Staša Košarac Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina Staša Košarac was born on March 19 th , 1975 in Sarajevo, where he completed elementary and high school. He graduated from the Faculty of Business and Industrial Management in Belgrade in 2014. He is a member of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD). He was appointed Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH on December 23 rd , 2019. He performed his first public function as a Counsellor in Municipality Assembly of Višegrad when he was 25 years old. He won his mandate in the Republika Srpska National Assembly in 2004, and two years later became the Chairman of the Serbian Club Caucus in the Republika Srpska Council of Peoples. From 2010 he performed the same function in the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. From 2013 to 2014 he was the Chairman of the House. In the 2014 general elections, he won a direct parliamentary mandate in the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly. In 2018, he again won a mandate in the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, in which he acted as Chairman of the Caucus of SNSD members in this legislative body, until his appointment as the Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH after the Council of Minister of BiH was formed. He was elected Head of the Team for Coordination for War Crimes and Missing Persons of Republika Srpska as a decision of the Government of Republika Srpska in January 2010. He lives in Istočno Sarajevo.

Krassimir Y. Nikolov is Head of Section European Integration, Political, Press and Information; at the EU Delegation in Sarajevo since September 2018. He joined the Directorate-General for External Relations of the European Commission in Brussels in January 2010 and was later transferred to the newly-created European External Action Service (EEAS). In early 2017, he started working as Deputy Head of Division “Migration and Human Security” in the EEAS after serving as Deputy Head of Division “Middle East 2” (2016-2017). Previously, he had been responsible for EU-Russia political relations (2014-2016) and for EU- Israel bilateral relations (2010-2014). Before becoming EU official, he had taken part in developing Bulgarian foreign policy on several EU-related projects by working with ministers from different governments - the EU- Bulgaria Association Agreement with Ilko Eskenazi in 1993-1994, the European Convention and communicating Bulgaria’s EU accession with Meglena Kuneva in 2000-2003, the Black Sea synergy with Ivaylo Kalfin in 2006-2008. He was member of the presidential advisory council on Euro-Atlantic integration (2001- 2006). In parallel, as Jean Monnet Professor in European policies, he taught EU integration courses in universities in Bulgaria, Greece, Belgium, France, Russia and Norway and wrote over 80 refereed publications. From 1993 to 2009 he served as Secretary General of the Bulgarian European Community Studies Association (BECSA).

Christine Toudic, Ambassador of France to BiH, presented her credentials to the Bosnian authorities on November 17, 2020. She was born on January 19, 1964. She graduated from the French Institute for Political Studies and held several positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She began her diplomatic career in 1987 at the Central Administration for Central and Eastern Europe, and in 1990 she began working in the Cabinet of the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. In 1993 she transferred to the Protocol and Ceremonial Service where she remained until 1996 when she went to Quebec as Deputy Consul General. Since 2000, she has been First Secretary and then Second Counsellor at the French Embassy in Havana, where she remained until 2004 when she was appointed Deputy Assistant Director of Deconcentration (Budgetary and Financial affairs) at the Central Administration. She remained in this position until 2008. In April-June 2007, she was as an auditor at the Diplomatic Institute. From 2008 to 2012, she was the Assistant Director of State and Administrative Affairs (Real Estate and Logistics). She continues her diplomatic career in 2012 as Consul General in Madrid, then from 2016 as the Ambassador of France to Montenegro, from where she will come to Sarajevo in November 2020 as the Ambassador of France to BiH. For her merits, she received honorary decorations from France, was named Knight of the Legion of Honour and Knight of the National Order of Merit. In addition to English, Spanish, Russian and Italian, Ambassador Toudic also speaks our B / C / S language.

Kemal Selmanagić was born in 1978 in Sarajevo. He finished primary and secondary school in Sarajevo, and then graduated from the School of Economics and Business at the University of Sarajevo, majoring in International Economics. He is the head of R&S d.o.o. Sarajevo, a prominent BiH company. During his long managerial career, he excelled in the fields of management, organization, business decision making, procurement, distribution, and business planning. He was involved in founding one of the leading B2B distribution companies over his 25 years of expertise, so he is very familiar with all the challenges facing the economy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He genuinely appreciates teamwork, which is critical to any manager's success, and philanthropy is a part of the corporate policy of the company he leads. Kemal Selmanagić is the winner of the BH Business Awards 2012 in the category of Top Young Managers, and he has also received the "Good" award for philanthropy by the Mozaik Foundation on behalf of R&S for several years in a row. He is married, and the father of two children.

