Atifete Jahjaga
| Atifete Jahjaga | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 4th President of Kosovo | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 7 April 2011 |
|
| Prime Minister | Hashim Thaçi |
| Preceded by | Jakup Krasniqi (Acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 April 1975 Đakovica, Yugoslavia (now Kosovo[a]) |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse(s) | Astrit Kuçi |
| Alma mater | University of Pristina University of Leicester George Marshall European Center for Security Studies Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
Atifete Jahjaga (Albanian pronunciation: [ätɪˈfeːtɛ jähˈjɑːɡä]; born 20 April 1975) is the fourth President of Kosovo[a]. She is the first female, the first non-partisan candidate, and the youngest to be elected to the office. She served as Deputy Director of the Kosovo Police,[1] holding the rank of Major general,[2] the highest among women in Southeastern Europe.[3]
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Early life and education[edit]
Jahjaga was born in Đakovica where she attended primary and secondary school. She graduated from the University of Pristina Faculty of Law in 2000. In 2006/07, she attended a graduate certificate program in police management and criminal law at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. She has also received extensive professional training at the George C. Marshall European Centre for Security Studies in Germany and the FBI National Academy in the United States.
Police career[edit]
After the Kosovo War, Jahjaga began working as an interpreter for the international police. Later on, she completed training to become an officer and gradually sought promotion to higher ranks, initially to major, then colonel, and finally general major. She was first deployed with the border police and then transferred to the training department.
Jahjaga held the position of deputy director of the Kosovo Police, and briefly filled in as acting general director in 2010. While serving as police officer, she drew the attention of American officers and diplomats who presented her before senior U.S. officials on special occasions. Her pictures with U.S. President George W. Bush during his visit to the FBI National Academy and with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her visit to Kosovo were among the few distributed through the internet before she was placed on the national spotlight as a presidential candidate.
President of Kosovo[edit]
On 6 April 2011, she was announced as a consensual candidate for president of Kosovo by the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Democratic League of Kosovo and New Kosovo Alliance,[4] and supported by the US Ambassador in Kosovo, Christopher Dell.[5][6] Although she enjoyed a reputation as a police commander, she came out of relative obscurity as a candidate for the high office of the state[clarification needed], with most of the public and political leaders unaware of her political leanings.
On 7 April, she was elected President on the first round of voting by the Parliament; of 100 MPs present, 80 voted for Jahjaga and 10 cast a ballot for Suzan Novoberdali.[7] To date, she is the only president to be elected on the first round of voting. Only Kosovo's 1st President Ibrahim Rugova has received more votes, being appointed by the Parliament by a 88-3 vote in 2002,[8] in the third round and winning by a landslide in direct presidential elections in 1992 and 1998.
In her inaugural address, Jahjaga stated that one of her main goals as President is to secure Kosovo's membership in the European Union and the United Nations. "The ideal of all Kosovo is membership in the EU and a permanent friendship with the United States. I believe and I am convinced our dreams will come true," she said in her first speech to the Parliament.[9]
Personal life[edit]
Atifete Jahjaga is married to Astrit Kuçi, a dentist, and has no children.[3] Media reports have stressed that neither she nor her husband own real estate and that they rent a modest apartment in Pristina.[10]
Notes[edit]
| a. | ^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. The latter declared independence on 17 February 2008, but Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. Kosovo's independence has been recognised by 101 out of 193 United Nations member states. |
References[edit]
- ^ Koha, "Në krye të Policisë së Kosovës, Atifete Jahjaga" Shqip TIME.mk 16 October 2010 (accessed 6 April 2011)
- ^ "Atifete Jahjaga zgjidhet presidente e Republikës" Telegrafi.com 7 April 2011 (accessed 6 April 2011)
- ^ a b "Kush do të na udhëheq" Telegrafi.com 7 April 2011 (accessed 7 April 2011)
- ^ "Marrëveshja për Kosovën, presidente Atifete Jahjaga" Telegrafi.com 6 April 2011 (accessed 6 April 2011)
- ^ RadioKosova, Live Broadcast of Press Conference, 6 April 2011
- ^ AFP, "Kosovo government, opposition reach deal to end impasse" Google News 6 April 2011 (accessed 6 April 2011)
- ^ "Atifete Jahjaga zgjidhet presidente e Kosovës" Koha 7 April 2011 (accessed 7 April 2011)
- ^ CNN, "Kosovo names key ministers" 4 March 2002 (accessed 10 April 2011)
- ^ Ismet Jashari, "Kosovo swears in top woman cop as president" AFP 7 April 2011 (accessed 7 April 2011)
- ^ KosPress "Atifete Jahjaga do të na udhëheqë" 7 April 2011 (accessed 11 April 2011)
External links[edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Atifete Jahjaga |
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jakup Krasniqi Acting |
President of Kosovo 2011–present |
Incumbent |
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