Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Due to the recent fall of Yugoslavia, the area and people that this country once held soon grew in to chaos. With no one controlling the land rival ethnic and religious groups began frantically battling each other for their rights and claims to the land. The Bosniaks were on the side of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbs on Republika Srpska, and the Croats were with the Herzeg-Bosnia faction. In the end the country was split into to ruling factoins, the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska. Both of the entities onw about half of the country and have power in the way they govern their respective territories but still must submit to the authority of the national government. The government is then broken down in to even further factions of cantons and even further subdivisions of that called municipalities. The Parliamentary Assembly is the lawmaking body in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It consists of two houses: the House of Peoples and the House of Representatives. The House of Peoples has 15 delegates chosen by parliaments of the entities, two-thirds of which come from the Federation (5 Croat and 5 Bosniaks) and one-third from the Republika Srpska (5 Serbs). The House of Representatives is composed of 42 Members elected by the people under a form of proportional representation (PR), two-thirds elected from the Federation and one-third elected from the Republika Srpska.
Economy and Money
Bosnia and Herzegovina now face the inevitable problem of completely rebuilding its economy from the ground up due to the Bosnian War tearing the economy into pieces. This rebuild is especially challenging due to the former economic system that the country has to look to as an example. The unemployment is at a ridiculous percentage of 45% in the country due to the recent economic turmoil. Through these rough economic times the country has managed to decrease the inflation rate to a minuscule 1.9% and have a national debt of only $3 billion, the smallest of all of the former Yugoslav nations. The currency is the Convertible Mark that is depicted on the left. One mark is divided into 100 fenning, coins range in values from 10, 20, and 50 fenniga and 1, 2, and 5 maraka. Banknotes range fro 50 finniga to one mark, 5 maraka, 10 maraka, 20 maraka, 50 maraka, 100 maraka, and 200 maraka.
Education
Primary schooling lasts for nine years. Secondary education is provided by general and technical secondary schools, typically Gymnasiums, where studies usuakky last for four years. All forms of secondary schooling include an element of vocational training. Students graduating from general secondary schools obtain the Matura and can enroll in any tertiary educational institution or academy by passing a qualification examination prescribed by the governing body or institution. Students graduating technical subjects obtain a Diploma. Higher education has a long and rich tradition in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first bespoke higher-education institution was a school of Sufi philosophy established by Gazi Husrev-beg in 1531. Numerous other religious schools then followed. In 1887, under the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a Sharia law school began a five-year program. In the 1940s the University of Sarajevo became the city's first secular higher education institute. In the 1950s post-baccalaureate graduate degrees became available. Severely damaged during the war, it was recently rebuilt in partnership with more than 40 other universities that were also damaged. There are namy other institutions of higher education within the country, including: University "Džemal Bijedić" of Mostar, University of Banja Luka, University of Mostar, University of East Sarajevo, University of Tuzla, American University in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is held in high regard as one of the most prestigious creative arts academies in the region. There are also several private institutions in the country such as the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology International University of Sarajevo, the American University in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Sarajevo Graduate School of Business, the International Burch University, and many more.