STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOLDS INAUGURAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 SARAJEVO 000063

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

EUR FOR DICARLO, EUR/SCE FOR HOH, FOOKS AND STINCHCOMB, NSC
FOR BRAUN, OSD FOR FLORY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/10/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV BK
SUBJECT: STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOLDS INAUGURAL
SESSION; PM-DESIGNATE CONFIRMED


Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Judith B. Cefkin, reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The State House of Representatives (HoR)
held its inaugural session January 11. The session focused
mainly on procedural matters, including the selection of the
House leadership, creation of a committee to select cabinet
ministers, and confirmation of the Prime Ministerial
candidate, Nikola Spiric. The HoR elected Beriz Belkic of
the Bosniak Party for BiH (SBiH),Niko Lozancic of the
Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ-BiH) and Milorad Zivkovic of
the Serb Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) as
its new co-speakers. Prior to the vote on his confirmation,
PM-designate Spiric delivered a long, broad ranging and
ambitious speech detailing his workplan for the new
government. Details of Spiric's program and the likely
lineup of government ministers will be reported septel. END
SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) The atmosphere at the inaugural session of the State
House of Representatives January 11 was festive, something of
a surprise considering the drawn-out and often contentious
negotiations over forming a government. Aside from some
procedural sour grapes from parties not included in the
governing coalition, the session ran smoothly and the tone of
the speeches was conciliatory and cordial. The first order
of business was the election of the House's new leadership.
It came as no surprise that Beriz Belkic of SBiH, Niko
Lozancic of HDZ-BiH and Milorad Zivkovic of SNSD were elected
handily, each garnering more than two-thirds of the vote.
All three men were officially nominated by female delegates
from their respective parties -- quite a novelty in a
profession that remains dominated by men. The House then
chose members for a committee to select cabinet ministers and
adjourned so the newly-formed committee could meet and
discuss its workplan.


3. (SBU) Following the recess, Prime Minister-designate
Nikola Spiric of SNSD delivered a 40-minute speech detailing
an ambitious plan for the work of the new government, with
separate sections devoted to each State-level ministry and
preparations for NATO and EU integration. Details of his
program will be reported septel. The speech was inclusive in
tone, and Spiric said he hoped to see optimism, enthusiasm
and a willingness to compromise in all the members of the
parliament, and promised to work tirelessly for the good of
all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The speech was
reasonably well received, but many delegates looked unsure
whether it was appropriate to applaud when Spiric had
finished speaking. The result was an awkward pause, followed
by a smattering of applause. After a period for comments by
other delegates, the House confirmed Spiric by a vote of 29
for, six against and three abstentions (three of the 42
delegates were not present, and Spiric did not cast a vote).
Opposing Spriric's election were the five delegates from the
opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the single
delegate from the Bosnian Patriotic Party (BPS). The three
Serb Democratic Party (SDS) delegates abstained.


BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ON PM NIKOLA SPIRIC (SNSD)
-------------- --------------


4. (SBU) Confirmed as the new Chairman of the BiH Council of
Ministers (Prime Minister) January 11, Nikola Spiric
(NEE-ko-la SHPEER-ich) leads an unwieldly coalition of seven
political parties. Previously, Spiric was the Serb member of
the rotating, tri-partite leadership of the State House of
Representatives from 2003-06. Born on September 4, 1956 in
Drvar, Spiric is an economist by profession, having completed
his undergraduate, masters and doctoral degrees at the
University of Sarajevo, with a specialization in monetary
policy and public finance. Spiric is a valued Embassy
interlocutor, providing support at crucial junctures for laws
and initiatives of importance to the U.S., including the
state law on internal debt and constitutional reform.


