Milorad Dodik has dominated Bosnia's Serb-majority region since 2006, holding a range of offices including a seat in the fractured Balkan country's tripartite presidency.
But on Wednesday, he was convicted in a landmark trial of defying rulings made by an international envoy charged with overseeing the peace accords that ended Bosnia's civil war in 1990s.
Over the years, the 65-year-old has transformed himself into a fierce nationalist, forging deep ties with the likes of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In 2022, he was elected president of the Republika Srpska -- Bosnia's Serb statelet -- for the third time.
He has since pursued an unyielding separatist agenda that has seen him attempt to chip away Bosnia's institutions and increasingly target international peace envoy Christian Schmidt.
Bosnia has been governed by a dysfunctional administrative system created by the Dayton Agreement that ended the devastating 1990s conflict, but largely failed in providing a framework for the country's political development.
Under the agreement, Bosnia divided into a Muslim-Croat federation and Republika Srpska (RS). The two entities are connected by a weak central government.
- 'Future of Bosnia' -
Dodik signed legislation in 2023 that refuses to recognise decisions made by Bosnia's international high representative, who is charged with overseeing the 1995 peace accord, and the constitutional court.
Ahead of Wednesday's verdict, Dodik regularly dismissed the case against him as a "purely political process" and said he did not intend to recognise the court's ruling.
"Your verdict will determine the future of Bosnia," he warned the judge in Sarajevo as his trial wrapped up last week.
During his four years as Bosnia's tripartite presidency, Dodik made headlines with brazen secessionist moves, while avoiding spending time in the capital Sarajevo -- a place he referred to as a "foreign land".
He has regularly threatened to pull the Serb statelet out of Bosnia's central institutions, including its army, judiciary and tax system, which has led to sanctions from the United States.
- 'Breath of fresh air' -
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Dodik has taken numerous trips to Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin, whom he has hailed as a "great global leader".
Dodik's behaviour has renewed anxiety in Bosnia that his plans could undermine the Dayton peace accords.
Born in 1959, Dodik, who stands well over six feet (1.91 metres) tall, once dreamed of a career in basketball but found his calling in politics.
He owes much of his rise to Western countries, who supported someone they thought was a moderate social democrat in a conflict-scarred country.
In the late 1990s, Dodik was one of the few politicians whose reputation was largely unsullied by the civil war that saw nearly 100,000 killed.
He made a name for himself by challenging Radovan Karadzic, the leader of the Bosnian Serbs later convicted for war crimes for his role in the conflict.
At the time, Dodik called for Karadzic and Ratko Mladic -- the Serb military chief dubbed the "Butcher of Bosnia" -- to be tried at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
In 1998, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright described Dodik as a "breath of fresh air".
- Secession threats -
But after finding initial success, Dodik appeared to change his tone after getting battered at the polls in 2000.
And having embraced more nationalist rhetoric, he won again.
Six years later, he proposed a referendum for independence for the Republika Srpska. While that never materialised, it did add to his popularity.
Since then, he has maintained a tight grip on politics in Republika Srpska.
He has served multiple stints as prime minister and president -- as well as Bosnia's president.
The hardline rhetoric, along with frequent appearances at parties -- where he has been known to imbibe shots of brandy and belt out folk songs -- appears to have won him many fans among Bosnia's Serbs.
