The Democratic Party of Kosovo is one of the largest political parties in Kosovo. It was originally a social-democratic party coming out of the demilitarised Kosovo Liberation Army after the Kosovo War,with most of the leadership coming from Albanian nationalists and former members of the People's Movement of Kosovo. However,during its congress in January 2013,it positioned itself as a centre-right party and is considered to be a conservative party. The Democratic Party of Kosovo since July 2021 is headed by Memli Krasniqi,the former Vice –President of the Assembly of Kosovo,Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Culture,Youth and Sports.
Hashim Thaçi is a Kosovar Albanian politician who was the president of Kosovo from April 2016 until his resignation on 5 November 2020 to face a war crimes tribunal. He was the first prime minister of Kosovo and the Foreign minister and deputy prime minister in the new cabinet led by Isa Mustafa,which assumed office on 12 December 2014.
Enver Hoxhaj is a Kosovar politician. He served as minister for foreign affairs of the Republic of Kosovo and a former leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo.
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.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender (LGBT) rights in Kosovo have improved in recent years,most notably with the adoption of the new Constitution,banning discrimination based on sexual orientation. Kosovo remains one of the few Muslim-majority countries where LGBT pride parades are held annually.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Kosovo,a polity in the Balkans.
Japan–Kosovo relations are foreign relations between Japan and Kosovo. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on February 17,2008,and Japan recognized it on March 18,2008. According to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs,Japan and Kosovo established diplomatic relations on February 25,2009.
Germany–Kosovo relations are foreign relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Kosovo. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008 and Germany recognized it on 20 February 2008. Germany has an embassy in Pristina since 27 February 2008. Kosovo has an embassy in Berlin and consulates in Frankfurt,Stuttgart,Munich,Düsseldorf and Leipzig. The two countries have very good and friendly relations.
Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008,a move which Serbia rejects. Serbia does not recognize Kosovo as an independent state and continues to claim it as the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. Initially there were no relations between the two;however,in the following years there has been increased dialogue and cooperation between the two sides.
The Cathedral of Saint Mother Teresa in Pristina is a Roman Catholic cathedral being constructed in Pristina,Kosovo. In 2007,the Government of Kosovo approved plans for the building. The cathedral is dedicated to the Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary,Saint Teresa of Calcutta.
Sylejman Selimi is the former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army,military organisation,who was convicted of war crimes for the torture and inhuman treatment of prisoners at the Likovac detention center during the Kosovo War. After the war,he served as Security Force of the Republic of Kosovo;he left this position in 2011 and became the ambassador to Albania.
Albanian comics,though not well known internationally,were produced mainly by comic-authors from Kosovo. Until recently there was no comic tradition in Albania where comics were seen as junk literature known as fumeti supposedly because pop art was prohibited by the dictatorial communist regime. Today there is one comic magazine published in Kosovo called Leon,and there is TafëKusuri comic-strip together with Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes published by Koha Ditore newspaper.
Parliamentary elections were held in Kosovo on 12 December 2010,following a vote of no-confidence in the government that brought forward the election. Those were the first elections after the country declared independence.
The First Agreement of Principles Governing the Normalisation of Relations,informally known as the Brussels Agreement,is an agreement to normalize relations between the governments of Serbia and Kosovo. The agreement,negotiated and concluded in Brussels under the auspices of the European Union,was signed on 19 April 2013. Negotiations were led by Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dačićand Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi,mediated by EU High Representative Catherine Ashton. The government of Serbia does not recognize Kosovo as a sovereign state,but began normalising relations with the government of Kosovo as a result of the agreement. In Belgrade,the agreement was criticized by protestors as a convalidation of Kosovo independence.
Adem Salihaj is a Kosovar Albanian politician who was a former deputy prime minister of Kosovo and was the acting prime minister of Kosovo from 8–25 March 2005. He represented the Democratic League of Kosovo.
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office is a court of Kosovo,located in The Hague (Netherlands),hosting four Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutors Office,which may perform their activities either at the KRSJI or in Kosovo. The court is currently set up for delegating the trials of the crimes committed by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA),an ethnic-Albanian paramilitary organisation which sought the separation of Kosovo from Yugoslavia during the 1990s and the eventual creation of a Greater Albania. The alleged crimes concern the period 1998–2000,during and at the end of the Kosovo war and directed afterwards against "ethnic minorities and political opponents". The court was formally established in 2016. It is separate from other Kosovar institutions,and independent. It is composed of a Specialist Prosecutor's Office and four Specialist Chambers,with themselves comprising Judges' Chambers and a Registry.
Kosovan-Qatari relations are foreign relations between Kosovo and Qatar. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008 and Qatar recognized it on 7 January 2011.
A land exchange has been proposed between Serbia and the partially recognized state of Kosovo to make their border run along ethnic lines. Initially rejected by the international community,the little progress made by the European Union-backed Belgrade–Pristina negotiations has brought the idea into greater consideration in the EU and also in the United States. The territorial exchange is generally discussed to involve a transfer of the Preševo Valley of Serbia with an ethnic Albanian majority to Kosovo and the pass of the majority ethnic Serb region of North Kosovo of Kosovo to Serbia. The cession of the Serbian municipality of Medvedja to Kosovo has also been proposed. This municipality,although with a considerable Albanian minority,is predominantly ethnic Serbian.
The British Embassy in Pristina is the United Kingdom's diplomatic mission to Kosovo. It is located at 177 Lidhja e Pejës,Pristina,Kosovo. The embassy also represents the British Overseas Territories in Kosovo.