Mrs. Steliana Nedera assumed her duties as UNDP Resident Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina in May 2019. Prior to this, Mrs. Nedera undertook three separate assignments as UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Serbia (2014-2019), in Kosovo* (2011-2014) and in Kazakhstan (2007-2011). She joined UNDP in 2004, as Assistant Resident Representative with the UNDP office in Moldova. Mrs. Nedera’s experience prior to joining UNDP was with DFID as Head of the DFID office in Moldova (2000-2004) and with private foundations on the development of civil society and the media (1996-1999). Mrs. Nedera holds a Master's in Development Management, currently studying towards a second Master’s in Global Diplomacy and has a Bachelor in Law. *All references to Kosovo should be understood in full compliance with United Nations.

Željko Marić was born on February 4, 1972. in Sarajevo, where he finished primary school and Electrical engineering secondary school. He studied at the School of Economics and Business, University of Sarajevo and the Faculty of Economics, University of Mostar, and defended his dissertation in 1998 with the topic "Objectives and Instruments of Monetary Policy". After the faculty, he completed a postgraduate study in Business Economics, majoring in Finance, defending his Master's thesis in 2002 on "Maintaining International Liquidity in the Context of Globalization." He defended his doctoral dissertation entitled "Enlargement of the European Monetary Union - Opportunities, Benefits and Risks" in 2005. Since his faculty graduation, he has been permanently employed at the University of Mostar, where he was elected a junior assistant in 1998, an assistant in 2002, an assistant professor in 2006, and an associate professor in 2009. At the Faculty of Economics, and occasionally at the Faculties of Law and Philosophy (Departments of Political Science and Journalism), University of Mostar, he taught courses: Fundamentals of Economics, Political Economy, Micro Economy, Macro Economy, Economic Policy, National Economy, International Economy and International Economic Relations. He was hired as an external associate at the Department of Business School at the Faculty of Economics, University of Sarajevo (2008/2009, 2009/2010, 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 academic year) on the subject Introduction to Economy / Fundamentals of Economy. He has mentored more than a hundred graduate theses of candidates for the title of Master of Economics, and the president or member of the Commissions for the title of Master of Science and Doctor of Science. He has written five books, two of which, A Short Course in Economy (2003) and International Economy (2008), as a co-author, and three other, Economic Policy of a Small Transition Country (2013), Theory and Policy of Exchange Rates (2016), and History of Economic Thought - Economic Doctrine (2021), as a sole author. He has also written about fifty scientific and professional papers in domestic and international journals and in domestic and international Conferences Proceedings. At the session held on August 10, 2021, the Governing Board of the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBH) appointed Željko Marić, Ph.D. as the Vice Governor of the CBBH, in charge of the Sector for Statistics, External Debt Servicing, European Integration and Payment Systems, for a term of four years, starting from August 16, 2021 to August 15, 2025.

 

 

Matt Field was appointed as Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina in August 2018. Matthew has previously served in a number of overseas political and policy roles, since joining the Diplomatic Service in 2003. He was Political Counsellor and Head of Political and Security Group in the British Embassy in Brasilia, overseeing staff and projects from five different government departments. In the EU Mission in Skopje, he served as a political adviser to the EU Special Representative, liaising with political parties and civil society. He was Head of EU and Political Team in the British Embassy in Zagreb, working on Croatia’s EU accession talks. Most recently, Matthew was seconded to the EU Special Representative Office in Sarajevo, as a Senior Adviser and Head of Political. Matthew has carried out a number of responsibilities in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in London, including managing the UK-Argentina relationship, leading UK-Brazil Olympic cooperation, coordinating with the EU on the Middle East Peace Process, as Israel desk officer, and in strategic resource management. Prior to joining the Diplomatic Service, he worked for the international development charity Oxfam, and the Japan 2002 World Cup Organising Committee. Matthew has a Bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies, a Masters in Japanese Studies and a Masters of Business Administration, and was an Erasmus exchange student in Sweden. Matthew is a keen cinephile and delighted to be living in the home of the world-famous Sarajevo Film Festival. He also likes to keep active, including football, swimming and snowboarding and hopes to visit many of the country’s beautiful mountains and lakes. He is accompanied in Sarajevo by his wife, Martina, and their two sons.

