The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It was fought between the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which controlled Kosovo before the war, and the Kosovo Albanian separatist militia known as the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). The conflict ended when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) intervened by beginning air strikes in March 1999 which resulted in Yugoslav forces withdrawing from Kosovo.
Ibrahim Rugova was a Kosovo-Albanian politician, scholar, and writer, who served as the President of the partially recognised Republic of Kosova, serving from 1992 to 2000 and as President of Kosovo from 2002 until his death in 2006. He oversaw a popular struggle for independence, advocating a peaceful resistance to Yugoslav rule and lobbying for U.S. and European support, especially during the Kosovo War.
The politics of Kosovo takes place in a framework of a multi-party parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the President (Presidenti) is the head of state and the Prime Minister (Kryeministri) the head of government. Parliamentary elections are held every four years, the most recent in 2021.
The Armed Forces of the Republic of Kosova was a military of Republic of Kosova, paramilitary organization and military wing of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), the main right-wing party in Kosovo established by Ibrahim Rugova and Bujar Bukoshi. It was active during the Kosovo War from August 1998 until the war's end in June 1999.
The Republic of Kosova, also known as the First Republic of Kosovo, was a self-declared proto-state in Southeast Europe established in 1991. During its peak, it tried to establish its own parallel political institutions in opposition to the institutions of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija held by Yugoslavia's Republic of Serbia.
Fatmir Sejdiu is a Kosovo Albanian politician. He was the leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and was the 1st President of Republic of Kosovo.
Albin Kurti is a Kosovar Albanian politician who has been serving as Prime Minister of Kosovo since 2021, having previously held the office from February to June 2020. He came to prominence in 1997 as the vice-president of the University of Pristina student union, and a main organizer of non-violent student demonstrations of 1997 and 1998. Kurti then worked in Adem Demaçi's office when the latter became the political representative of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). Kurti has been a member of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo since 2010 in three consecutive legislatures.
The flag of the Republic of Kosovo was adopted by the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo immediately following the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo on 17 February 2008. The flag design emerged from an international competition, organized by an informal group from the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government known as the Kosovo Unity Team, which attracted almost one thousand entries. The winning design was proposed by Muhamer Ibrahimi. It shows six white stars in an arc above a golden map of Kosovo, all on a blue field. The stars symbolize Kosovo's six major ethnic groups: Albanians, Serbs, Bosniaks, Turks, Romani, and Gorani.
Hajredin Kuçi is a Kosovar Albanian politician, who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo from 2008 to 2017 and as Minister of Justice from 2011 to 2016.
Foreign relations of Kosovo are accomplished by efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo. Kosovo operates 33 embassies abroad and is host to 22 embassies in Pristina. Kosovo has membership in several international organisations.
Azem Bejta, commonly known as Azem Galica, was an Albanian nationalist, resistance fighter and rebel who fought for the unification of Kosovo with Albania. He is known for leading the Kachak Movement against the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
Croatia–Kosovo relations refer to the bilateral relations of Croatia and Kosovo. Diplomatic relations among two countries were established on 30 June 2008, following Kosovo's declaration of independence. Croatia has an embassy in Pristina, and Kosovo has one in Zagreb. Both countries were part of Yugoslavia from 1918 to 1991. Relations between the two countries are described as very good and friendly.
Tahir Zemaj was a Kosovar military leader. He was reowned Major in the Yugoslav People's Army, Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kosova (FARK) and General of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the Kosovo War (1998–1999), who was killed under suspicious circumstances as part of a killing series in the early 2000s.
Isa Mustafa is a retired Kosovar politician. Mustafa was the mayor of Pristina from December 2007 to December 2013 and served as the prime minister of Kosovo between December 2014 and September 2017. He was the leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) between 2010 and 2021.
The partition of Kosovo has been suggested as a solution to the Kosovo question between Serbia and Kosovo. A possible partition would be the division of Kosovo along ethnic lines, such as separating Serb majority North Kosovo, and possibly some enclaves in the south, from the rest of Albanian-dominated Kosovo. A partition was proposed several times, even before the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence, although the question has most recently been raised after the 2011–2013 North Kosovo crisis.
An independence referendum was held in Kosovo, then known as the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo between 26 and 30 September 1991. The Provincial Assembly, which had been dissolved in 1989 by Serbian authorities but whose Albanian members continued to meet underground, declared the Republic of Kosova a sovereign and independent state on 22 September 1991. Over 99% of voters voted in favour of independence, with a turnout of 87%. The referendum was boycotted by Serbs living in the region, who comprised around 10% of the population.
Goran Rakić is a Serbian politician serving as a member of the National Assembly since 6 February 2024.
Hajzer Hajzeraj was a politician and military leader in Kosovo. He is recognized as having been the first minister of defence in the breakaway Republic of Kosova, serving from 1991 to 1993.
Astrit Haraqija, whose last name is sometimes spelled as Haraqia, is a politician in Kosovo. He was the minister of culture, youth, and sports in the Kosovo government from 2004 to 2008, serving as a member of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK).
