Alajdin Demiri (; December 19, 1954 – April 12, 2019) was an Albanian politician known for his role as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Tetovo Tetovo (, ; , sq-definite, Tetova) is a city in the northwestern part of North Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena (river), Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of at above sea level, wit ...

in the 1997 unrest in Tetovo and Gostivar for which he was later sentenced to two years in prison.

Life

From 1973 until 1977, he studied

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. From 1977 to 1978, he worked in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

for the television station as a reporter and political commentator in the

Albanian language Albanian (Endonym and exonym, endonym: , , or ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid, Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan group. It ...

department. From 1978-1983 and 1983–1988, he taught sociology and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

at a high school in Tetovo and then worked at the town

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

, eventually being released from both professions for 'political reasons'. From 1990 to 1995, he studied

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, eventually returning in 1995 to be the spokesman of PDP (

Party for Democratic Prosperity The Party for Democratic Prosperity or PDP (; ) is an ethnic Albanian political party in North Macedonia. The party was formed in April 1990 and is currently led by Abduladi Vejseli. From 1992 to 1998, the PDP was part of the coalition gove ...

). As part of the PDP, he was elected mayor of Tetovo in 1997. He was arrested for having the Albanian flag placed on a municipal building and was sentenced to two years in prison. The

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

called for his release, and he was freed under an Amnesty Law. From 2000 to 2002, he was the Macedonian ambassador to Switzerland. He died on April 12, 2019, at the age of 65.

References

1954 births 2019 deaths People from Tetovo Mayors of places in North Macedonia Albanians in North Macedonia Yugoslav Albanians {{RMacedonia-bio-stub