Dragan Mikerevic

Prime Minister, Republika Srpska

(Official Website, Various wire reports)

Dragan Mikerevic was elected prime minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) Bosnian-Serb entity on 17 January 2003, following general elections months earlier. A moderate politician, who once served as BiH's federal prime minister, Mikerevic replaced Mladen Ivanic, heading Republika Srpska's (RS) first multi-ethnic government.

Mikerevic was born on 12 February 1955 in Doboj. He holds Masters' and PhD degrees in economics, obtained in 1990 and 1996 from the Department of Economics in the northern Serbian town of Subotica.

In his professional career, Mikerevic has served in various posts of increasing responsibility at RS's Health Insurance Fund as well as economics professor at the University of Banja Luka, where he also headed different expert teams.

Mikerevic is a member of Mladen Ivanic's Party of Democratic Progress since 1999.

On 15 March 2002, he replaced Bosniak Zlatko Lagumdzija as head of BiH's central government, retaining the post of minister of European integration.

When he was elected prime minister, Mikerevic said his government would focus on European integration and social and economic reform and pledged to lower unemployment and attract more foreign investment.

Soon after stepping into office, Mikerevic called on Bosnian Serb war crimes indictee Radovan Karadzic and others fugitives to surrender to the UN tribunal at The Hague, as they were hurting the interests of Republika Srpska.

Mikerevic is married and has two children.