International Envoy for Bosnia to Step Down After Nearly Five Years

German diplomat Christian Schmidt is stepping down as the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina after nearly five years in the post. The office of the international envoy said on Monday that Schmidt has taken the personal decision to conclude his service.

He will stay on until a new envoy is chosen to replace him. Schmidt was tasked with overseeing the implementation of the peace agreement that ended the 1992-95 ethnic war in Bosnia, which killed more than 100,000 people. The envoy holds authority to change laws and remove officials seen as obstructing postwar reconciliation.

Schmidt has repeatedly clashed with the Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, the main politician in Republika Srpska. Authorities removed Dodik from the post of president last August and temporarily banned him from politics for disobeying Schmidt's decisions.

Dodik has pushed for the separation of Republika Srpska to join neighboring Serbia. Dodik's policies have raised concerns about renewed instability in Bosnia, where ethnic tensions remain high between Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks. He faced U.S. sanctions for his separatism that were recently lifted.

Dodik frequently travels to Russia and attended an annual military parade in Moscow on Saturday to commemorate the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Bosnia is a candidate country for European Union membership but has been slow to implement necessary reforms because of political and ethnic bickering among nationalist politicians. The international community continues to support the country's postwar reconciliation process through the office of the High Representative. Selection of a new envoy is expected to begin in the coming months.