Police in Bosnia’s Serb entity, Republika Srpska (RS), on Friday (April 4, 2025), expelled a senior official from Germany’s Foreign Ministry following her meeting with opposition groups in the region, Deutsche Welle (DW) reported.
German State Secretary for European Affairs Anna Lührmann said representatives of RS President Milorad Dodik threatened her and her delegation with “violence” in the entity’s administrative center, Banja Luka.
“Dodik has once again demonstrated his destructive behavior,” Lührmann wrote on social media. “His representatives threatened me and my delegation with violence.”
According to Bosnia’s national broadcaster, Lührmann was forced to cancel scheduled meetings and leave Banja Luka under police escort.
RS Declares Lührmann Persona Non Grata
Authorities in Republika Srpska declared Lührmann persona non grata, calling it a “reciprocal measure” in response to German sanctions.
“I expect the police to expel her from Republika Srpska quickly and permanently,” Dodik wrote in a post on social media.
Just a day earlier in Sarajevo, Lührmann and Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Raisinger had announced travel bans for Dodik and two of his closest associates, accusing him of undermining Bosnia’s constitutional order and threatening the security of the country and the wider region. (DW)
Dodik has defied the authority of the international High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, who is tasked with upholding the country’s post-war constitution. His actions have triggered a constitutional and political crisis that has drawn condemnation from the EU and United States, while receiving support from Russia and Serbia.
Berlin Responds: “RS Has No Authority to Expel Diplomats”
Germany’s Foreign Ministry responded by stating that Republika Srpska has no legal authority to declare a foreign diplomat persona non grata.
“Republika Srpska is not an independent state,” the ministry said in a statement.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has a population of around 3.5 million, has been divided into two autonomous regions since the end of its 1990s interethnic war: the Bosniak-Croat Federation and Republika Srpska. Each has its own government and parliament, while weak central institutions oversee joint matters at the state level.
Dodik has long campaigned to weaken the central government, frequently threatening secession of the Serb entity, raising tensions both domestically and internationally.
