Željko Komšić (; born 20 January 1964) is a Bosnian politician who has served as the Croat member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2018, having served from 2006 to 2014 as well. Previously, he was a member of the national House of Representatives from 2014 to 2018.
Born in 1964, Komšić earned a degree in law from the University of Sarajevo in 1988, and later attended a specialization program at Georgetown University. He served in the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian War, and was awarded with the Order of the Golden Lily. Following the war, Komšić worked at the Federal Ministry of Displaced Persons and Refugees, before being elected municipal mayor of Novo Sarajevo in 2000. He then served as the Bosnian ambassador to FR Yugoslavia. In the 2006 general election, Komšić successfully ran for a seat in the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina as the Croat member. He was re-elected to the office in the 2010 election. Komšić was a prominent figure of the Social Democratic Party, until he left it in 2012 to establish the Democratic Front a year later. Following the end of his term in the Presidency, he was elected to the national House of Representatives in the 2014 election.
Komšić was elected to the Presidency for a third term in the 2018 general election. He was re-elected for a fourth term in the 2022 general election, and has since then become the longest-serving Presidency member overall. He is also the only one to have served more than two terms.
Although elected as the Croat member of Bosnia’s Presidency, Komšić is considered by many Bosnian Croats to be an illegitimate representative, as he was elected largely by Bosniak voters in the Federation, where voters can choose both the Bosniak and Croat members. As a result, his support among Croats has remained very low throughout his term.
Early life and education Komšić was born on 20 January 1964 in Sarajevo to a Bosnian Croat father, Marko Komšić from Kiseljak, and Bosnian Serb mother, Danica Stanić (1941 – 1 August 1992) from Doboj. He has a sister. During the siege of Sarajevo, his mother was killed by a sniper from the Army of Republika Srpska while in her apartment, an event often seen as a turning point in his life. At the time, Komšić was serving in the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he later received the Order of the Golden Lily for military merit.
He earned a law degree from the University of Sarajevo’s Faculty of Law in 1988 and also attended Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C., where he participated in the Georgetown Leadership Seminar in 2003.
From 1996 to 1998, Komšić worked at the Federal Ministry of Displaced Persons and Refugees.
Early political career After the war, Komšić began his political career as a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP BiH). From 1998 to 2000, he served as president of the Sarajevo City Council and was also a councilman in the Novo Sarajevo municipality. He later served as mayor of Novo Sarajevo until 2001.
After the 2000 parliamentary election, when the "Alliance for Democratic Change" came to power, Komšić was appointed ambassador to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in Belgrade. He resigned from this post after the 2002 general election, when the SDP BiH returned to opposition.
From 2003 to 2004, he served as deputy to Sarajevo mayor Muhidin Hamamdžić, and in the 2004 municipal elections he was re-elected as mayor of Novo Sarajevo.
First presidency (2006–2014) 2006 general election
Komšić was the SDP BiH candidate for the Croat member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 2006 general election. He won 116,062 votes (39.6%), ahead of Ivo Miro Jović (26.1%), Božo Ljubić (18.2%) and other candidates. He was sworn into office on 6 November 2006.
His victory is often attributed to divisions within the HDZ BiH bloc, which split the Croat vote, while he also received significant support from Bosniak voters. As a result, many Bosnian Croats viewed him as an illegitimate representative, arguing he was elected largely without Croat backing. Croat political leaders and some Catholic Church figures called on him to step down, claiming the result undermined the intended system of ethnic representation, but legal challenges did not overturn the outcome. Even Haris Silajdžić stated that Komšić’s election was unfair and could alienate Croats from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
2010 general election
In the 2010 general election, Komšić was re-elected as the Croat member of the Presidency, nearly tripling his vote total to 337,065 (60.6%), ahead of Borjana Krišto (19.7%) and others.
His victory was strongly contested by Croat representatives, who argued that the electoral system allows Bosniak-majority voters in the Federation to effectively decide the Croat member of the Presidency. Komšić did not win in any Croat-majority municipality, with most of his support coming from Bosniak-majority areas. This reinforced claims that he lacked legitimacy among Croats and strengthened calls for a separate Croat federal unit.
Tenure
During his presidency, collaboration within the tripartite Presidency proved difficult, with frequent deadlocks between Komšić and Serb member Nebojša Radmanović, who often aligned with Republika Srpska's separatist positions, as well as shifting relations with Bosniak members Haris Silajdžić (2006–2010) and Bakir Izetbegović (2010–2014). These disagreements centered on constitutional reforms (centralizing state institutions and reforming electoral laws), the balance of power between state and entity institutions, and EU accession requirements, often resulting in stalled decision-making.
