Azem Vllasi
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Azem Vllasi (born 23 December 1948) is a senior
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 and lawyer.


Early years

Vllasi was born in Robovac,
Kosovska Kamenica Kamenica or Dardana ( sq-definite, Kamenicë or Dardanë), or Kosovska Kamenica (Serbian Cyrillic: Косовска Каменица), is a town and municipality located in the Gjilan District of Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of K ...
,
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, in today's
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 ...
. In his youth and student years, Vllasi chaired a number of youth organizations: the student league of Kosovo and of Yugoslavia, and from 1974, the
League of Socialist Youth of Yugoslavia The League of Socialist Youth of Yugoslavia (SSOJ) was the youth movement, member organisation of the Socialist Alliance of Working People of Yugoslavia (SSRNJ). Membership stood at more than 3.6 million individuals in 1983. History The SSOJ was ...
. As socialist youth chairman, he became popular and gained the support of President
Tito Tito may refer to: People Mononyms * Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980), commonly known mononymously as Tito, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman * Roberto Arias (1918–1989), aka Tito, Panamanian international lawyer, diplomat, and journ ...
, which helped him to become the first re-elected youth leader. After graduation, he became a
lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
before joining big politics. In 1980, he publicly challenged the autocratic ruler of
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
,
Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 unt ...
, claiming that ethnic Albanians in Yugoslavia were better off than people in Albania and describing his rule as brutal and dictatorial. Azem Vllasi was a Chevening Scholarship holder in early 1970s and studied at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.


Leader of Kosovo and dismissal

Later on, Vllasi became a member of the
central committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...
of the
League of Communists of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...
and became the leader of the
League of Communists of Kosovo The League of Communists of Kosovo ( sh, Savez komunista Kosova, Савез комуниста Косова, SKK; al, Lidhja Komuniste Kosovare) was the Kosovo branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, the sole legal party of Yugoslavia f ...
in 1986, and the president of Kosovo. Under Vllasi, the Albanian-led Party took a more assertive position towards the
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
n government, and could be expected to put up strong opposition to any moves to reassert Serbian authority over Kosovo. The autonomous province of Kosovo at the time had an equal vote in the federal presidency of
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
with the Yugoslav republics, and its own executive body, legislature, and judiciary. In November 1988, Azem Vllasi and
Kaqusha Jashari Kaqusha Jashari (' Fejzullahu; born 16 August 1946) is a Kosovo Albanian politician and engineer by profession. She is a member of the Assembly of Kosovo on the Democratic Party of Kosovo list since 2007. From 1986 until November 1988, she and ...
, as the two top-ranked Kosovo politicians, were toppled in the Anti-bureaucratic revolution because of their unwillingness to accept the constitutional amendments curbing Kosovo's autonomy, and replaced by appointees of
Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...
, the leader of the
League of Communists of Serbia , logo = , colorcode = , leader = President of the League of Communists of Serbia , predecessor = Provincial Committee for Serbia of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia , merged = , successor = SPS , ...
at the time. In response to this, the local population started a series of public
demonstrations Demonstration may refer to: * Demonstration (acting), part of the Brechtian approach to acting * Demonstration (military), an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought * Demonstration (political), a political rally or prote ...
and a
general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...
, particularly the 1989 Kosovo miners' strike. A partial
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
in Kosovo was declared on February 27, 1989, and the newly appointed leaders resigned on February 28. Soon thereafter, Kosovo's legislature, under a threat of force authorised by the federal presidency, acquiesced and passed the amendments allowing Serbia to assert its authority over Kosovo. Vllasi was arrested by the police on the charges of "counter-revolutionary activities". He was released from the Točak prison in
Titova Mitrovica Mitrovica ( sq-definite, Mitrovicë; sr-cyrl, Митровица) or Kosovska Mitrovica ( sr-cyrl, Косовска Митровица) is a city and municipality located in Kosovo. Settled on the banks of Ibar and Sitnica rivers, the city is t ...
in April 1990.


Today

Vllasi survived the war years and works today as a lawyer, author, and political adviser/consultant. He is a member of the
Social Democratic Party of Kosovo The Social Democratic Party of Kosovo ( sq, Partia Socialdemokrate e Kosovës, PSD) is a political party in Kosovo. It was established on 10 February 1990 by Kaqusha Jashari, and was the second political party to be established in the newly plu ...
(PSDK). In December 2005, Kosovo's prime minister
Bajram Kosumi Bajram Kosumi (born 20 March 1960, in Kosova, Kamenica , is a Kosovar politician who served as the third prime minister of Kosovo for nearly one year. He was nominated by Kosovan President Ibrahim Rugova and elected Prime Minister by the Kosovo ...
appointed Vllasi as special adviser for negotiations over the final status of Kosovo. Vllasi also served as a political advisor to Kosovo's prime minister
Agim Çeku Agim Çeku ( sh, Agim Čeku, born 29 October 1960) is a Kosovan politician, the former minister of Security Forces in Kosovo and formerly the prime minister. Of military background, he was a commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) that f ...
. Vllasi is married to Nadira Avdić-Vllasi, a
Bosniak The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...
journalist. They have two children, Adem, a practicing attorney in the United States, and Selma, a medical practitioner who also lives and works in the United States.


Annotations


External links


Interview (in Bosnian)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vllasi, Azem 1948 births Living people People from Kamenica, Kosovo Kosovo Albanians Social Democratic Party of Kosovo politicians Communist rulers Kosovan writers University of Pristina alumni Kosovan lawyers Kosovan prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Yugoslavia Yugoslav prisoners and detainees Kosovan Muslims League of Communists of Kosovo politicians Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia members Yugoslav Albanians