Nikola Špirić

Nikola Špirić Никола Шпирић
Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina
In office 11 January 2007 – 12 January 2012
President	Nebojša Radmanović Željko Komšić Haris Silajdžić Nebojša Radmanović Željko Komšić Haris Silajdžić Nebojša Radmanović Željko Komšić
Preceded by	Adnan Terzić
Succeeded by	Vjekoslav Bevanda
Personal details
Born	(1956-09-04) 4 September 1956 Drvar, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Political party	Alliance of Independent Social Democrats
Alma mater	University of Sarajevo

Nikola Špirić (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Шпирић, pronounced [nǐkola ʃpǐːrit͡ɕ]; born September 4, 1956 in Drvar, Bosnia and Herzegovina (then a part of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)) is a Bosnian Serb politician and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2007 until 2012.

He completed elementary education in Drvar, high school in Sarajevo, and his undergraduate and postgraduate education at the University of Sarajevo. He holds a Ph.D. in economics. His doctoral thesis was in monetary and public finance.

Špirić has been an economics professor at the University of Banja Luka since 1992. He held a number of governmental positions including a 4-year term as a representative at the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was Chairman of the House of Peoples in 2002-2003 and Chairman of the House of Representatives in 2003-2004 and 2005-2006.

On November 1, 2007, Špirić tendered his resignation in protest of parliamentary reforms imposed by High Representative Miroslav Lajčák. Špirić felt that the reforms would reduce the influence of Bosnia's Serb population. The resignation was deemed by some to be the country's most serious crisis since the end of the Bosnian War. After the crisis was resolved, he was renominated for the Chairman's post on 10 December 2007, confirmed by the presidency on 27 December 2007 and by parliament on 28 December 2007.