Ibrahim Rugova

Ibrahim Rugova was an Albanian politician and intellectual who is regarded as the founder of modern Kosovo. He served as the first president of the partially recognised Republic of Kosovo, serving from 1992 to 2000 and again from 2002 until his death in 2006. He led a popular struggle for independence, advocating a peaceful resistance to Serbian rule and lobbying for U.S. and European support, especially during the Kosovo War. He was also a prominent writer and scholar, who published several books on Albanian literature and culture. He was born in Crnce, a village near Istok, to a family that belonged to the Kelmendi clan. His father and grandfather were executed by Yugoslav communists in 1945. He finished primary school in Istok and high school in Peja, graduating in 1967. He studied literature at the University of Pristina and the University of Paris, and received a doctorate with a dissertation on Albanian literary criticism. He became a professor of literature at the University of Pristina and a member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo. He was also the president of the Writers' Association of Kosovo. He founded the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) in 1989, which became the main political party of the Albanian population in Kosovo. The LDK established a parallel state that provided basic services and education to the Albanians, who were discriminated and oppressed by the Serbian regime. Rugova was elected president of this parallel state by the Assembly of Kosovo in 1992. He pursued a policy of non-violence and dialogue, seeking international recognition and mediation for Kosovo's status. He met with several world leaders, including Bill Clinton, Jacques Chirac, Tony Blair, and Pope John Paul II. He also participated in the Rambouillet negotiations in 1999, which failed to reach an agreement. He supported the NATO intervention in Kosovo, which ended the war and led to the establishment of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). He was re-elected president of Kosovo by the parliament in 2002 and 2005. He died of lung cancer in 2006, leaving behind a legacy of moderation, tolerance, and democracy. He is often called Babai i Kombit ("Father of the Nation") and the Gandhi of the Balkans.