As U.S. Ambassador, Eric Nelson is leading the U.S. Government’s efforts to advance its security partnership with Bosnia and Herzegovina, expand economic prosperity, combat corruption and strengthen the rule of law. Ambassador Nelson is also dedicated to advancing self-reliance by promoting citizens working for reform and progress in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a member of the United States Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor, Ambassador Nelson previously served as Deputy Executive Secretary and Director of the Executive Office of the Executive Secretariat leading the teams that directly supported the Secretary and principal officers of the Department of State and their staffs. Ambassador Nelson also served as Director of the Office of eDiplomacy, Deputy Chief of Mission in Costa Rica and Consul General in Munich. Since joining the Foreign Service in 1990, he also served overseas in Islamabad, Milan, Mexico City, Frankfurt and Santo Domingo, and in Washington in the Bureau of Administration. During his career tenure, he has received numerous awards for effective leadership, including honorable mention in the Department’s Innovation in the Use of Technology Award. In 2014, he was selected by Fedscoop magazine as one of fourteen visionary leaders in federal information technology. Ambassador Nelson began his career in public service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Liberia. In 2013-2014, he was a fellow in Seminar XXI of the Center for International Studies of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Rice University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Eric is fluent in Italian, Spanish and German and is studying Bosnian.

Sandrine Friscia is a French citizen with Italian origins. Her career has been mainly centred around investment projects outside the European Union. In 2011, she was appointed Monitoring Officer at the European Investment Bank (EIB) in Luxembourg. She has been working at the EIB in Luxembourg for more than 16 years having different functions ranging from monitoring the implementation of projects outside the European Union, mainly in Africa but also in Asia, to managing Trust Funds for the benefit of Eastern and Southern neighbourhood countries. Before joining the EIB, she was responsible for market studies in a Distribution company in France. In 2019, she became the EIB Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, in order to support EIB financing activities in both countries. The European Investment Bank is the European Union's long-term lending institution established in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome. As a "policy-driven bank" whose shareholders are the member states of the EU, the EIB uses its financing operations to bring about European integration and social cohesion. The EIB is the world’s largest multilateral lender and the biggest provider of climate finance.

Emir Djikic graduated at the Moscow State University and obtained Bachelor and Master’s degree in Economy. He worked in the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he was participated as a member of the negotiation teams for negotiating the Stabilization Association Agreement, CEFTA Agreement and Accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the World Trade Organisation. In 2003, he continues his career in the private sector as a consultant, mainly supporting the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations. Mr. Djikic was also actively engaged in the non-governmental organisations, being a Member of the Board of Directors of the Transparency International from 2001 to 2008 and a Chair of the Board of Directors from 2008 to 2015. Mr. Djikic was appointed as a Director of the CEFTA Secretariat by the CEFTA Joint Committee in May 2017. Mr. Djikic is fluent in English, French and Russian. He is divorced and father of one child.

Marina Riđić is a TV anchor, journalist and communications expert with 15+ years of experience in reporting, interviewing, media strategies, social media promotions, crisis communication, capacity building and evaluation for a number of NGO and private agencies. Her work comprises of 3000+ TV shows, interviews, live reports and documentary films. Marina holds an MA from the Faculty of Political Science in Sarajevo, where she analyzed the nationalistic propaganda utilized by political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During 2017-2018 Marina spent one year at Arizona State University, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication where she researched audience development and US strategies in political communication.