5. (SBU) Spiric, who has changed party affiliation on
several occasions, entered politics in 1996. He started his
career as a right-wing extremist, co-founding the Serb
Radical Party of BiH (SRS-BiH),followed by a brief stint as
a member of Radovan Karadzic's Serb Democratic Party (SDS).
In 1998, Spiric founded his own, new party -- the Party for
Krajina and Banja Luka. Using nationalist rhetoric as a

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campaign theme, Spiric was elected to the State House of
Representatives in 1998. His inflammatory nationalistic
speeches in parliament and opposition to reforms alienated
the international community, and the Embassy avoided all
contact with him. However, on the eve of the 2000 elections,
Spiric seemed to experience a transformation. He joined the
moderate Party of Democratic Progress (PDP),led by former
Foreign Minister Mladen Ivanic. He served from 2000-02 as
co-speaker of the State House of Peoples, the parliamentary
upper-chamber, where he helped pass many important laws,
including a contentious election law. In 2002 Spiric
switched parties again, joining SNSD. Spiric is personable
and easy-going. He is married with two children. His wife
is a Bosniak, a fact he does not reveal readily, for fear his
political opponents might use it against him. Spiric does not
speak English.


BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ON NEW HOUSE LEADERSHIP
-------------- --

BERIZ BELKIC, SBiH
--------------


6. (C) Beriz Belkic (BEAR-iz BELL-kich),of President Haris
Silajdzic's SBiH has worked his entire adult life in
government, and climbed the ladder from the municipal level
to serving as the Bosniak member of the Tri-Presidency from
2001 until the 2002 elections, completing the late Alija
Izetbegovic's term following the latter's resignation due to
illness. Belkic is a Vice President of SBiH, but is not a
confidant of Silajdzic. Although he sometimes disagrees with
Silajdzic, generally holding more centrist views, Belkic is
loath to directly challenge him. After winning his first
election to the HoR in 2000, Belkic confided to the Embassy
his desire to become president of SBiH and turn it into a
more centrist party. When Silajdzic temporarily stepped down
as party president, Belkic made a play for the leadership
position, but Silajdzic instead chose the morose and
unpopular Safet Halilovic to keep the presidential seat warm
until his return to politics.


7. (C) In addition to his party position, Belkic also is
chairman of the Srebrenica Executive Board, which coordinates
all activities related to the Srebrenica Cemetery and
Memorial in Potocari. Prior to his election to the HoR,
Belkic was prime minister of Sarajevo Canton from 1998-2000.
Among his achievements during that time was reaching out to
his colleague from Serb-controlled Eastern Sarajevo and
encouraging him to join the EU-funded program for the
development of the "Sarajevo Economic Region," boosting
inter-entity cooperation. From 1996-1998 Belkic was the
Sarajevo Canton minister of housing affairs, a particularly
difficult position, considering the large number of
illegally-occupied housing units in the canton at that time.
Under his leadership, the ministry ensured the successful
implementation of the post-war property restitution laws.
Belkic is keen to improve SBiH's relationship with the U.S.,
often privately expressing frustration with the nationalist
elements of his party. Despite this, however, Belkic's
generally quiet nature and poor health (he suffers from a
heart condition) are likely to prevent him from taking
positions contrary to those of Silajdzic and his circle.
Belkic does not speak English.

NIKO LOZANCIC, HDZ-BiH
--------------


8. (C) With his election to the HoR in October 2006, Niko
Lozancic (NEE-ko LOW-zahn-chich) began his second,
non-consecutive mandate as a State legislator. From
2003-2006 Lozancic was President of the Federation of BiH,
one of the two entities that make up the state of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Lozancic was born in 1957 in Kakanj, central
Bosnia. A lawyer by profession, he served previously as a
municipal councilor and Zenica-Doboj cantonal delegate. He
chaired the Federation House of Peoples from 1999-2000 and
was named vice president of HDZ in 2003. He served briefly
as party president when Croat member of the BiH
Tri-Presidency Ante Jelavic was removed by the High
Representative in March 2001. Lozancic was among the key
figures of the Croat self-rule (third entity) movement
following the 2000 general elections.


