Bashkim Jashari (born November 15, 1977) is a
Kosovan Albanian
The Albanians of Kosovo ( sq, Shqiptarët e Kosovës, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovar/Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars/Kosovans, constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo.
Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-g ...
three-star general, who has served as the
Commander in Chief of the
Kosovo Security Force since 30 November 2021. He is also concurrently a member of the Security Council of
Kosovo.
Biography
Bashkim Jashari was born on November 15, 1977, in the ''Prekaz i Poshtëm'' village in the
Skenderaj
Skenderaj ( sq-definite, Skënderaj or ''Skënderaji'') or Srbica ( sr-Cyrl, Србица) is a town and municipality located in the Mitrovica District of Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Skënderaj has 9,372 inhabitants, whil ...
municipality in
Kosovo. The nephew of
Adem Jashari. Like the entire Jashari family, Bashkim Jashari descends from the
Kuçi tribe (''fis'').
, Bashkim Jashari joined the ranks of the
Kosovo Liberation Army
The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA; , UÇK) was an ethnic Albanian separatist militia that sought the separation of Kosovo, the vast majority of which is inhabited by Albanians, from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Serbia during the ...
(KLA) in early 1998. On March 5–7, 1998, the Jashari family compound was attacked by the
Special Anti-Terrorism Unit of Serbia, with the goal of eliminating KLA suspects and their families.
Jashari was one of the two survivors of the
massacre, along his cousin Besarta Jashari. He fought until March 7, 1998, and managed to get out of the compound, where 60 members of his family were killed. After the Attack on Prekaz, Jashari continued to serve in the KLA and served as deputy commander of the First Operative Zone, in
Drenica.
After the end of the
Kosovo War and the dissolution of the KLA, Jashari joined the
Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC). In 1999 he was appointed deputy commander of the First Defense Zone, and in June 2001 his position was upgraded to commander of that zone. He remained a member of KPC until its dissolution in 2009.
Jashari joined the
Kosovo Security Force (KSF) in January 2009, being in the first batch of recruits of the new army. At the same time, he joined the Kosovo Ministry of Defense and served as the
inspector general
An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general".
Australia
The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory off ...
of the KSF. In March 2018, Jashari's rank was upgraded to the two-star Major General. In November 2021 he was appointed commander of the KSF and his rank was upgraded to a three-star Lieutenant General by President
Vjosa Osmani.
Jashari graduated from the "Spiro Moisiu" Defense Academy in
Albania and he additionally holds a degree in law from the
University of Prishtina. He is married and has four children.
Medals and Honors
*(2008) The “Presidential Military Medal” from the President of the Republic of Kosovo.
References
Works cited
* {{cite book , last1=Abrahams , first1=Fred , last2=Andersen , first2=Elizabeth , title=Humanitarian Law Violations in Kosovo , url=https://archive.org/details/humanitarianlawv0000abra , url-access=registration , year=1998 , publisher=Human Rights Watch , isbn=978-1-56432-194-7 , page
3032
1977 births
Living people
Commanders of Kosovo Security Force