BELGRADE — Former Bosnian Serb leader Biljana Plavsic died in Belgrade at age 96.

Plavsic served as president of Republika Srpska after the Bosnian war ended. During her tenure, she implemented the Dayton peace agreement. Before entering politics in 1990, she was a professor of natural sciences and dean of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Sarajevo.

She also served as a member of the collective Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from November 18, 1990, until April 1992. During the conflict, she served on the Bosnian Serb leadership council.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia indicted Plavsic in 2000 on charges of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. She voluntarily surrendered to face justice in 2001. Charges other than persecution were withdrawn against her.

Plavsic pleaded guilty at the tribunal to persecution as a crime against humanity for her role in atrocities during the 1992-95 Bosnian war. She was the first and only woman to be indicted and convicted of war crimes by the tribunal.

The Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia sentenced Plavsic to 11 years' imprisonment on Feb. 27, 2003, for her role in the persecution of Bosnian Muslims, Bosnian Croats, and other non-Serb populations. The court found she planned, instigated, ordered, and aided and abetted persecutions of Bosniaks, Croats, and other non-Serbs during the war.

The tribunal accepted that Plavsic's voluntary surrender and cooperation were mitigating factors in her sentencing. "should promote reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region as a whole," U.N. court said.

In its judgment, the U.N. court stated: "Mrs. Plavsic disregarded reports of widespread ethnic cleansing and publicly rationalized and justified it." The court further noted: "She was aware that the key leaders of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ignored these crimes despite the power to prevent and punish them." Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright stated at a sentencing hearing: "She stood up for that at times when it was very difficult, when there were those who wanted to destroy the Dayton Accords."

Milorad Dodik expressed condolences at the news of Plavsic’s death, saying she was his close associate and deserved full state honors. Dodik stated: "Unfortunately, she was unjustly held accountable before the Hague tribunal." He added: "But that was part of a trend in which anyone who held a position in Republika Srpska was held accountable, even if they had personally committed no crime." A Bosnian court barred Dodik from public office last year for his efforts to separate Republika Srpska from Bosnia. Dodik previously held the office of President of Republika Srpska from 2010 to 2018 and served again from 2022 until his removal from office in 2025.

Former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic died in detention weeks before Plavsic's death. Mladic was convicted of genocide and other crimes during the Bosnian war.

Why It Matters

Plavsic's death marks the passing of a central figure in the post-war political landscape of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As the first and only woman indicted and convicted of war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, her case established legal precedents regarding gender and command responsibility in international criminal law. Her guilty plea and subsequent sentencing reflected the tribunal's effort to balance accountability with regional reconciliation, a dynamic noted by contrasting assessments from the court and political allies.

The continued political influence of figures like Milorad Dodik, who facilitated Plavsic's return from prison and recently faced removal from office for separatist efforts, illustrates the enduring tensions within the Bosnian state structure. Republika Srpska remains a political-administrative entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Bosnian Serbs are one of the three constitutive nations. The proximity of Plavsic's death to that of Ratko Mladic marks the closing chapter for the generation of leaders directly implicated in the 1992-95 conflict.

Timeline

Plavsic served as a member of the collective Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from November 18, 1990, until April 1992, and later as President of the Council for Protection of the Constitutional Order of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Plavsic was indicted in 2000 by the U.N. tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on charges of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Plavsic voluntarily surrendered to face justice in 2001. The official record of this event states that Plavsic was sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment by the Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on 27 February 2003 for her role in the persecution of Bosnian Muslims, Bosnian Croats, and other non-Serb populations. Plavsic was transferred to Sweden to serve the remainder of her sentence on 26 June 2003, after being detained for 245 days in the United Nations Detention Unit. Plavsic was released in 2009 after serving two-thirds of her sentence. Plavsic was granted early release on 27 October 2009, after serving two-thirds of her 11-year sentence, under Swedish law. A Bosnian court barred Milorad Dodik from public office last year for his efforts to separate Republika Srpska from Bosnia.

What's New

The official record of this event states that Plavsic was sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment by the Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Feb. 27, 2003, for her role in the persecution of Bosnian Muslims, Bosnian Croats, and other non-Serb populations. In 2009, Milorad Dodik, then Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, arranged for a government jet to transport Plavsic from Sweden back to Belgrade after her early release from prison.

Plavsic was the first and only woman to be indicted and convicted of war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Plavsic was sentenced to 11 years in prison for her role in planning, instigating, ordering, and aiding and abetting persecutions of Bosniaks, Croats, and other non-Serbs during the Bosnian War. Plavsic is a Bosnian Serb politician (1930–2026). Plavsic served as a member of the collective Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from November 18, 1990, until April 1992. Plavsic was transferred to Sweden to serve the remainder of her sentence on June 26, 2003, after being detained for 245 days in the United Nations Detention Unit.