Niko Lozancic
President, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
(Official website, various sources) |
Niko Lozancic became president of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 27 January 2003. He was nominated by the Federation's Parliament after the October 2002 general elections.
As the Croat head of the Federation presidency, Lozancic serves with two vice presidents, Bosniak Sahbaz Dzihanovic and Serb Desnica Radivojevic. They will serve four-year terms, replacing former Federation President Safet Halilovic and Vice President Karlo Filipovic.
Lozancic was born in 1957 in Kakanj. Educated as a lawyer, he has been a municipal councelor and later a member of the House of Peoples. He also served in the state-level House of Representatives.
He is a member of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), and has held the post of party vice president for the past two years. He briefly led the party when HDZ head Ante Jelavic was removed as the Croat member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina presidency in March 2001.