President of Kosovo

The President of Kosovo (Albanian: Presidenti i Kosovës; Serbian: Председник Косова, romanized: Predsednik Kosova), officially the President of the Republic of Kosovo (Albanian: Presidenti i Republikës së Kosovës; Serbian: Председник Републике Косова, romanized: Predsednik Republike Kosova), is the head of state of Kosovo. The president is elected indirectly by the parliament through a secret ballot, requiring a two-thirds majority of deputies in office. If no candidate achieves the two-thirds majority, in the third round of voting, the candidate who receives a simple majority is elected.^[2] The vote in parliament must take place no later than one month before the end of the incumbent president's term.^[3] The president serves a five-year term, which is renewable once.

President of the Republic of Kosovo
Presidenti i Republikës së Kosovës
Presidential seal
Presidential standard
Incumbent Vjosa Osmani since 4 April 2021
Executive branch of the Government of Kosovo
Style	Madam President Her Excellency
Status	Head of state
Residence	Kosovo Assembly Building
Seat	Pristina
Appointer	Kuvendi
Term length	Five years Renewable once
Constituting instrument	Constitution of Kosovo
Inaugural holder	Ibrahim Rugova
Formation	25 January 1992 (de jure) 4 March 2002 (de facto)
Deputy	Speaker of the Assembly
Salary	2,873 € monthly[1]
Website	Official website

History

The first post-war president, who served until his death in January 2006, was Ibrahim Rugova. His successor was Fatmir Sejdiu. When Sejdiu resigned from his post on 27 September 2010, Jakup Krasniqi served as acting president.^[4][5] On 22 February 2011, Behgjet Pacolli was elected as a president of Kosovo,^[6] which was quickly evaluated as an unconstitutional move.^[7] On 4 April 2011, Behgjet Pacolli stepped down^[8] and it was decided that another candidate would be elected to serve for up to a year. A constitutional reform will be undertaken to allow for a popular vote for the president in 2013. On 7 April 2011, Atifete Jahjaga, Deputy Director of the Kosovo Police,^[9] with the rank of major general,^[10] was elected as president.

Officeholders

President

No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Party		Election
Republic of Kosova
1		Ibrahim Rugova (1944–2006)	25 January 1992	1 February 2000	8 years, 7 days		LDK	1992
UN-administered Kosovo
(1)		Ibrahim Rugova (1944–2006)	4 March 2002	21 January 2006 †	3 years, 323 days		LDK	2002
2		Fatmir Sejdiu (born 1951)	10 February 2006	17 February 2008	2 years, 7 days		LDK	2006
Republic of Kosovo
(2)		Fatmir Sejdiu (born 1951)	17 February 2008	27 September 2010	2 years, 222 days		LDK	2008
3		Behgjet Pacolli (born 1951)	22 February 2011	4 April 2011	41 days		AKR	2011
4		Atifete Jahjaga (born 1975)	7 April 2011	7 April 2016	5 years		Independent	2011
5		Hashim Thaçi (born 1968)	7 April 2016	5 November 2020	4 years, 212 days		PDK	2016
6		Vjosa Osmani (born 1982)	4 April 2021	Incumbent	4 years, 80 days		Guxo	2021

Acting President

The Acting President of Kosovo (Albanian: Ushtrues i Detyrës së Presidentit të Kosovës, Serbian: Вршилац дужности председника Косова, romanized: Vršilac dužnosti predsednika Kosova) is a temporary position held by the Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo (Albanian: Kryetari i Kuvendit të Kosovës,^[a] or Kryeparlamentari i Kosovës,^[b] Serbian: Председник Скупштине Косова, romanized: Predsednik Skupštine Kosova) when the President is unable to perform their duties.

The Speaker assumes this role during periods of absence, incapacity, or vacancy in the presidency, serving as the acting head of state until the President resumes office or a new President is elected. The position is limited in duration and cannot be held for more than six months. The Speaker of the Assembly is the first in the presidential line of succession in the Republic of Kosovo.^[11]

Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Party		Replaced
	Nexhat Daci (born 1944) Acting	21 January 2006	10 February 2006	20 days		LDK	Ibrahim Rugova
	Jakup Krasniqi (born 1951) Acting	27 September 2010 4 April 2011	22 February 2011 7 April 2011	148 days 3 days		PDK	Fatmir Sejdiu Behgjet Pacolli
	Vjosa Osmani (born 1982) Acting	5 November 2020	22 March 2021	137 days		Guxo	Hashim Thaçi
	Glauk Konjufca (born 1981) Acting	22 March 2021	4 April 2021	13 days		LVV	Vjosa Osmani

Timeline

Latest election

Main article: 2021 Kosovan presidential election

See also

• Prime Minister of Kosovo
• Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo
• President of the Presidency of SAP Kosovo