Dunja Mijatović

Biography

Having studied in a variety of countries, Mijatović earned her B.Sc. at the University of Sarajevo in 1987, after which point she pursued a joint M.A. in European studies at the University of Sarajevo, University of Sussex, University of Bologna and London School of Economics. She completed her studies in 2002 with a Master’s thesis on The Internet and Freedom of Expression.

Throughout her career, Mijatović has been engaged in media issues across a multitude of disciplines, with substantial experience in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as intergovernmental settings. As early as 1998, as one of the founders of the BiH Communications Regulatory Agency, she helped create a legal, regulatory and policy framework for the media in a complex post-war society. She was also involved in setting up a self-regulatory press council and the first free media helpline in Southeast Europe.

In 2007 Mijatović was elected Chair of the European Platform of Regulatory Agencies. She was the first non-EU Member State representative and the first woman to hold this post. Previously, she chaired the Council of Europe's Group of Specialists on Freedom of Expression and Information in Times of Crisis. During her chairmanship, the CoE Committee of Ministers adopted the Declaration by the Committee of Ministers on the “Protection and promotion of investigative journalism” and “Guidelines on protecting freedom of expression and information in times of crisis.” As an expert on media and communications legislation, she has worked in a number of countries.

In addition, the Representative has served as a lecturer both in her home country and abroad. Among other teaching positions, since 2000 she has lectured on media regulation at the Universities of Sarajevo and Banja Luka, the Academy for Political Excellence (2007-2009) and since 2008 has been a permanent lecturer on Media, Security and Hate Crime, a joint OSCE and Ministry of Security project.

In 2010 Mijatović succeeded Miklós Haraszti as the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RfoM). She has aimed to fulfill her mandate as OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Pursuant to this decision, Mijatović holds the role of observing relevant media developments in OSCE participating States and, advocating and promoting full compliance with OSCE principles and commitments with respect to freedom of expression and free media and providing early warnings and rapid responses for resolution in cases of non-compliance. In March 2013 she was reappointed for a second three-year term as OSCE RFoM Representative.

Mijatović is a native speaker of Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, fluent in English and German and has working knowledge in French and Russian.