Christian Schmidt is officially Germany's candidate for the position of international community's High Representative in Bosnia, Josip Juratovic, a member of the Bundestag confirmed for N1 Wednesday adding that the initiative of the German Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas had passed the procedure in the Government of Germany.

Juratovic told N1 that Schmidt is a quiet but practical and consistent person, adding that the two spoke Wednesday morning.

“We agreed to meet next week. We will discuss how to proceed. I am convinced that he'll consistently represent the democratic foundations in BiH and do his best for BiH to move towards the European Union,” Juratovic said for N1.
When asked what are the chances that Schmidt will be elected by the Steering Board of the Peace Initiative Coalition (PIK), and confirmed by the United Nations Security Council (UN), Juratovic said that it is German policy not to send people into uncertainty.

“There is a huge chance that he will be approved,” he said.

According to him, Schmidt knows the situation in the country and the Western Balkans quite well.

“He is someone who's been monitoring the situation in the Western Balkans since the 1990s. Not only does he know BiH, but also the region, and he is someone who will not enter his position without knowing the situation in the region well. The second question is what goals they will set. I believe he is not biased on either side but strictly adheres to the democratic foundations. We agreed that we will meet next week to harmonize opinions on how we will continue to perform strategically,” Juratovic stated.

Christian Schmidt is a politician of the Christian Social Union and a former Minister of Agriculture of Germany.

The High Representatives in BiH who are in charge of overseeing the civilian implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement which ended the 1992-1995 war, are elected by the Steering Board of the Peace Initiative Coalition (PIC) and confirmed by the United Nations Security Council (UN SC).

The members of the Steering Board are France, Italy, Japan, Canada, Germany, Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, the EU Presidency, the European Commission and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) represented by Turkey.

The incumbent High Representative in BiH is Austrian diplomat Valentin Inzko.