President of Kosovo

President of the Republic of Kosovo
Presidenti i Republikës së Kosovës (in Albanian) Председник Републике Косова (in Serbian)
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
Website	Official website

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 the partially recognized Republic 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. The vote in parliament must take place no later than one month before the end of the incumbent president's term. The president serves a five-year term, which is renewable once.

Powers

• represents the Republic of Kosovo, internally and externally
• guarantees the constitutional functioning of the institutions set forth by this Constitution
• announces elections for the Assembly of Kosovo and convenes its first meeting
• issues decrees in accordance with the Constitution
• promulgates laws approved by the Assembly of Kosovo
• has the right to return adopted laws for re-consideration, when he/she considers them to be harmful to the legitimate interests of the Republic of Kosovo or one or more Communities. This right can be exercised only once per law
• signs international agreements in accordance with this Constitution
• proposes amendments to the Constitution of Kosovo
• may refer constitutional questions to the Constitutional Court of Kosovo
• leads the foreign policy of the country
• receives credentials of heads of diplomatic missions accredited to the Republic of Kosovo
• is the Commander-in-Chief of the Kosovo Security Force
• leads the Consultative Council for Communities
• appoints the candidate for Prime Minister of Kosovo for the establishment of the Government after proposal by the political party or coalition holding the majority in the Assembly
• appoints and dismisses the President of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kosovo upon the proposal of the Kosovo Judicial Council
• appoints and dismisses judges of the Republic of Kosovo upon the proposal of the Kosovo Judicial Council
• appoints and dismisses the Chief Prosecutor of the Republic of Kosovo upon the proposal of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council
• appoints and dismisses prosecutors of the Republic of Kosovo upon the proposal of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council
• appoints judges to the Constitutional Court upon the proposal of the Assembly
• appoints the Commander of the Kosovo Security Force upon recommendation of the Government
• with the Prime Minister, jointly appoints the Director, Deputy Director and Inspector General of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency
• decides to declare a State of Emergency in consultation with the Prime Minister
• may request meetings of the Kosovo Security Council and chairs them during a State of Emergency
• decides on the establishment of diplomatic and consular missions of the Republic of Kosovo in consultation with the Prime Minister
• appoints and dismisses heads of diplomatic missions of the Republic of Kosovo upon the proposal of the Government
• appoints the Chair of the Central Election Commission of Kosovo
• appoints the Governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo who will also act as its Managing Director, and appoints the other members of the Bank’s Board
• grants medals, titles of gratitude, and awards in accordance with the law
• grants individual pardons in accordance with the law
• addresses the Assembly of Kosovo at least once a year in regard to her/his scope of authority

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. On 22 February 2011, Behgjet Pacolli was elected as a president of Kosovo, which was quickly evaluated as an unconstitutional move. On 4 April 2011, Pacolli stepped down 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, with the rank of major general, was elected as president.

Officeholders

Presidents

Political parties:   LDK   AKR   Independent   PDK   Guxo

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Election
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
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, 336 days	Guxo	2021

Acting presidents

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, or Kryeparlamentari i Kosovës, 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.

Political parties:   LDK   PDK   Guxo   Vetëvendosje

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Replaced
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
—		Nexhat Daci (1944–2026) 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

External links

• Official Website (in Albanian)