The Executive of Kosovo is the collection of Kosovo institutions that exercises executive authority in Kosovo. It is headed by the Prime Minister of Kosovo, and also includes the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and various ministers. The President of Kosovo also plays a role.
The Assembly of Kosovo(Kuvendi i Kosovës) has 120 members elected for a four-year term. According to the Constitution, Kosovo shall have an Assembly consisting of 120 members. It includes twenty reserved seats which are ten for Kosovar Serbs and ten for non-Serb minorities (e.g., Bosniak, Roma, etc.). Kosovo has a multi-party system, with numerous parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments.
The Assembly passes all laws in Kosovo, ratifies international treaties, appoints the President, Prime Minister, ministers, and justices of all courts, adopts the budget and performs other duties as established by the Constitution. The Parliament can pass a vote of no-confidence on the Government by a majority of the members.
On 5 July 1989 this extensive autonomy was largely revoked by Slobodan Milošević's administration and the amount of autonomy of Kosovo had been restored to its pre-1974 status. On 28 September 1990, the name of the province was reverted to Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija.
In 1990, Kosovo was declared independent by the ethnic Albanian politicians and was recognised by Albania. The name of the entity was Republic of Kosova. A period of fighting ensued between Kosovan Albanians and Yugoslav security forces resulting in a humanitarian crisis. In 1999, the United Nations placed Kosovo under their administration in the aftermath of the War in Kosovo. Under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) was established on 10 June 1999, which maintained how the Province of Kosovo functioned. UNSCR 1244 called for a political process to determine the future status of Kosovo; UN-sponsored negotiations began in 2006 (see Kosovo status process).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 placed Kosovo under transitional UN administration pending a determination of Kosovo's future status. This Resolution entrusted UNMIK with sweeping powers to govern Kosovo, but also directed UNMIK to establish interim institutions of self-governance. Resolution 1244 gave Yugoslavia no role in governing Kosovo and from 1999, national laws and institutions were not valid in Kosovo. The resolution recognised Yugoslav sovereignty of Kosovo. NATO has a separate mandate to provide for a safe and secure environment.
In May 2001, UNMIK promulgated the Constitutional Framework, which established Kosovo's Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG). After 2001, UNMIK gradually transferred increased governing competencies to the PISG, while reserving some powers such as foreign affairs. Kosovo also established municipal governments and an internationally supervisedKosovo Police Service.
The largest political party in Kosovo, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), has its origins in the 1990s non-violent resistance movement against Milošević's rule. The party was led by Ibrahim Rugova until his death in 2006. The two next largest parties have their roots in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA): the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) led by former KLA leader Hashim Thaçi and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) led by former KLA commander Ramush Haradinaj. Kosovo publisher Veton Surroi formed his own political party in 2004 named "Ora." Kosovo Serbs formed the Serb List for Kosovo and Metohija (SLKM) in 2004, but have boycotted Kosovo's institutions and never taken seats in the Kosovo Assembly.
In November 2001, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe supervised the first elections for the Kosovo Assembly. After that election, Kosovo's political parties formed an all-party unity coalition and elected Ibrahim Rugova as President and Bajram Rexhepi (PDK) as Prime Minister.
After Kosovo-wide elections in October 2004, the LDK and AAK formed a new governing coalition that did not include PDK and Ora. This coalition agreement resulted in Ramush Haradinaj (AAK) becoming Prime Minister, while Ibrahim Rugova retained the position of President. PDK and Ora were critical of the coalition agreement and have since frequently accused the current government of corruption.
