Siniša Karan

Siniša Karan
Синиша Каран
10th President of Republika Srpska
Incumbent
Assumed office
17 February 2026
Prime MinisterSavo Minić
Vice PresidentDavor Pranjić
Ćamil Duraković
Preceded byAna Trišić-Babić (acting)
Ministerial offices
Minister of Scientific-Technological Development and Higher Education of Republika Srpska
In office
2 September 2025 – 18 January 2026
Prime MinisterSavo Minić
Preceded byŽeljko Budimir
Succeeded byDraga Mastilović
Minister of Interior of Republika Srpska
In office
21 December 2022 – 2 September 2025
Prime MinisterRadovan Višković
Preceded byDragan Lukač
Succeeded byŽeljko Budimir
Personal details
Born (1962-05-17) 17 May 1962
Grabovac, PR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia
PartyAlliance of Independent Social Democrats
Alma mater

Siniša Karan (Serbian Cyrillic: Синиша Каран; born 17 May 1962) is a Bosnian Serb politician serving as the 10th President of Republika Srpska since February 2026. He previously served as Minister of Scientific-Technological Development and Higher Education of Republika Srpska from 2025 to 2026. A member of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, he also served as Minister of Interior of Republika Srpska from 2022 to 2025.

Early life and education

Karan was born on 17 May 1962 in the village of Grabovac near Beli Manastir in FPR Yugoslavia, present-day Croatia.[1] His father is an ethnic Serb from the village of Rašćani in the present-day Municipality of Tomislavgrad, and mother, an ethnic Croat, from Kupres.[2] Karan finished elementary and high school in Kupres and earned a bachelor's degree in political science at the University of Sarajevo and a master's degree in law at the University of Banja Luka, where he also earned a PhD. He is a full professor at two private law faculties, at the Apeiron University of Banja Luka and the Independent University of Banja Luka.[3][4]

Career

From 1985 to 2008, Karan served as a policeman. He was a commander of the police station in Kupres, secretary of the Ministry of the Interior for Kupres and chief of the Criminal Department for the Sarajevo Centre. Following the Bosnian War, he was the chief of the Office for Crime Prevention at the Ministry of Interior of Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was also the chief of criminal investigations for the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) and the chief of its Financial Intelligence Department. From 2008, Karan served as advisor for security to the President of Republika Srpska and from 2009 to 2019, he was the President's general secretary. From January 2019, he was the general secretary of the Government of Republika Srpska.[3][4]

On 21 December 2022, Karan was appointed Minister of the Interior of Republika Srpska.[3] On 2 September 2025, he was appointed Minister of Scientific-Technological Development and Higher Education of Republika Srpska in the government of Savo Minić.[5] Karan served as minister until January 2026.[6]

2025–26 Republika Srpska presidential election

Main article: 2025–26 Republika Srpska presidential election

Following the premature removal of then-President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik from office by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in June 2025, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced in August that early presidential elections for a shortened, ten-month term, were to be held on 23 November 2025.[7] Initially refusing to take part in the election, Dodik and his party, the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) later confirmed their participation.[8] On 30 September, Dodik announced Karan as the SNSD's candidate for the election.[9]

In the election, Karan was initially elected president by a surprisingly small margin, obtaining 50.39% of the vote. The virtually unknown Serb Democratic Party candidate Branko Blanuša was second with 48.22%.[10] Following the election, the opposition accused the SNSD of voter fraud,[11] and called for a recount of all ballots cast in the cities of Doboj, Zvornik and Laktaši.[12] In December 2025, the Central Election Commission decided to annul the election results in 17 municipalities at 136 polling stations, with the elections being repeated at those locations on 8 February 2026.[13][14]

The repeated elections were also won by Karan, whose total vote share was 50.53%, compared to Blanuša's 48.09%.[15]

President of Republika Srpska (2026–present)

Karan was sworn in as president of Republika Srpska in the National Assembly on 17 February 2026, succeeding acting president Ana Trišić-Babić.[16]

References

  1. ^ "Ko je Siniša Karan, kandidat Dodikove stranke za predsednika Republike Srpske" [Who is Siniša Karan, the candidate of Dodik's party for the president of Republika Srpska]. Newsmax Balkans (in Serbian). Belgrade. 1 October 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  2. ^ "Tko je Dodikov nasljednik: Rođen u Hrvatskoj, porijeklom iz Duvna, žena mu je Hrvatica" [Tho is Dodik's successor: Born in Croatia, originally from Duvno, his wife is a Croat]. Relax Portal (in Croatian). Livno. 25 November 2025. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Čavrag, Saša (21 December 2022). "Pročitajte biografije budućih ministara u Vladi RS" [Read the biographies of future ministers in the government of Republika Srpska]. Nezavisne novine (in Serbian). Banja Luka. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Siniša Karan: Od sarajevskog studenta i policajca do Dodikovog čovjeka za pitanja secesije" [Siniša Karan: from Sarajevo student and a policeman to Dodik's man for the issue of secession]. Nezavisne novine (in Bosnian). Sarajevo. 21 January 2025. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
  5. ^ "Ko su novi ministri u Vladi Srpske - rotacije, nova lica i stara imena" [Who are the new ministers in the Government of Republika Srpska - rotations, new faces and old names]. RTRS (in Serbian). Banja Luka. 2 September 2025. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
  6. ^ V. K. (18 January 2026). "Savo Minić ponovo izabran za premijera RS-a, poznata sva imena ministara u entitetskoj vladi". Klix.ba (in Bosnian). Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  7. ^ "CEC has called early Elections for the President of Republika Srpska". Sarajevo Times. 28 August 2025. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  8. ^ Be., D. (28 September 2025). "Do kada će Dodik lagati ljude u oči, a oni mu vjerovati? Prije mjesec je tvrdio da SNSD neće ni izaći na izbore". Klix (in Bosnian). Sarajevo. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  9. ^ "Milorad Dodik potvrdio: "Kandidat SNSD-a za predsjednika RS-a će biti Siniša Karan"" [Milorad Dodik confirmed: "SNSD's candidate for the president of Republika Srpska will be Siniša Karan"]. Klix.ba (in Bosnian). Sarajevo. 30 September 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  10. ^ S.S. (15 December 2025). "Objavljeni utvrđeni rezultati izbora za predsjednika RS: Evo kolika je prednost Karana nad Blanušom" (in Bosnian). Dnevni avaz. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  11. ^ Mila Marinović (24 November 2025). ""Sada ste umesto jednog dobili dva Dodika": Kako je izgledala burna izborna drama u RS". nova.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  12. ^ "Opozicija o pobedi Dodikovog kandidata: Bilo je krađe i "uvoza" glasača SNS iz Srbije". danas.rs (in Serbian). 24 November 2025. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  13. ^ N1 Sarajevo (24 December 2025). "BiH's Central Election Commission: Repeat early elections for RS president in 17 municipalities at 136 polling stations". n1info.ba. Retrieved 25 December 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "Ponovljeni izbori u Republici Srpskoj 8. februara". nezavisne.com (in Bosnian). 31 December 2025. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  15. ^ A. Ku. (8 February 2026). "CIK objavio preliminarne rezultate izbora i potvrdio pobjedu SNSD-ovog Karana" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  16. ^ D. R. (17 February 2026). "Siniša Karan položio zakletvu i stupio na dužnost predsjednika Republike Srpske" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
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