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9. (SBU) Lozancic does not come from HDZ's traditional
powerbase. He lived and worked in Kakanj, as some
journalists belittlingly observed, as a street cop. His
wartime activities are unclear, but he resurfaced in 1996 as
HDZ's number one man in Kakanj. Prior to the war, Kakanj had
a sizeable Croat population. After hostilities commenced
between Croats and Bosniaks in late 1992, Croats were
"encouraged" to leave the area. Elected to the Kakanj
municipal council in 1996, Lozancic made frequent public
statements decrying obstructionist Bosniak authorities who
prevented the return of Croat-owned properties and
discriminated against Croats with regard to employment and
distribution of humanitarian aid. His party, however,
pursued a different course, namely the resettlement of Croats
from Central Bosnia to the areas late Croatian President
Franjo Tudjman envisioned as part of a future Croat-majority
entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1998, Lozancic,
recently elected to the Zenica-Doboj Cantonal Assembly,
caught the eye of his party superiors, which led to his
selection as speaker of the Federation House of Peoples in

1999. After the 2000 elections that spawned the "third
entity" movement, Lozancic was chosen as speaker of the
(illegal) Croat Self-Rule Assembly, further confirming his
Croat nationalist bona fides. After becoming Federation
President in 2003, Lozancic vowed to be the president of all
people in the Federation, but he soon slipped back into the
familiar role of party spokesman and representative of Croat
interests.


10. (C) Lozancic often is critical of the role of the
international community in Bosnia. He repeatedly has
expressed contempt for reforms conducted under the aegis of
the Office of the High Representative (OHR). Lozancic also
has been very vocal in his criticism of the Republika
Srpska's lack of progress on reversing the wartime ethnic
cleansing in the entity. In contacts with the Embassy,
Lozancic has shown himself to be rather unpredictable. He
can be very unpleasant, answering questions with questions.
His stubbornness and refusal to change course even when it is
clear he should do so shows a lack of pragmatism. However,
when he commits to do something, he delivers. Lozancic is
loyal to his party and its president. He also is ambitious.
That combination of attributes could pay dividends if HDZ
BiH's President Dragan Covic's conviction on charges of abuse
of office are upheld and he is forced to step down as party
president. Lozancic walks with a pronounced limp, having
lost his left leg below the knee in an unknown incident many
years ago. He does not speak English.

MILORAD ZIVKOVIC, SNSD
--------------


11. (SBU) Milorad Zivkovic (MEE-low-rad ZHEEV-ko-vich)
served as a delegate in the Republika Srpska National
Assembly (RSNA),as RS coordinator for reproductive health,
as first deputy to the Head of the Commission for Foreign
Affairs, and as President of the Group for Population and
Development in Bosnia. He also served two terms in the BiH
HoR, and was head of the SNSD caucus from 2002-04. During
this period, he proved himself to be a reasonable,
constructive and moderate politician who helped pass high
priority legislation aimed at reforming the intelligence
services, the economy and creating a unified defense
structure. The Embassy has enjoyed a cooperative and
productive relationship with Zivkovic over the years. He is
not known as a party "soldier" with unquestioning loyalty to
party president and RS PM Milorad Dodik. He is an outspoken
critic of the nationalist Serb Democratic Party (SDS) and
criticized Dodik's decision to allow SNSD municipal officials
to work cooperatively with the SDS in some areas during
Dodik's first mandate as RS PM from 1998-2000.


12. (SBU) As president of SNSD's Municipal Board, Zivkovic
repeatedly sought an independent audit of the Doboj
municipality government, alleging widespread corruption
within the SDS-led municipality. His efforts were
unsuccessful, however, as there was insufficient political
will to force the audit. Zivkovic was born on May 2, 1963 in
Mrkonkjic Grad (southwest of Banja Luka). A physician by
profession, specializing in obstetrics and gynecology,
Zivkovic is chief of the high risk pregnancy unit of St.
Luke's Hospital (Sveti Apostol Luka) in Doboj. He lives in
Doboj with his wife, Slobodanka, an anesthesiologist, and his
two children, son Nemanja and daughter Teodora. Zivkovic

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understands some English, but does not speak it fluently.
CEFKIN