Mr. Sc. Sedin Kahriman was born in Sarajevo on april 6, 1978. Graduated from the Faculty of Transport and Communications in Sarajevo where he also gained the title of Master of Technical Sciense. Currently working on his PhD. He joined the BH Telecom in 2005. Has held the positions of Executive Director for Business Development and Executive Director for Information Technology. In december 2018 he was appointed General Manager of BH Telecom.

Amir Softić is CEO, CRO and CFO at Sparkasse Bank Bosnia and Herzegovina with more than 20 years of experience in the banking sector, primarily in the risk management area. During his career he was in charge for implementation of comprehensive risk remediation program and new banking regulations. Parallel to his ordinary job, for more than four years, Amir was a Chairman of the Professional Association of Risk Managers in B&H and a guest lector in the Banking Academy of School of Economics and Business, University of Sarajevo. He received his PhD in 2021. from the Faculty of Economics in Sarajevo with the thesis on EU regulatory banking system and business cycle in BiH.

Mr. Jasmin Mahmuzić, Director of the Banking Agency of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBA) Jasmin Mahmuzic is currently Director of the regulatory and supervisory authority in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. His prior experience comes from banking industry and management for many years. Significant part of his career was devoted to international organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including OHR and OSCE, as well as many socially engaged projects. Currently, Mr. Mahmuzic is completing his PhD thesis on banking supervision at the Faculty of Economics, University of Sarajevo. Prior education includes an MBA degree in Business Administration and International Business at University of Delaware and University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo Graduate School of Business. Also, Mr. Mahmuzic is the author of several scientific and professional papers, lecturer, active participant and panelist of the round tables and conferences.

Peter Tabak is Economic Adviser to the EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Before taking up his present role, he was Associate Director and Lead Regional Economist for the Western Balkans at EBRD. Previously, he worked on financial market development within the EBRD’s Local Currency and Capital Markets Initiative. Earlier, he was Head of Financial Stability at the National Bank of Hungary, being responsible for macroprudential regulation and analysis of the Hungarian financial system, including stress testing of banks. He also worked in senior economic policy roles at the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Finance in Hungary. A Hungarian national, Peter Tabak graduated from the Budapest University of Economic Sciences in Finance and Economic Theory. He also holds an MBA from INSEAD, France.

Andras Lakatos is a trade economist and a former trade diplomat. He was for over 5 years Hungary’s Uruguay Round negotiator for a number of policy areas including for services, agriculture, investment measures, and subsidies and trade remedies, and then he was the first Head of Hungary’s Permanent Mission to the WTO. He was also actively participating in Hungary’s EU pre-accession negotiations. For the last sixteen year he has held leading roles as Senior Adviser on trade policy, trade negotiations and international trade and investment law for Governments, businesses and Multilateral Donor funded projects in more than 20 countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. Among others, he advised the Vietnamese Government in the implementation of the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (ACIA), the Government of Vanuatu to prepare their WTO membership and design a post-WTO accession strategy, and recently led a team which prepared for the African Union Commission a Strategy and Roadmap to create a single African market for energy-efficient appliances and equipment. He is currently the Team Leader of the multi-year EU-funded “EU4TRADE” trade project to Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is on the WTO Indicative List of Governmental and Non-Governmental dispute settlement Panelists as an expert on trade in goods and trade in services. Andras graduated with a M.Sc in Economics with specialization in International Trade from Corvinus University, Budapest, Hungary. Languages: Native in Hungarian, Fluent in English and French.

Hanan Nanić is a journalist at Al Jazeera Balkans since 2018. She’s following and investigating global socio-political challenges, including those affecting the Western Balkans region. She has worked on more than 200 TV stories on global conflicts, migrations, elections, social movements, and economic turmoil. Her interest is in creating interviews with global and regional actors through the Current Affairs department on the Al Jazeera Balkans TV Network. Hanan Nanić has a master’s in international Relations from Utrecht University and a master’s in political science at University of Zagreb, through which she tackled global political processes, with a special focus on a geopolitical analysis of conflicts in the Middle East. In 2021 she conducted Q&A sessions on the AJB DOC Film Festival with international directors and producers.

