Cantons of Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
|
Cantons are provincial units used in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are called Kantoni in Bosnian (Kanton in the singular form) and županije in Croatian (županija in the singular form).
Bosnian cantons were created by the Bosniak-Croat Accords in 1994, and their boundaries were defined by the Dayton Accords in 1995. The previous provincial unit, the Općina, used in the former Yugoslavia, is now a sub-division of a canton.
Each canton has its own government, headed by a Premier. The Premier has his own cabinet, and is assisted in his duties by various regional ministries, agencies, and canton services.
In the Republika Srpska half of Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are no cantons and instead the municipalities are grouped into regions (see Regions of Republika Srpska). The ethnically diverse Brčko District is a division of its own under the direct jurisdiction of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Five of the cantons (Una-Sana, Tuzla, Zenica-Doboj, Bosnian Podrinje, and Sarajevo) are Bosniak cantons, three (Posavina, West Herzegovina, and West Bosnia) are Croat cantons, and two (Central Bosnia and Herzegovina-Neretva) are 'ethnically mixed', meaning there are special legislative procedures for protection of the constituent ethnic groups.
CantonsofBosnia.PNG
Map showing Cantons of Bosnia
Note: Since some cantons have a significant Croat population or majority, the de facto local names of some cantons are often in Croatian. For example, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton should technically be Hercegovačko-neretvanski Kanton, in both languages. However, following the Croatian county system, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton is commonly referred to as Hercegovačko-neretvanska Županija.