[albanur]

Fatmir Sejdiu, The Second President of Kosovo

He was born in the small village of Pakaštica near Podujevo, in Kosovo, at the time part of Yugoslavia. He served as a professor at the University of Pristina, teaching throughout his tenure as a Parliamentarian.

Sejdiu was an early protester against Serbian authoritarian rule and had for many years in his academic office a portrait depicting himself and fellow political party leader Veton Surroi locking arms before the riot police. He has always been widely admired for being honest and fair in all his political dealings.

Due to persisting conflicts between the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and the security forces of Yugoslavia under Serbian President Slobodan Milošević, the Kosovo War broke out in 1996 between the two factions. Accusations of widespread abuse by government forces towards ethnic Albanians in 1999 ignited the second part of the war in which NATO forces intervened and unleashed a bombing campaign against President Milošević. The war ended in mid-1999, and Kosovo was placed under a UN Protectorate of autonomy where Ibrahim Rugova became the president of the territory. President Sejdiu succeeded Rugova and became the first president of the country of Kosovo when Kosovo officially declared independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008.

Sejdiu served in each of the Presidencies of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) as well as serving on the Presidency of the Assembly of Kosovo.

Sejdiu was an influential parliamentarian in the LDK, the party of former Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova. He was elected President by the Kosovo Assembly after Rugova died from lung cancer in early 2006. Sejdiu has won praise from the international community for prioritizing implementation of the UN-endorsed "standards" of good governance and multi-ethnicity.
On 24 July 2006, Sejdiu attended in Vienna the first high-level meeting between the prime ministers and presidents of Kosovo and Serbia to discuss the future status of Kosovo.

On 9 January 2008, Sejdiu resigned from his position as President of Kosovo to run again in the following elections held the same day. This would allow him to start a completely new term with the inauguration of the new legislature, given that there are no term limits established by the Constitution Framework. He received 68 votes out of 81 needed for his election after a third round of parliamentary vote, when a simple majority of 61 votes is required for the election of the president and regained the position. His opponent, Naim Maloku of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), running with the support of three minor parties, obtained 37 votes in the first round. Sejdiu received one vote less in the second round, while 37 deputies chose Maloku.

Sejdiu was elected in the third round of voting later on the same day.
He has an approval rating of over 90%.

Fatmir Sejdiu was one of the authors of the Constitutional Framework of Kosovo in 2001. He speaks Albanian, English, Serbian, and French.

He lives in Pristina, the capital of the Kosovo, with his wife Nezafete and their three sons.