A day after Bosnia's Muslim, Serb and Croat leaders agreed to form a government, the country's leading political parties nominated an economist and former regional finance minister as Bosnia's prime minister.

"The candidate for the post of prime minister is Vjekoslav Bevanda," Damir Becirevic, a spokesman for the chairman of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, Zeljko Komsic, said on Thursday.

Bevanda was finance minister in the government of Bosnia's Muslim-Croat federation from 2006-2011, and stabilized the region's finances during the 2008-2009 economic crisis.

The decision on Wednesday to form a government ended a political deadlock dating back to inconclusive parliamentary elections in October 2010.

Nobody really got what he wanted, but it's good that this has come to an end," Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik told reporters.

Leaders of the six largest political parties said they had agreed to share power and pass a budget for 2011 after fears of a financial collapse escalated. Over the last 14 months Bosnia's credit rating has sunk and the lack of a budget threatened the functioning of the state.

Bosnian Croat leader Dragan Covic said "a lot of courage and determination were needed to broker this deal."

"The agreement shows the level of confidence we have established among us," Covic added. "We believe this is the path to follow to try to stabilize the economic and political situation in Bosnia."

The new government could be formed as early as next month.

EU application

The country's political leaders also agreed two pieces of legislation regarding the distribution of state aid and holding a census. The European Union had named the two laws as crucial to Bosnia's bid to join the bloc.

The six parties are yet to reveal who will get the ministerial posts. It is known, however, that the ethnic breakdown of government will remain the same, with four cabinet places reserved for Muslim Bosniaks, three for Serbs and three for Croats.

The agreement will now allow the EU and the International Monetary Fund to release hundreds of millions of dollars of funds to the country, which had been blocked until the deadlock was resolved.

The European Union and other Western ambassadors reportedly pressed the political leaders to reach a deal, partly over concerns that the threat of financial crisis would spark social unrest.

Author: Dagmar Breitenbach, Charlotte Chelsom-Pill (AFP, Reuters, AP)

Editor: Nicole Goebel