BiH Presidency grants agrément to Ronald Johnson as US Ambassador

By granting the agrément, Bosnia and Herzegovina has given its consent to Johnson's appointment as head of the US diplomatic mission in BiH, while his formal appointment depends on the completion of the confirmation procedure in the United States.

On June 1, the White House submitted Johnson’s nomination to the US Senate for the position of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to currently available information from the US Senate, his nomination, designated PN1022-16, is before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

At the end of July, the committee confirmed that Johnson meets the competency requirements set out in the US Foreign Service Act for serving as US ambassador to BiH. This, however, does not constitute final confirmation of his nomination.

As the procedure continues, the nomination will be considered by the Foreign Relations Committee, after which Senate confirmation is required for his appointment.

Once the Senate confirms the nomination, the formal appointment procedure in the United States will follow.

Johnson can then travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the diplomatic accreditation procedure will take place. Upon his arrival, a copy of his credentials will be submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH, after which he will present the original credentials to the Chair of the Presidency of BiH.

The presentation of the credentials formally marks the beginning of his tenure as US ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The agrément granted by the BiH Presidency today represents the receiving state’s consent to the appointment of a particular person as head of a diplomatic mission.

Ronald Johnson is a retired US Marine Corps brigadier general and a national security expert with decades of experience in military and international positions.