Kadri Veseli (born 31 May 1967) 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, former Chairman of 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 ...

and the

Kosovo Intelligence Service Kosovo Intelligence Service (Alb. Shërbimi Informativ i Kosovës) more commonly known by its Albanian acronym SHIK was an underground intelligence organization credited with post-war murders of political figures in Kosovo. SHIK reported its offi ...

. He is the leader of 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 ...

. Veseli was one of the founders and leaders 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 ...

. He also was the chief of the

, a post-war state intelligence organisation. In 2020, he was indicted for war crimes and

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

during the Kosovo War.

Education and personal life

Veseli began his higher education studies in 1990 at the

University of Pristina The University of Pristina ( sq, Universiteti i Prishtinës) is a public university located in Pristina, Kosovo. It is the institution that emerged after the disestablishment of the University of Pristina (1969–99) as a result of the K ...

, in the faculty of Agriculture, and at the Higher Pedagogical School in the Albanian Language and Literature Department. Due to political circumstances, he was forced to complete the remainder of his studies in Albania. He has a bachelor's degree from the

Agricultural University of Tirana The Agricultural University of Tirana ( sq, Universiteti Bujqësor i Tiranës) is a public university located in Tirana, Albania. It offers education in agronomy, veterinary, forestry, ecology, agribusiness, and similar subjects. History AUT ...

, Albania, and an MBA in General Management from Sheffield University's international faculty in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. Veseli is currently preparing his PhD thesis in the University of Ljubljana in

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. Veseli speaks

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

. He has four children with his wife, Violeta.

Career

Veseli was one of the leaders of the Kosovar student movement during 1988–1990, which fought for humanitarian and political rights for Kosovan Albanians, including the right for independence. During 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 ...

, he was appointed commander of the Counter Intelligence Service (G-2) of the KLA. He remained the leader of the organisation as it transformed into

(SHIK), a post-war intelligence organisation, until its disbandment in 2008. At the end of 2012, Veseli formally joined the

(PDK), and on January 27, 2013 he became the deputy head of the party. Veseli was voted Chairman of the

Assembly of the Republic 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 8 December 2014. In May 2016, following the resignation of

Hashim Thaçi Hashim Thaçi (; born 24 April 1968) is a Kosovar Albanian politician who was the president of Kosovo from April 2016 until his resignation on 5 November 2020 to face a war crimes tribunal. He was the first prime minister of Kosovo and the For ...

to become President of the Republic, Veseli became President of the PDK by popular vote. He was elected with no votes against and no abstentions. Following the

2017 Kosovan parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Kosovo on 11 June 2017. Background The elections were triggered by a motion of no confidence in the government of Prime Minister Isa Mustafa on 10 May 2017 by a vote of 78–34.

, PDK joined the

PANA coalition The PANA coalition was a ruling post-electoral Kosovan political alliance between four major Albanian political parties and six ethnic Kosovan minority parties. Its formation ended three months of political uncertainty following the 2017 parlia ...

that won a majority of parliamentary seats with 245,627 votes (33.74%). Veseli won the most votes of any coalition candidate, with 129,947 votes. Following those results, Veseli was re-elected as Chairman of the Assembly on 7 September 2017. In the October 6th 2019 election, Veseli was the PDK's nominee for the prime ministership of Kosovo. His party took the third place with 178,637 votes (21.23%), with Veseli winning 145,881 votes.October 2019
/ref> In 2020, the

Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office The Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office (KSC & SPO) is a court of Kosovo, located in The Hague (Netherlands), hosting four ''Specialist Chambers'' and the ''Specialist Prosecutors Office'', which may perform their activi ...

filed a ten-count Indictment, charging Veseli and others for

and war crimes.

War crime accusations

On 24 June 2020, the

located in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

filed a ten-count indictment for the court's consideration. The indictment charged Veseli,

, and others for crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, enforced disappearance of persons, persecution, and torture, allegedly occurring during the 1998-99

. The indictment charges the suspects with approximately 100 murders of

Kosovo Albanians 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 ...

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

, and political opponents. According to the press release, the Specialist Prosecutor stated that it was necessary to make the issue public due to repeated efforts by Thaçi and Veseli to obstruct and undermine the work of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Veseli, Kadri 1966 births Living people Politicians from Mitrovica, Kosovo Kosovo Liberation Army soldiers Chairmen of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo People indicted for war crimes Military personnel from Mitrovica, Kosovo People indicted by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers