A Conversation with Albin Kurti, Former Prime Minister of Kosovo

Albin Kurti is the president of the largest political party in the country, Lëvizja VETËVENDOSJE! (Movement for Self-Determination.) He was born on 24th of March 1975 in Prishtina. Kurti joined the presidency of the Students Independent Union of the University of Prishtina (SIUUP) in August 1997, which organized peaceful, non-violent protests for the release of the university buildings and premises which were occupied by the authorities of the Serbian regime. When war began in Kosovo, in August 1998, Kurti began working as the Secretary of the Office of the General Political Representative of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), Adem Demaçi. When the NATO bombing of Serbia and Kosovo commenced in March 1999, Kurti remained in Prishtina, and was arrested by the Serbian police on April 27, 1999, and then imprisoned. When Serbian forces withdrew from Kosovo on June 10, Kurti and many other Albanian political prisoners were transferred to Serbian prisons. Due to international pressure, Kurti was released on December 7, 2001. On April 23, 2003, Kurti graduated in Computer Science and Telecommunications from the University of Prishtina. In June 2005, Kurti with other political activists co-founded Lëvizja VETËVENDOSJE! (LVV) He was the President of LVV until March 2015, and was re-elected based on the one member, one vote principle in January 2018. Kurti has served three terms in office as a member of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosova representing LVV. In 2017, Kurti was the MP who won the highest number of votes in the country. He was the LVV’s candidate for Prime Minister of Kosovo. In the early parliamentary elections held on October 6th, 2019, Albin Kurti and LVV won the highest number of votes. He served as the 4th Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo. Currently, with the date of the early elections approaching, Kurti is the LVV’s candidate for the Prime Minister of Kosovo. Albin Kurti has published over 550 articles, and has been invited to present at different renowned universities inside and outside the country. He has also served as the Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs at the Assembly. He is fluent in Albanian, English, and Serbian.