SARAJEVO (AFP) -- German diplomat Christian Schwarz-Schilling takes over from Paddy Ashdown as Bosnia's top international envoy on Tuesday, vowing to be an adviser to the formerly war-torn country, rather than a ruler.

Schwarz-Schilling stressed he would adopt a policy of only using the far-reaching powers given to the international community's High Representative in Bosnia as a last resort.

"Bosnian citizens ... should leave the centuries-long tradition of expecting solutions to their problems to come from outsiders," the former German minister told journalists a day before taking over from Britain's Ashdown.

"I am not a governor of a protectorate here. I will use (the powers) as a last resort ... not to change political views," he added.

Under the Dayton peace agreement that ended Bosnia's 1992-1995 war, High Representatives enjoy sweeping powers that enable them to impose laws and remove obstructive officials at all levels of government.

Ashdown was criticized by some analysts for using this mandate to behave like a "colonial-style governor" of a "disguised protectorate".

However others praised his policy of aggressive interventionism for implementing crucial reforms in the past four years, as well as forcing the government of the Serb-run half of Bosnia to accept a more central administration.

Ashdown stepped in to federalize the separate customs and tax systems of the Serb side, Republika Srpska, and the other half, the Muslim-Croat Federation.

His robust style of leadership also helped to bring about the introduction of a value-added tax and important police reforms that enabled Bosnia to start talks on a stabilization and association agreement with the European Union in November last year.

The agreement is seen as the first step on the long road towards full membership in the 25-nation bloc.

Ashdown also pressured Bosnian authorities into agreeing to unite Croat, Muslim and Serb forces into a single army by the end of 2007, seen as a key condition for joining NATO's Partnership for Peace program, potentially a step towards NATO membership.

Schwarz-Schilling, while stressing that his priorities included having Bosnia sign the EU agreement by the end of the year and join the NATO scheme soon, said he hoped to achieve these goals by being a "good adviser, good supporter".

"I cannot push them in changing their fate. If they are not recognizing the pre-conditions for their good future I cannot change it," Schwarz-Schilling said. "Using the powers will be only in emergency cases because Bosnian politicians must have the opportunity to make mistakes," said Schwarz-Schilling, adding that otherwise Bosnia would not be a "sovereign state."

Schwarz-Schilling, 75, has served as mediator in Bosnia-Herzegovina for nearly a decade.

A Christian Democrat and German post and telecoms minister in 1982-1992, he fought against the expulsion of Bosnian refugees from Germany and backed aid agencies trying to protect women in the Balkan conflict.

He resigned from the government of then chancellor Helmut Kohl in 1992 in disgust at its failure to intervene in the unfolding drama in the then Yugoslavia.