Will there be no next High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2026?

**Ongoing diplomatic deadlock over the succession to Christian Schmidt, who resigned in May 2026 with his term ending July 1, has left the position filled only by acting High Representative Louis J. Crishock.** The Peace Implementation Council Steering Board has held multiple meetings without consensus on a permanent successor, including a July 14 session that failed to advance frontrunners such as Peter Sørensen, Antonio Zanardi Landi, or René Troccaz. Divisions between the United States—pushing one set of candidates—and several European PIC members have blocked agreement, with traders pricing in a substantial chance that no new appointment occurs before year-end amid broader questions about the Office of the High Representative’s future role. This stalemate, combined with the approaching October 2026 Bosnian elections and unresolved tensions over the Dayton framework, underpins the elevated probability assigned to no High Representative serving in 2026 and the correspondingly modest odds on any named individual.

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