Ramush Haradinaj

Ramush Haradinaj
Haradinaj in 2018
3rd Prime Minister of Kosovo
In office
9 September 2017 – 3 February 2020
PresidentHashim Thaçi
DeputyBehgjet Pacolli
Fatmir Limaj
Enver Hoxhaj
Dalibor Jevtić
Dardan Gashi
Preceded byIsa Mustafa
Succeeded byAlbin Kurti
In office
3 December 2004 – 8 March 2005
PresidentIbrahim Rugova
Preceded byBajram Rexhepi
Succeeded byAdem Salihaj (acting)
Leader of the Alliance for the Future
Assumed office
29 April 2001
Preceded byOffice established
Personal details
Born (1968-07-03) 3 July 1968 (age 55)
Dečani, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
(now Deçan, Kosovo)
Political partyAlliance for the Future
SpouseAnita Haradinaj
Children4
Alma mater
Signature
NicknameRambo
Military service
Battles/warsKosovo war, Battle of Glodjane
Service Yugoslav People's Army
Kosovo Liberation Army Kosovo Liberation Army

Ramush Haradinaj (Albanian pronunciation: [ɾamuʃ haɾadinaj]; born 3 July 1968) is a Kosovo Albanian politician,[1] leader of the AAK party,[2] and the third prime minister of Kosovo.[3] He is a former officer and leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), and previously served as Prime Minister of Kosovo between 2004 and 2005.

Following the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Haradinaj was the KLA's commander for western Kosovo.[1] Following the conflict, Haradinaj went into politics but soon resigned after becoming one of the KLA commanders charged by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) with war crimes and crimes against humanity against Serbs, Romani and Albanians between March and September 1998 during the Kosovo War.[2][4] He was acquitted of all charges on 3 April 2008.[5] The prosecution appealed against the acquittal and argued that it was not given enough time to secure the testimony of two critical witnesses.[6] In 2010 the Appeals Chamber agreed and ordered a partial retrial in The Hague, Netherlands.[7][8] The re-trial took just over two years and on 29 November 2012, Haradinaj and his co-defendant were acquitted for a second time on all charges.[9]

  1. ^ a b Vulliamy, Ed (2 December 2012). "Freed Kosovo war Chief Pledges 'I will lead my people once more'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  2. ^ a b The New York Times (29 November 2012). "U.N. Court Frees Former Leader of Kosovo". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  3. ^ "Kosovo PM Haradinaj resigns over war crimes summons". BBC News. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  4. ^ United Nations. "ICTY indictment Against Ramush Haradinaj". Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  5. ^ Charter, David (4 April 2008). "Kosovo guerrilla leader Ramush Haradinaj is set free". The Times Online. London. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
  6. ^ United Nations. "21 June 2010 Retrial Judgment Summary page 2". Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  7. ^ "Kosovos Ex-Regierungschef Haradinaj freigesprochen". Der Stern. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  8. ^ Defence, Ramush. "Re-Trial Information". RamushDefence.wordpress.com. WordPress. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  9. ^ "Kosovo ex-premier Haradinaj acquitted in Hague retrial". Trust. Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2012.