Moderate Elected Prime Minister of Bosnian Serbs
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BIJELJINA, Bosnia-Herzegovina — The Bosnian Serb parliament elected a new government led by a pro-Western moderate today in a major defeat for hard-line nationalists who boycotted the vote.
A parliamentary majority backed Milorad Dodik, 47, leader of the Independent Social Democrats, as prime minister to head a government of “national unity.”
The new prime minister was nominated by Western-backed Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic, who has been waging a power struggle against hard-line opponents for months.
Dodik managed to secure 42 votes in the 83-seat parliament with support from Bosnian Muslim deputies.
He became the first politician in Bosnia to hold high office without links to one of the main nationalist parties that have dominated political life for the last seven years.
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