Brčko District


Brčko District, officially the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is a self-governing administrative unit in north-eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Officially a condominium of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, it was formed in 1999 to reflect Brčko and the surrounding areas' multi-ethnic nature and special status within the newly independent Bosnia. In reality, it functions as a local self-government area, much like the other municipalities in the country.
The seat of the district is the city of Brčko.

History

The Brčko District was established after an arbitration process undertaken by the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the Dayton Peace Accords however, the process could only arbitrate the disputed portion of the Inter-Entity Boundary Line. The Brčko District was formed of the entire territory of the former Brčko municipality, of which 48% was in the new formed Republika Srpska, while 52% was in the old Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since the end of the Bosnian War, the European Union has maintained a diplomatic peace-keeping presence in the area.
Brčko was the only element in the Dayton Peace Agreement which was not finalized. The arbitration agreement was finalized in March 1999 resulting in a "district" as mentioned above which was to be administrated by an American Principal Deputy High Representative who is also ex officio the Brčko International Supervisor.
In 2006, under the Supervisory Order, all "Entity legislation in Brčko District and the IEBL" was abolished. The ruling made by the Brčko Supervisor Susan Johnson abolishes all Entity Laws in the District, as well as abolishing the Entity Border Line. The ruling makes the Laws of the District and the Laws of the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina paramount within the District.
The first Brčko International Supervisor arrived in April 1997. Prior to that time, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe had a modest office headed by Randolph Hampton. During the interim time before the District of Brčko could be represented post arbitration agreement, local elections were held, and humanitarian relief was provided with cooperation from the United States Agency for International Development and ECHO. The District became known as a center for different state-building programs run by foreign governments, particularly the United States.
Following a Peace Implementation Council meeting on 23 May 2012, it was decided to suspend, not terminate, the mandate of the Brčko International Supervisor. The Brčko Arbitral Tribunal, together with the suspended Brčko Supervision, continues to exist.

Settlements

Ethnic groups

The ethnic composition of Brčko district:
Ethnic groupPopulation
1961		Population
1971		Population
1981		Population
1991		Population
2013
Bosniaks/Muslims16,48430,18132,43438,61735,381
Serbs17,89717,70916,70718,12828,884
Croats21,99424,92523,97522,25217,252
Yugoslavs5,9041,0868,3425,731-
Others6738701,3102,8991,999
Total62,95274,77182,76887,62783,516

;1961 census
;1971 census
;1981 census
;1991 census
;2013 census

Government and politics

There are 31 seats in the Assembly of the Brčko District. The seats are divided as follows as of 2016:

Notable people