Bekim Hamëz Jashari (born 28 January 1975) is a

Kosovo 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-gr ...

politician who served as mayor of

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, while ...

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

from 22 October 2017 to 30 November 2021.

Early life and career

Bekim Jashari was born on 28 January 1975 in village

Prekaz i Epërm Prekaz i Epërm () is a village in Skenderaj municipality, Kosovo. Notes References

Villages in Skenderaj {{Kosovo-geo-stub ...

, in a family with national traditions and intellectual values, as leaders of Albanian education in Skenderaj. As the first child of the couple Hamëz and Feride, in a large family, he was warmed by the love of his grandparents and uncles. As the grandson of teacher Shaban, education has been primary in the formation of the Bekim. So, he finished primary and secondary school in Skenderaj with diligence and dedication. With the completion of high school, in 1992 the political situation was extremely aggravated in our country. This situation did not spare even the 18-year-old Bekim. Bekim's opportunities for university education had diminished and his stay in Kosovo as the son of the political resistance ideologue Hamëz Jashari posed a danger. Consequently in July 1993, he with the blessing of father Hamëz, took the path of exile. Bekim was placed in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, Germany to the Uncle Rifat, who, in addition to the work on which the well-being of the family in Kosovo depended, took on the burden of caring for the offspring of the three branches Murat, Lulzim and he from the Shaban Jashari's trunk. During his stay in exile, Bekim as the son of Jashari family was systematically informed about the situation in Kosovo and the political and military developments there, so for Bekim and the Jashari family, the "Epopee 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 ...

" was conditionally expected, which was a spark of freedom that left Bekim's family home in March 1998 during the

Attack on Prekaz The Attack on Prekaz, also known as the Prekaz massacre, was an operation led by the Special Anti-Terrorism Unit of Serbia on 5 March 1998, to capture Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) fighters deemed terrorists by Serbia. During the operation, KLA ...

, where most of his family members were killed, and spread throughout Kosovo. But during his stay in Germany, Bekim was not limited to the situation and political activity. Throughout his stay in the host country he continued to be educated, professionally trained, and to work diligently in the largest automotive corporation, BMW. Undoubtedly the synergy of intellectual and family work values, with the strong values of education and work in Germany greatly influenced Bekim's approach later in his career.

Mayor of Skenderaj

Jashari announced he would run for Mayor of

in the 2017 local elections in the summer of that year. Skenderaj had been run by the

Democratic Party of Kosovo The Democratic Party of Kosovo ( sq, Partia Demokratike e Kosovës; abbr. ''PDK'') is one of the largest political parties in Kosovo. It was originally a social-democratic party coming out of the demilitarised Kosovo Liberation Army after th ...

since the end of the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...

, but in respect to the Jashari family, the Democratic Party did not put forward a candidate. Jashari was elected mayor on 22 October 2017 winning 85.5% of votes.

References

External links

* 1975 births Living people People from Skenderaj Independent politicians Mayors of places in Kosovo University of Pristina alumni Kosovo Albanians {{Kosovo-politician-stub