Bajram Rexhepi
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Bajram Rexhepi (3 June 1954 – 21 August 2017), was a Kosovar politician who served as the first elected post-war
prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
and later as interior minister of
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 international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...
and as a member of the Kosovo Assembly. He was a member of the second largest political party in Kosovo, 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 the K ...
(PDK).


Early life and education

Rexhepi was born in Mitrovica,
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 international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...
on 3 June 1954. He graduated from the University of Prishtina and completed his postgraduate studies at the
University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb ( hr, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, ; la, Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis) is the largest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of ...
in 1985.


Early career

Rexhepi spent most of his career working as a surgeon and achieved fame as the best surgeon for circumcisions in the Mitrovica region. During the 1999
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 ...
, Rexhepi joined the
Kosovo Liberation Army The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA; , UÇK) was an ethnic Albanian separatist militia that sought the separation of Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, ...
(KLA) and spent three months serving as a field doctor. He served as mayor of the Albanian section of Mitrovica, working with
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
and NATO peacekeepers to implement ideas to diminish the civil unrest. As Serbs and Albanians had broken off all dialogue, Rexhepi offered to give up his position in favour of a UN administrator, but Serbs rejected this proposal.


Prime Minister

In the general elections of November 2001 in Kosovo, Rexhepi's party won 25.7 percent of the votes, second only to
Ibrahim Rugova Ibrahim Rugova (; 2 December 1944 – 21 January 2006) was a prominent Kosovo Albanian political leader, scholar, and writer, who served as the President of the partially recognised Republic of Kosova, serving from 1992 to 2000 and as President ...
's
Democratic League of Kosovo The Democratic League of Kosovo ( sq, Lidhja Demokratike e Kosovës, LDK) is the oldest and one of the largest political parties in Kosovo. At the legislative elections held on 24 October 2004 the party won 45.4% of the popular vote and 47 ou ...
(LDK), and Rexhepi was appointed prime minister by the
Assembly of Kosovo The Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Kuvendi i Republikës së Kosovës; sr, Скупштина Републике Косово, Skupština Republike Kosovo) is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Kosovo that is directly electe ...
on 4 March 2002. Bajram Rexhepi was a compromise candidate to lead the broad-coalition government with the support of all parties represented in parliament. LDK declined to support Rexhepi's party leader, Hashim Thaçi, as a potential prime minister; other parties declined to enter into a smaller coalition with LDK. Ultimately, parties reached a political agreement whereby Rugova was elected president and Rexhepi appointed the first post-war prime minister. With key powers reserved for the UN administration, Rexhepi's cabinet included nine ministers as follows: * Ali Sadria (LDK), Economy and Finance * Ali Jakupi (PDK), Trade and Industry * Rexhep Osmani (LDK), Education, Science and Technology * Behxhet Brajshori (LDK), Culture, Youth, Sports and Non-Resident Affairs * Zef Morina (PShDK), Transport and Communications * Ahmet Jusufi (AAK), Labor and Social Welfare * Et'hem Çeku (AAK), Spatial Planning *
Jakup Krasniqi Jakup Krasniqi (born 1 January 1951) is a Kosovo-Albanian politician and former acting President of Kosovo. He is former Chairman of the Assembly of Kosovo. In November 2020 he was arrested for charges of crimes against humanity and war crime file ...
(PDK), Public Services * Numan Balić (SDA), Health In the following general elections, held on 24 October 2004, the Democratic Party of Kosovo came second and won 30 seats in the parliament.


Minister of Interior

On 1 April 2010, Rexhepi was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo, replacing Zenun Pajaziti. On 22 February 2011 the Assembly confirmed Rexhepi in his post within the new Cabinet led by Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi


Post-politics, illness, and death

Rexhepi left politics in 2014 to resume his career as a surgeon. In April 2017, Rexhepi suffered multiple strokes, which left him in a coma. After several days of treatment in
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 international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...
, Rexhepi was sent for further treatment in
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
. On 21 August 2017, Rexhepi died at a hospital in
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
at the age of 63.


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rexhepi, Bajram 1954 births 2017 deaths Politicians from Mitrovica, Kosovo Prime ministers of Kosovo Kosovo Albanians Democratic Party of Kosovo politicians Interior ministers of Kosovo Kosovan Muslims Kosovan surgeons Yugoslav surgeons