The leader of Vetëvendosje (Self-Determination Party) Mr. Albin Kurti was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Kosovo, after snap Parliamentary Elections on Sunday thus, opening a new chapter in Kosovo’s politics Nationally and Globally.
In 2005, along with other fellow activists—he co-founded the civic initiative and political party Vetëvendosje/Self-Determination. Even though his Party did not get a chance to secure enough Parliamentary seats to form a Government—Kurti remained confident that eventually, one day his Party would emerge as a beacon of hope for his Nation and fellow Albanians.
He came to the public’s attention as a young rebellious student (then a Civil Rights’ Activist), best known for his unyielding principles, which showed signs that he was here to stay. His father is originally from an Albanian Family in a small Village near Ulcinj—while his mother is from Pristina. His family moved to Pristina prior to his birth in 1975, where eventually he completed his Elementary and Secondary Education.
In 1997, Kurti became Vice-President of the Independent Student Union at the University of Pristina—organizing peaceful marches for the release of the University building occupied at the time by Serbian Police, under the command of the last Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević dubbed the “Balkan Butcher.”
During this time, Kurti often met with Senior Officials from Washington DC, New York, Brussels, Copenhagen, and the European Parliament in Strasbourg—with the possibility of bringing to the International Community’s attention the requests of the Albanian students to resume classes at the University. Kurti was one of the leaders of the historic student protests of October 1st, 1997 which was brutally crushed by the Serbian Police.
In 1998, when the Kosovo War started—he worked as secretary to the Office of the General Representative of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UÇK) which was run by Mr. Adem Demaçi.
Demaçi is a prominent activist, known for his peaceful struggles against the Yugoslav Regime and for serving over 25 years behind bars in Serbia for defending the Albanian Nationalist cause. Fearless in the face of the brutal Serbian Regime, he stayed in Pristina during the 78 days of the NATO sponsored Kosovo Air Campaign which was launched in March 1999.
After a month, he was arrested by the Serbian Police in Pristina and kept in a prison for three days. He was then transferred to a prison in Lipljan, a small town in the City of Pristina—where he was kept and tortured for over two months.
Following the surrender of Slobodan Milošević and the withdrawal of Serbian Forces from Kosovo, Albin Kurti together with other detainees were transferred to Serbian Prisons respectively. His family had no information on his whereabouts until July, when a representative from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) went to his family and notified them, that their son was still alive but was being held in a prison of Požarevac a City in Eastern Serbia.
In March 2000, the Nis Court in Serbia sentenced Kurti to 15 years in prison for “not recognizing Yugoslavia’s territorial integrity and attempting to carry out hostile action of a terrorist nature.” During the one-week session, Kurti among others said, that he did not recognize the Court nor Serbia and to a less extent even Yugoslavia.
“This Court serves the Fascist Regime of Slobodan Milošević only and has nothing in common with neither truth nor justice. It does not matter to me whether I’m charged with 10, 20, 30, or even 40 years of sentencing. In principal, I will not respond to this Court’s decision—I am proven innocent only in the Court System of my peoples” vowed Kurti at the time.
On December 2001, after the downfall of Milošević and in light of International pressure, Kurti was released from prison by the new Serbian Administration of the time.
In 2003, Albin Kurti graduated from the Faculty of Electro-Technical Engineering at the University of Pristina.
Starting off as an activist for the Kosova Action Network (KAN), he quickly climbed the ranks to become the Leader of “Vetëvendosje” we know today. The term and namesake of Kurti’s Party, was coined after a protest at the walls of the UN Kosovo Trust Building (UNMIK) where he and other fellow activists wrote in the buildings’ walls the slogan “No negotiations, only self-determination!”
As the only fair and peaceful resolution for settling the Kosovo Independence question, the “Self-Determination Movement” demands a Nationwide Referendum in Kosovo. The Movement reasons that only through a referendum can citizens authentically exercise their right of self-determination—when this happens a true democratic solution may be achieved.
Instead of negotiations, which can potentially compromise freedom—the Movement wants the citizens to decide for themselves: “How they wish to be governed and by whom they wish to be governed.”
Succeeded by Visar Ymeri after 10 years as the incumbent leader of the Party, Mr. Kurti was chosen as the Party Leader in 2018 once again. In 2017, he was the most voted candidate on a National scale. He has served three consecutive MP mandates in the Kosovo Parliament.
In 2019, Kurti is the father of a girl and husband to a Norwegian wife. Apart from his native language, he is also fluent in English and Serbo-Croatian.
“As the Prime Minister of Kosovo, I will not remove the Kosovo Flag from my office. I was outraged when the Flag of Kosovo could not be chosen through a referendum, as well as, when neither the red and black colors nor the double headed eagle were possible options. Our strongest point is that, those who have waved the flag until now and have stolen our futures are heading home” said Kurti, after learning the preliminary results, which saw his Party declared the election winners.
At 44 years old, the image of Kurti as a European Leader is a long way from the young protester taking the streets of Pristina by storm, while fighting against the establishment or the criticism directed at the International Community for interfering unnecessarily with the Country’s Domestic Policies and Issues.
During his Election Campaign, Kurti reached out for support to the International Community through Facebook, specifically to Kosovo’s long-time allies the United States and the European Union.
He stated, “It is in the spirit of our shared ideas regarding Democracy and Self-Determination, that I want to reach out to you our Allies and friends, to tell you that as Prime Minister of Kosovo—I will seek to partner with you on key issues like tackling Corruption and Organized Crime.”