Ramush Haradinaj resigned the post of Prime Minister after he was indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in March 2005. He was replaced by Bajram Kosumi (AAK). But in a political shake-up after the death of President Rugova in January 2006, Kosumi himself was replaced by former Kosovo Protection Corps commander Agim Çeku. Çeku won recognition for his outreach to minorities, but Serbia was critical of his wartime past as military leader of the KLA and claimed he was not doing enough for Kosovo Serbs. A Serbian court had indicted Çeku for war crimes he committed in Kosovo. The Kosovo Assembly elected Fatmir Sejdiu, a former LDK parliamentarian, president after Rugova's death. Slaviša Petković, Minister for Communities and Returns, was previously the only ethnic Serb in the government, but resigned in November 2006 amid allegations of corruption at his ministry.[1][2]
On 10 February 2007, nearly 3,000 people protested against the plan by United Nations chief negotiator Martti Ahtisaari which would in effect grant independence to the Kosovo province. Some militant ethnic Albanian groups, like Vetevendosje (Self-determination) that led the Saturday ethnic Albanian protests in Pristina, opposed UN sponsored talks and wanted the Kosovo parliament to declare independence immediately. On Tuesday 13 February 2007, Kosovo interior minister Fatmir Rexhepi resigned on moral grounds after two people died of injuries suffered in clashes with police during the protest.[permanent dead link] There was no involvement of Kosovo police in the protests, as the clashes were with the UNMIK police. Rexhepi remains as the only politician in Kosovo to have resigned on moral grounds.
Elections were held in Kosovo on 17 November 2007. After early results on the morning of the 18th indicating opposition leader Hashim Thaçi was on course to gain 35 per cent of the vote, he claimed victory for PDK, the Albanian Democratic Party, and stated his intention to declare independence. President Fatmir Sejdiu's Democratic League was in second place with 22 percent of the vote. The turnout at the election was particularly low with most Serbs refusing to vote.[3]
On 25 December 2007 it was announced Thaçi's Democratic Party of Kosovo would form a coalition with President Fatmir Sejdiu's Democratic League forming a slight majority of 62 seats out of 120. Thaçi's government will include 7 ministers from his party, 5 ministers from LDK and 3 ministers from non-Albanian communities.[4]
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.
Bajram Rexhepi, was a Kosovar politician who served as the first elected post-war prime minister and later as interior minister of Kosovo and as a member of the Kosovo Assembly. He was a member of the second largest political party in Kosovo, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK).
The Democratic League of Kosovo is the oldest and one of the largest political parties in Kosovo.
The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo is a right-wing political party in Kosovo.
Ramush Haradinaj is a Kosovo Albanian politician, leader of the AAK party, and the third prime minister of Kosovo. He is a former officer and leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), and previously served as Prime Minister of Kosovo between 2004 and 2005.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Parliamentary elections were held in Kosovo on 11 June 2017.
The PANA coalition was a ruling post-electoral Kosovan political alliance between four major Albanian and six ethnic minority parties in Kosovo. Its formation ended three months of political uncertainty following the 2017 parliamentary election. It was founded originally as PAN coalition.
The parliament of Kosovo held indirect elections for president of Kosovo on 3 and 4 April 2021. The elections successfully concluded after three rounds, with Vjosa Osmani winning 71 votes out of a total possible 120. Three political parties boycotted the vote. Nasuf Bejta, also a member of Guxo, the political party Osmani founded, was the only other candidate who received a vote during any of the other rounds.
Ardian Gjini is a politician in Kosovo. He was a cabinet minister in Kosovo's government from 2005 to 2008, served in the Assembly of Kosovo from 2007 to 2014, and has been the mayor of Gjakova since 2017. Gjini has been a prominent member of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) since the party's formation in 2001.
Ali Berisha is a medical doctor and politician in Kosovo. He was the mayor of Peja from 2007 to 2013 and served two terms in the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo between 2016 and 2021. Berisha is a member of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK).
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).
Ali Lajçi is a politician in Kosovo. He was the mayor of Peja from 2001 to 2007 and has served in the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo. At different times in his career, Lajçi has been a member of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), and Vetëvendosje (VV).
Ramë Manaj is a former politician in Kosovo. He was the mayor of Klina from 2001 to 2006 and was one of two deputy prime ministers of the Republic of Kosovo between 2008 and 2010. He was a member of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) during his time in public life and was the party's secretary-general from 2006 to 2010.
Ibrahim Selmanaj, whose last name is sometimes spelled Selmonaj, is a politician and former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) officer in Kosovo. He has been a member of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, the mayor of Deçan, and a minister in government of Kosovo. Selmanaj is a member of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK).
Ethem Çeku is a historian and former soldier and politician in Kosovo. He was an officer in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in the 1998–99 Kosovo War and a minister in the government of Kosovo from 2002 to 2008. Çeku is a member of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK).
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