Vlora Çitaku (born 10 October 1980) is a Kosovar Albanian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and diplomat who served as the Ambassador of Kosovo to the United States. She formerly served as Consul General of Kosovo in New York. Before joining Kosovo's diplomatic corps, Vlora served as Minister for European Integration of

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

. She was noted as one of the most successful ministers of the 2011-2014 Kosovo government. She relinquished her MP seat in the Kosovo Assembly upon taking the governmental position, which she won as one of the top three most voted candidates.

Career

Vlora Çitaku was only a teen when she became interpreter and a stringer for major Western news outlets at the onset of Kosovo war. She later became a refugee during the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...

and has been involved with politics since 1999. She initially became spokesperson for the KLA and joined the PDK after the formation of the party in the post-war Kosovo. She was a Member of Parliament in two mandates. She states that she has overcome the stereotypes in politics that one must be old and a man."Profile: Vlora Citaku- Kosovo's new challenge"
''kijacnews.net'' 2 March 2010 Link retrieved 21 February 2011 She was the acting

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

between 18 October 2010 and 22 February 2011.

Controversy

At the 15th anniversary of the start of the

NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Serbia and Montenegro, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombing ...

, Çitaku posted an image on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

that provoked political controversy. She replaced the well known slogan for

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

, “

Just Do It ''Just Do It '' is a trademark of shoe company Nike. The tagline was coined in 1988 at an advertising agency meeting. The founder of the Wieden+Kennedy agency, Dan Wieden, credits the inspiration for his "Just Do It" Nike slogan to a death r ...

”, with the words, “NATO Air Just Do It” – with a warplane next to it. Serbia's

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

called the gesture disrespectful to Serbs civilians killed by NATO air strikes. Analysts also considered it in bad taste. Nike, Inc. also said that the image "did not represent their officials stand" - and that company was in no way involved in posting the tweet or in creating the image.

References

External links

Kosovo Assembly Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Citaku, Vlora 1980 births Living people Government ministers of Kosovo Foreign ministers of Kosovo Politicians from Podujevë Female foreign ministers Kosovan women diplomats Yugoslav refugees 21st-century women politicians Women government ministers of Kosovo Ambassadors of Kosovo to the United States Kosovan women ambassadors