Rrustem Berisha (born

2 March Events Pre-1600 * 537 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoth army under king Vitiges begins the siege of the capital. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his ''bucellarii'' are almost cut of ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

) is a Kosovar politician and military officer. He was

Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

in Haradinaj cabinet. During the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...

, he fought in the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...

and 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 a commander 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) during the

Battle of Košare The Battle of Košare ( sr, Битка на Кошарама, Bitka na Košarama; sq, Beteja e Kosharës) was fought during the Kosovo War between the Armed Forces of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, FR Yugoslav Forces and the Kosovo Liberatio ...

Early life and education

Rrustem Berisha was born in Doberdol, Peć, Yugoslavia on 2 March 1965. From 1980 to 1984, Berisha attended a military high school in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

Career

After graduating from military school, Berisha served in the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska a ...

. From 1984 to 1985, Berisha served as a platoon commander in

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. According to the 2011 census, its population was 55,705. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located on the Zagreb- Rijeka highway and railway line, south-west of Zagre ...

. From 1985 to 1988, Berisha attended a military school in Sarajevo to train to be an officer. From 1988 to 1991, after graduation to a

officer, Berisha served as a company commander in

Delnice Delnice () is a town in western Croatia, the largest settlement in the mountainous region of Gorski Kotar, in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. The town has a population of 4,379, and total municipality population is 5,952 (2011). Delnice is Go ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, which was then part of

. From 1991 to 1992, Berisha fought in the

on the side of the Croatians. From 1998 to 1999, Berisha was a member of the

(KLA). In this time he fought in the Dukagjini region of Kosovo. In 1999, following the disarmament of the KLA, Berisha joined the

Kosovo Protection Corps The Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC; sq, Trupat e Mbrojtjes së Kosovës (TMK)) was a civilian emergency services organisation in Kosovo active from 1999 to 2009. The KPC was created on September 21, 1999, through the promulgation of UNMIK Regulat ...

(KPC). From 1999 to 2002, he served as the Chief of Staff of the KPC's Second Defense Zone. From 2002 to 2009, Berisha directed the Hamëz Jashari military academy. In 2009, Berisha was named the Deputy Commander of the Rapid Reaction Brigade of the newly-formed

Kosovo Security Force , image = KSF logo.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem , image2 = Flag of the Kosovo Security Force.svg , alt2 = , caption2 = Flag , motto = , founded ...

(KSF). The KSF was a relatively new entity at the time, having come into existence on 21 January 2009. Berisha continued in this position until 2014.

Politics

In 2013, Berisha entered politics, joining the

Alliance for the Future of Kosovo An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

. That year, he became a member of the AFK's governing council and its presidency. In 2014, Berisha ran for a seat in 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 ...

and won. He became a member of the Assembly's Committee on Rights, Interests of Communities and Returns and the Committee for Economic Development. He also became the Vice Chairperson of Oversight Committee for Kosovo Intelligence Agency. In February 2016, a Serbian court convicted Berisha and seven other former KLA soldiers ''

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in absen ...

'' of acts of terrorism for attacks on soldiers of the

Yugoslav army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska a ...

in September 1998. Before the trial ended, Berisha questioned the credibility of the indictment and the allegations on which it was based. Berisha was reelected to the Assembly in the 2017 elections in Kosovo. On 9 September 2017, Berisha was appointed the Minister of the

Kosovo Security Force , image = KSF logo.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem , image2 = Flag of the Kosovo Security Force.svg , alt2 = , caption2 = Flag , motto = , founded ...

. He replaced

Haki Demolli Haki Demolli (born February 17, 1963) is a Kosovo Albanian politician, lawyer, and professor. He served as the Minister of the Kosovo Security Force from 2014 to 2017 and as Kosovo's Minister of Justice in 2010. Early life Haki Demolli was bo ...

. As minister for the security force, Berisha worked towards closer cooperation between the

Albanian Armed Forces The Albanian Armed Forces ( sq, Forcat e Armatosura të Republikës së Shqipërisë (FARSH)) are the military of Albania and were formed after the declaration of independence in 1912. Today, it consists of the General Staff, the Albanian Land ...

and the

Kosovo Security Force , image = KSF logo.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem , image2 = Flag of the Kosovo Security Force.svg , alt2 = , caption2 = Flag , motto = , founded ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berisha, Rrustem 1965 births 20th-century Albanian military personnel 20th-century Albanian people Alliance for the Future of Kosovo politicians Defence ministers of Kosovo Kosovo Albanians Kosovo Liberation Army soldiers Living people Members of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo