Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu (born 17 May 1982) is a Kosovanjurist and politician who is the current president of Kosovo since 2021.[5][6] Osmani was born and raised in Titova Mitrovica, SFR Yugoslavia (present-day Kosovo) and studied law at the University of Pristina and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. She worked as an advisor to the president of Kosovo Fatmir Sejdiu before she was elected to the Assembly. Osmani held the position of Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo from February 2020 to March 2021, and also served as acting president between November 2020 and March 2021 after the resignation of President Hashim Thaçi. Upon her election as president, Osmani became the second woman to hold the position, as well as the first person to have served as both acting president and president of Kosovo. Osmani successfully ran on an anti-corruption platform and has expressed a desire to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia. Since taking office, Osmani has returned the flag of Dardania as the official symbol of the presidency.
Vjosa Osmani was born on 17 May 1982 in Titova Mitrovica, Kosovo, then a part of the Socialist Republic of Serbia, Yugoslavia to ethnic Albanian parents.[1][7] She grew up with four siblings, and completed her primary and secondary education in her hometown.[7][1] Osmani was a teenager during the Kosovo War, and she once stated that she "can still feel" the barrel of an M70 rifle that a soldier forced into her mouth after her home in Mitrovica had been raided.[7]
Osmani's political career began in her teens, as an activist for the centre-right Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK).[1] On 27 August 2009, she was elected chief of staff for then president Fatmir Sejdiu.[1] Osmani had also served as legal counsel and foreign policy advisor to the president.[10] She was a member of the Assembly of Kosovo for three terms, and once received the largest number of votes for a female politician in Kosovan parliamentary history.[10][1] Osmani contributed to the independence of Kosovo, as the president's representative for the Constitution Commission, the body that prepared the Kosovan constitution. She represented Kosovo in a case at the International Court of Justice, where she defended the legality of Kosovo's independence.[13]
As part of her parliamentary duties, Osmani served as the chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Diaspora and Strategic Investments and the Committee on European Integration. She also served as the vice-chair of the Committee on Constitutional Reforms in Kosovo.[10] In 2014, Osmani clashed with LDK leadership, including party leader Isa Mustafa, when she criticized the LDK for forming a coalition government with its long-time rival party, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), breaking a previously made pledge.[14][15] Osmani also boycotted the presidential election in 2016, in which PDK leader Hashim Thaçi was elected president as part of the coalition agreement.[14][16]
Osmani was viewed as a possible prime minister of Kosovo by the LDK in the 2019 snap parliamentary election.[13][17] While campaigning for the election, she said the Kosovan people were ready for a female prime minister, and that she could fight corruption and make free market reforms for Kosovo.[18][19] She lost the election to Albin Kurti, leader of the left-wing anti-establishment party Vetëvendosje, and had received 176,016 votes.[20]
On 20 June 2020, Osmani was removed from her position as her party's deputy leader, after LDK leader Mustafa called for her dismissal due to her public opposition of decisions made by the party.[15][21] Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti replaced her as LDK deputy leader.[15] Osmani later quit the LDK altogether on 7 September 2020, stating that the party had left her no choice, but adding that she would return if the party were reformed.[22][23]
In preparation for the 2021 Kosovan parliamentary election, Osmani announced the founding of her own political party, Guxo, on 2 January 2021.[25] She also aligned with Kurti's Vetëvendosje party. Running on an anti-corruption platform, both parties scored landslide victories, and Osmani personally received more than 300,000 votes.[24] The election also gave women a third of the 120-seat parliament and an unprecedented six positions out of fifteen in the cabinet.[24]
In contrast, the LDK, Osmani's former party, did very poorly in the elections, as predicted by LDK members who had publicly criticized the earlier ouster of Osmani in 2020.[26][15][27] The LDK lost roughly half of its seats in parliament, and party leader Mustafa resigned on 14 March.[28][29][30][31]
Osmani with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (center) and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti (right) in 2022
On 4 April 2021, the assembly elected Osmani as Kosovo's president during its third round of voting.[32][8] Although the vote was unattended by two opposition parties as well as a party representing the ethnic Serb minority in Kosovo, 82 members of the 120-seat parliament cast their votes during the second day of the extraordinary session.[33][24][a] She won 71 of the votes, while 11 votes were declared invalid, and was subsequently sworn in for a five-year term later that day, becoming Kosovo's second female president.[33][8] Osmani said that she hoped to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia, while also calling for Belgrade to apologize for the war that led to Kosovo's declaration of independence and to prosecute those who had committed war crimes.[32][33]
Osmani with Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovačevski in Skopje, on 26 April 2023
In 2012, Osmani married Prindon Sadriu, an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[3] They have twin daughters.[24] Osmani speaks Albanian, English, Serbian, Spanish, and Turkish.[1]
Honours and accolades
During Osmani's master's studies at the University of Pittsburgh, the university presented her with the Excellence for the Future Award twice.[1] In 2017, the University of Pittsburgh Center for International Studies awarded her the Sheth International Young Alumni Achievement Award for her contribution to democracy and human rights.[10][13]
On 21 August 2024, Osmani was honored with the M100 Media Award by M100 Sanssouci Colloquium.[41]
Notes
↑ Boycotting the vote were opposition parties PDK and Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), as well as Serb minority party Serb List.[34] It was also reported that one or two members of the aforementioned parties may not have adhered to the boycott.[35]
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