The EU made the decision back in 1997 at the proposal of the then High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Carlos Westerndorp, Mareovic said.
Bozanic was appointed to the high diplomatic post on Wednesday after the Serb and Croat members of the state presidency, Borislav Paravac and Dragan Covic respectively, voted for him. The Muslim member, Sulejman Tihic, was resolutely against his appointment, primarily because of Bozovic's war past and close relationship with UN war crimes tribunal indictee Karadzic.
Karadzic's minister of information was nominated to the post by Paravac.
The Croat member of the state presidency, Dragan Covic, said that he had supported Bozanic because he had already been appointed ambassador and performed duties as an ambassador until several days ago.
Before his last appointment, Bozanic was ambassador to South African Republic, and before that he was Bosnia's deputy foreign minister and an unsuccessful candidate for the ambassadorial post in Washington.
After a war career as a Bosnian Serb television editor, Bozanic spent a year and a half as information minister in the Bosnian Serb government, after which the then member of the state presidency, Momcilo Krajisnik, who is now standing trial in The Hague, nominated him deputy minister and ambassador.
The US government never responded to his nomination as ambassador to the USA.
The media in the Croat-Muslim entity on Thursday voiced great dissatisfaction with Bozanic's appointment, describing it as a first-class political scandal.