the Bosnian War.[2] After the crisis was resolved, he was renominated for the Chairman's post on 10 December 2007,[3] confirmed by the Presidency on 27 December 2007 and by Parliament a day later, on 28 December.[4]

Špirić's government led Bosnia and Herzegovina's economic recovery following the Great Recession and the financial crisis of 2007–2008.[5]

On 26 May 2008, Špirić met with European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security Jacques Barrot, discussing about abolition of the European Union visa regime for Bosnian citizens.[6] In September 2009, his government managed to succeed in its plans and Bosnia and Herzegovina met the conditions for visa waiver.[7]

In July 2009, Špirić's cabinet approved the Law Against Discrimination, prohibiting discrimination based on sex, gender expression and sexual orientation, a law having to do with LGBT rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Furthermore, the law forbids harassment and segregation on the basis of sexual orientation.[8] Furthermore, the law forbids harassment and segregation on the basis of sexual orientation.[9]

On 12 January 2012, he was succeeded as Chairman of the Council of Ministers by Vjekoslav Bevanda, following the 2010 general election and the one-year governmental formation crisis.[10]

Later career

From January 2012 until March 2015, Špirić served as Minister of Finance and Treasury in the cabinet of Vjekoslav Bevanda.[11]

In September 2018, the United States Department of State put Špirić under sanctions (travel ban and asset freeze), with the justification that "Špirić engaged in and benefited from public corruption, including the acceptance of improper benefits in exchange for the performance of public functions and interference with public processes, during his tenure as a member of the House of Representatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina." Špirić accused the U.S. Ambassador in Bosnia and Herzegovina to harm his chances of re-election.[12]

Since February 2019, Špirić has once again been a member of the House of Peoples.[13] In September 2020, he was appointed member of the Parliamentary Committee for the selection and monitoring of the work of the Bosnian Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of the Fight against Corruption (APIK). This raised criticism given that he remains under U.S. sanctions for corruption.[14]

Personal life

Špirić is married and has two children. On 18 January 2021, he was admitted to hospital due to bilateral pneumonia.[15]

References

  1. ^ Zoran Pirolić (4 January 2007). "Nikola Špirić novi predsjedavajući Vijeća ministara BiH" (in Bosnian). dw.com. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  2. ^ BBC NEWS | Europe | Bosnian PM resigns over reforms
  3. ^ Girodivite: Centro Studi Europa dell'Est - news del 10.12.2007 - powered by www.seenews.com
  4. ^ Javno - World
  5. ^ "World Economic Situation and Prospects 2013". Development Policy and Analysis Division of the UN secretariat. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  6. ^ "Оtvoren dijalog o ukidanju viznog režima EU za građane BiH". vijeceministara.gov.ba (in Bosnian). 26 May 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
  7. ^ "BiH ispunila uslove za ukidanje viza". Radio Slobodna Evropa. slobodnaevropa.org. 30 September 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  8. ^ "ZAKON O ZABRANI DISKRIMINACIJE" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  9. ^ "ZAKON O ZABRANI DISKRIMINACIJE" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  10. ^ Elvira M. Jukic (29 December 2011). "Vjekoslav Bevanda To Be Named Bosnian PM". balkaninsight.com. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Razdoblje 1996. – 1998" [Period 1996 – 1998] (PDF) (in Croatian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2020.
  12. ^ Balkan Insight
  13. ^ Er. M. (28 February 2019). "Izetbegović, Čović i Špirić izabrani u rukovodstvo Doma naroda Parlamenta BiH" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  14. ^ Bljesak
  15. ^ "Nikola Špirić i Nenad Stevandić hospitalizovani zbog obostrane upale pluća" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nikola Špirić.
Political offices
Preceded by Chairman of the Council of Ministers
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
2007–2012 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Dragan Vrankić
 Minister of Finance and Treasury
2012–2015