Atifete Jahjaga President of Kosovo (2011-2016)
President Jahjaga served as the fourth President of Kosovo. She is the youngest female world leader to be elected, born on 20 April 1975, in Rashkoc – Gjakova. She was also the first female head of state in modern Balkans.
Since March 2012 President Jahjaga is member of the Council of Women World Leaders (CWWL). Mrs. Jahjaga had been the Deputy General Director of the Police of Kosovo from February 2009. She had served as a police officer since the establishment of the Kosovo Police in early 2000, progressing to responsibilities at a regional level and then to General Headquarters. Early in her career, President Jahjaga served in different positions in the implementation of law and order, among others in the professional standards unit, human resources department, personnel and training department, administration of the Kosovo Police and border police.
She completed her studies at the Faculty of Law of the University of Prishtina, in 2000. In 2006-2007, she attended a postgraduate certification program in Police Management and Penal Law at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, Postgraduate Certification in Crime Science at the University of Virginia in the United States in 2007. President Jahjaga has also attended professional and research programs at the European Centre for Security Studies “George C. Marshall” Germany, at the National Academy of the FBI in the USA and at the Department of Justice in the USA. In addition to her native Albanian, President Jahjaga also speaks Serbian and English. She is married to Mr. Astrit Kuçi and lives in Prishtina.
Awards
- Doctor Honoris Causa, Durham University, UK
- Leadership in Public Service Award, Clinton Global Initiative