Thirty years since the Dayton Peace Agreement was initialled

The agreement established Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state composed of three constituent peoples and “Others”, divided into two entities - the Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina - both of which are signatories to all 12 annexes of the peace accord.

After three weeks of intensive negotiations, the Dayton Accords were initialled by then-presidents Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia, Alija Izetbegovic of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Franjo Tudjman of Croatia.

The initialling took place in the presence of U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher. The chief American mediators in the process were Richard Holbrooke and General Wesley Clark, whose diplomatic and military pressure helped bring the warring sides to an agreement.

The Dayton Peace Agreement was formally signed on 14 December 1995 at the Élysée Palace in Paris.

In Republika Srpska, 21 November - the date the agreement was initialled - is observed as a public holiday and non-working day.