Bosnia and Herzegovina

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I thank the noble and gallant Lord for his service and commend the work of his successor, Dame Karen Pierce, in this absolutely vital role. Yes, I can give him that commitment. My colleague—the MP Stephen Doughty, whom I am sure he knows well—leads on this, as he knows, in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Our commitment, as witnesses to the Dayton agreement, remains steadfast.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, with the resignation of Christian Schmidt as the high representative, who, as anyone who met him will know, was frustrated by Republika Srpska’s claims under Mr Dodik, and in paying tribute to the noble and gallant Lord, can I ask what efforts the UK Government are making to ensure we get the right candidate, with the resilience of the late Lord Ashdown—let us not forget his legacy—who put this at the heart of British representation in standing up for Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia and, indeed, Kosovo?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

It is absolutely vital that the successful candidate for this role has all the attributes possessed by Lord Ashdown—perhaps not all; they are very big shoes to fill. What matters most is that we find the candidate who has the ability to bring people together and secure the commitments that were made at Dayton, for as long as we need to do that.