A moderate political earthquake struck the region when Christian Schmidt recently announced plans to resign as the international community’s High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina, pending the appointment of a successor. For journalists, experts, as well as the public, one key question was what had triggered the decision.

Beyond this, the announcement also reignited old debates on the future of the Office of the High Representative, OHR. In his opinion piece for Balkan Insight, Srecko Latal looks at what the news means for Bosnia, and for the future of the OHR.

Read more: As Schmidt Abandons Bosnia’s ‘Mission Impossible’ – What Now? (May 12, 2026)