Johanna Strömquist, Ambassador of Sweden to Bosnia and Herzegovina Johanna Strömquist joined the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1999 and has more than 20 years of experience in foreign and security policy, EU and UN policymaking, state-building, peacekeeping and conflict prevention. Sha has served at the EU, UN and Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, both at headquarters in Brussels, New York and Stockholm, as well as in the field in the Western Balkans and the Middle East. That includes Director for Southeastern Europe and EU Enlargement at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Head of Mission at the Swedish Consulate General in Jerusalem, Advisor to the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping at the UN Secretariat in NY, Special Advisor to the International Civilian Representative/EU Special Representative in Pristina and Serbia and Montenegro desk at the EU Council Secretariat in Brussels.

H. E. Margret Uebber (62) first enrolled in the Higher intermediate service at the Foreign Service Academy in Bonn, Germany. After completing the training, she was seconded to German Embassies Ottawa, Budapest, Damascus and Bangkok, after which she entered the Higher Service at the Foreign Service Academy in Bonn. From 1994 to 1997 she was active at the Federal Foreign Office before she became the Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in Skopje where she later on worked in the Office of the Director of the High Representative to the EU. The next three years she spent at the Permanent Mission to the OSCE in Vienna, before returning to the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. She then was assigned to the German Embassy in Beijing before becoming the Head of Division at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. In 2016, she was named the German Ambassador in Ashgabat. She took office as Ambassador to BIH in July 2019.

Ahmet Egrlić, born on October 27, 1971, resides in Ključ, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He holds a Master's degree from the Faculty of Economics, University of Banja Luka. During his successful career, he held managerial positions in several different institutions, including the Ministry of Veterans and War Invalids in the Government of Una-Sana Canton, and the Public Company "UKUS" and the Public Utility Company "RAD" Ključ. In the term of office 2014-2018 g. Egrlić was a member of the Una-Sana Canton Assembly. In June 2013, Mr. Egrlić was elected President of the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in the elections held in June 2018, he was re-elected President for the term 2018-2022. Since 2017, he has been a member of the Management Board of the Western Balkans Chamber of Investment Forum, and has been a member of the Management Board of the Eurochamber for two terms. Performing the above functions, Mr. Egrlic has gained enviable experience when it comes to improving regional cooperation and economic opportunities, and has made a significant contribution to strengthening the image of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is married and the father of four children.

Sanja Ribar is a Senior Manager in Consulting Department with more than 9 years of experience. Sanja leads a team of more than 15 professionals focused on supporting clients in business transformation, digital agility and resilience in the new business environment. She is specialized in business transformation and performance improvement projects in various areas: procurement, finance, internal management reporting and management. Sanja leads projects to optimize operational models and improve processes as well as redesign business processes for small and medium-sized enterprises. She collaborates with leaders in procurement, finance and accounting departments. Sanja is a prominent expert in the Telecommunications industry, and has led projects of economic modeling, cost modelling, scenario analysis and regulatory reporting. During her career, Sanja cooperated with large corporates and small and medium enterprises from various industries (manufacturing, pharma), as well as international financial institutions (EBRD, UNDP).

Nedžad Gušić is a member of the Management Board of Bosna Bank International in charge of Corporate Banking. He has been working in the banking sector since 2007, in international institutions where he served as Head of Segments for Investments and Financial Management, Director of the Directorate for Development and Coordination in the Corporate Sector, and Head of the Segment for Medium Enterprises. He earned his B.A. degree in the United States, North Carolina- Catawba College, School of Economics with a specialization in business development. He earned a Master of Management and MBA degree from UNSA in collaboration with Griffith College, Ireland and Nottingham University, England in the field of international business management. In the previous period, he was engaged in the supervision of investment funds, and as a guest lecturer at universities in the field of banking and a permanent lecturer within the BBI Academy. In the selection of the professional magazine "International Business Magazine" based in Dubai, whose expert jury evaluated candidates and successful business strategies from around the world, Nedžad Gušić received the award for "Best Corporate and Investment Banker Bosnia and Herzegovina 2021". He has a professional focus in the field of company acquisitions and mergers, investment and transaction banking, talent management and human resources development, and leadership. He is fluent in three languages.