Aleksandar Vulin, former minister in the Government of Serbia and former head of the Serbian intelligence service, has become a new member of the Senate of Republika Srpska, by decision of the president of RS in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik. 

As the Srna agency announces, Vulin "based on the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and the Law on the Senate" has been appointed senator from December 1. This decision, according to the announcement, will be published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia. 

The decision on the appointment of Vulin has not yet been published in the Official Gazette nor on the website of the president of the Republic of Srpska. 

Vulin, who in the last decade held several positions as director of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia and minister of Defence and Internal Affairs, on November 3 resigned from the position of director of the Security and Information Agency (BIA). 

The Serbian politician, who heads the Socialist Movement party, has been on the US sanctions list since July, due to suspicions of corruption, involvement in drug trafficking and ties to Russia. 

After the sanctions against Vulin were announced, Dodik, who is also under US sanctions, supported him saying it was "a reward for his patriotism and persistence in maintaining friendly relations with Russia and the Russian people". 

In 2020, as Minister of Defence of Serbia, Vulin received the Order of the Republika Srpska flag with a golden crown in Banja Luka, for "his contribution to the development of general relations between Serbia and Republika Srpska". 

What are the powers of the RS Senate? 

The Senate of Republika Srpska is an advisory body established by the Constitution of the entity from 1992 and its work is regulated by the Law on the Senate from 1997. 

The President of the Republika Srpska chooses the senators, who can be at most 55 in number, their mandate lasts seven years and as members of the senate, "prominent figures of public, scientific and cultural life", as stated in the Constitution, are elected. 

Members of the 2017 Senate meeting include, among others, Director Emir Kusturica, Russian historian Jelena Guskova, Bishop of Düsseldorf and All Germany Grigorije Duric, former and current politicians, and businessmen from Republika Srpska.