In 2008, controversy arose after Haris Silajdžić stated that Bosnia and Herzegovina has one language with three names. The statement drew criticism from Croat parties and Republika Srpska leadership. Komšić responded that no individual has the authority to determine how many languages are spoken in the country.
A 2010 National Democratic Institute survey identified Komšić as the most popular politician among Bosniak voters.
While his political stance attracted support from non-nationalist and civic-oriented voters, Croat parties criticized it as undermining the constitutional protections of constituent peoples. In July 2012, internal disagreements led Komšić to leave the SDP BiH, triggered by divisions over proposed constitutional changes that he claimed sidelined his input on civic reforms. In April 2013, alongside other dissidents, he co-founded the Democratic Front (DF), a civic-oriented, center-left party focused on anti-corruption and state reform.
Second presidency (2018–present) 2018 general election
After not running in the 2014 general election due to term limits, Komšić announced his candidacy in January 2018 and was re-elected in the 2018 election with 52.64% of the vote, defeating Dragan Čović (36.14%).
His victory again sparked controversy, as his support came largely from Bosniak-majority areas. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković criticized the outcome, arguing that one constituent people was electing another’s representative, while Komšić accused Croatia of interfering in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s sovereignty.
Protests under the slogan “Not My President” were held in Croat-majority areas, including Mostar and Široki Brijeg on 11–12 October 2018, organized by Croat nationalist groups who denounced Komšić as a "second Bosniak member" unfit to represent Croat interests. Demonstrators highlighted the disparity in vote distribution, with Komšić underperforming in core Croat cantons yet prevailing due to Federation-wide tallies.
Additionally, several Croat-majority municipalities declared him persona non grata. Members of The Bridge party in the Croatian Parliament proposed a similar measure at the state level, though it was not adopted.
2022 general election
Komšić was re-elected for a fourth term in the 2022 general election with 55.80% of the vote, defeating Borjana Krišto (44.20%). As in previous elections, his support largely came from Bosniak-majority areas, prompting renewed criticism from Croat political representatives.
He was sworn in on 16 November 2022 alongside Denis Bećirović and Željka Cvijanović.
Tenure
In March 2019, Komšić appointed Serbian politician and businessman Čedomir Jovanović as his advisor.
In May 2021, disagreements within the Presidency became evident: while Komšić and Šefik Džaferović attended a joint military exercise with the United States Army, fellow Presidency member Milorad Dodik refused. Later that year, Komšić and Džaferović acted without Dodik’s consent to address wildfires in Herzegovina, highlighting institutional gridlock.
During miners’ protests in November 2021, Komšić called for the resignation of key government officials.
Following the October 2022 election, the Presidency confirmed Borjana Krišto as Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers in December; Komšić voted against, citing the absence of a clear program.
COVID-19 pandemic
As the COVID-19 pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina started in March 2020, the Presidency announced Armed Forces' placement of quarantine tents at the country's borders intended for Bosnian citizens returning home. Every Bosnian citizen arriving to the country was obligated to self-quarantine for 14 days starting from the day of arrival. Tents were set up on the northern border with Croatia.
On 2 March 2021, Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić came to Sarajevo and met with Komšić, Džaferović and Dodik, and donated 10,000 dozes of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines for the COVID-19 pandemic. Three days later, on 5 March, Slovenian president Borut Pahor also came to Sarajevo and met with Komšić, Džaferović and Dodik, and stated that Slovenia will also donate 4,800 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines for the pandemic.
Foreign policy
In October 2018, Komšić announced that Bosnia and Herzegovina might sue Croatia over the construction of the Pelješac Bridge. The construction of the bridge, paid largely with EU funding, began on 30 July 2018 to connect Croatia's territory and was supported by Komšić's main election opponent Dragan Čović.
In December 2020, right before a state visit of Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, Komšić refused to attend the visit because of Lavrov's disrespect to Bosnia and Herzegovina and decision to firstly visit only Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and later on the presidency consisting of Šefik Džaferović, Dodik and Komšić. Shortly later, Džaferović too refused to attend Lavrov's visit because of the same reasons as Komšić.
In September 2021, Komšić went to New York City to address the United Nations General Assembly at its headquarters. There he held bilateral meetings with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and Austrian president Alexander Van der Bellen on 21 September. On 22 September, Komšić addressed the General Assembly, speaking about the political challenges in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. On 23 September, he met with Montenegrin and Kosovar presidents Milo Đukanović and Vjosa Osmani. In November 2021, Komšić attended the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, where he was welcomed by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
On 17 January 2022, he met with Pope Francis in Vatican City. Following their meeting, Francis praised Komšić, saying that "he is a good person." On 9 February 2022, Komšić went to Madrid, where he held a bilateral meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and also spoke with King Felipe VI.