President of the Republic of Kosovo

President of the Republic of Kosovo Presidenti i Republikës së Kosovës Председник Републике Косова / Predsednik Republike Kosova
Standard of the President
Interim President Vjosa Osmani since November 5, 2020
Official seat	Parliament building, Pristina
Term of office	5 years (re-election possible once)
Creation of office	May 24, 1992
Last choice	February 26, 2016
Deputy
website	www.president-ksgov.net

The President of the Republic of Kosovo ( Albanian  Presidenti i Republikës së Kosovës ; Serbian Председник Републике Косова Predsednik Republike Kosova ) is the head of state of the Republic of Kosovo and, according to the constitution, represents the unity of the people.

Since the resignation of Hashim Thaci in November 2020, the Parliament Speaker clothed Vjosa Osmani provisionally ( ad interim ) this office.

choice

Any Kosovar citizen older than 35 and supported by at least 30 members of parliament can run for a presidential election. The secret election may take place no later than 30 days before the end of the term of office of the current president. The candidate is elected with a two-thirds majority of the votes. If no candidate has won the election after two ballots, a third ballot will be held, where the two candidates with the most votes compete against each other and the one with an absolute majority in parliament is elected. If the third ballot does not lead to a result either, parliament is dissolved and new parliamentary elections are held within 45 days.

Duties and Powers

The President of the Republic of Kosovo exercises not only representative but also many executive tasks. Chapter 5 of the constitution deals with the status and powers of the head of state.

The constitution states the following areas of responsibility:

• Representation of the Republic of Kosovo internally and externally
• Ensuring the constitutional functioning of the institutions determined by the constitution
• Announcement and convening of elections to the Parliament of the Republic of Kosovo
• Issuing decrees in accordance with the Constitution
• Publication of the laws approved by Parliament
• Right to repatriate adopted laws for review (once per law)
• Signing international agreements in accordance with the Constitution
• Propose amendments to the Constitution
• Referring constitutional questions to the constitutional court
• Conducting the foreign policy of the country
• Receipt of credentials from diplomatic missions accredited in the Republic of Kosovo
• Commander in Chief of the Kosovo Security Forces
• Head of the Advisory Committee of the Communities
• Appointment of a candidate as prime minister - proposed by the party or coalition with a parliamentary majority - for the creation of a government
• Appointment and dismissal of the President of the Supreme Court on the proposal of the Judicial Council
• Appointment and dismissal of the judges of the Republic of Kosovo on the proposal of the Judicial Council
• Appointment and dismissal of the Public Prosecutor of the Republic of Kosovo on the proposal of the Attorney General
• Appointment of the constitutional judges on the proposal of Parliament
• Appointment of the military commander of the Kosovo Security Forces on a proposal from the government
• Joint appointment with the Prime Minister of the Head, Deputy Head and Inspector General of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency
• Joint decision-making power with the Prime Minister to impose a state of emergency on the country
• Right of the Security Council of Kosovo to convene during a state of emergency
• Right to decide on the creation of diplomatic and consular missions with the agreement of the Prime Minister
• Appointment and dismissal of diplomatic missions of the Republic of Kosovo on the proposal of Parliament
• Appointment of the President of the Central Electoral Commission
• Appointment of the governor (managing director) and members of the governing council of the Central Bank of Kosovo
• Awarding medals, titles of gratitude and prizes in accordance with the law
• Granting individual penalties in accordance with the law
• Speeches are held in Parliament at least once a year

Previous presidents

Surname	Taking office	Resignation	Political party
Ibrahim Rugova	May 24, 1992	February 1, 2000	LDK
Ibrahim Rugova	March 4, 2002	January 21, 2006	LDK
Nexhat Daci (ad interim)	January 21, 2006	February 10, 2006	LDK
Fatmir Sejdiu	February 10, 2006	September 27, 2010	LDK
Jakup Krasniqi (ad interim)	September 27, 2010	February 22, 2011	PDK
Behgjet Pacolli	February 22, 2011	March 30, 2011	AKR
Jakup Krasniqi (ad interim)	March 30, 2011	April 7, 2011	PDK
Atifete Jahjaga	April 7, 2011	April 7, 2016	independently
Hashim Thaçi	April 7, 2016	5th November 2020	independent
Vjosa Osmani (ad interim)	5th November 2020	officiating	LDK

Web links

• Official website: in Albanian , Serbian and English

Individual evidence