Bajram Rexhepi (3 June 1954 – 21 August 2017), was a Kosovar politician who served as the first elected post-war

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and later as interior minister 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 ...

and as a member of the Kosovo Assembly. He was a member of the second largest political party in Kosovo, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK).

Early life and education

Rexhepi was born in Mitrovica,

on 3 June 1954. He graduated from the University of Prishtina and completed his postgraduate studies at the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

in 1985.

Early career

Rexhepi spent most of his career working as a surgeon and achieved fame as the best surgeon for circumcisions in the Mitrovica region. During the 1999

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 ...

, Rexhepi joined the

Kosovo Liberation Army The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA; , UÇK) was an Albanians, ethnic Albanian separatist militia that sought the separation of Kosovo, the vast majority of which is inhabited by Albanians, from the Republic of Serbia (1992–2006), Republic of R ...

(KLA) and spent three months serving as a field doctor. He served as mayor of the Albanian section of Mitrovica, working with

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and NATO peacekeepers to implement ideas to diminish the civil unrest.

Prime minister

In the

general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

of November 2001 in Kosovo, Rexhepi's party won 25.7 percent of the votes, second only to

Ibrahim Rugova Ibrahim Rugova (; 2 December 1944 – 21 January 2006) was a Kosovo Albanians, Kosovo-Albanian politician, scholar, and writer, who served as the President of the partially recognised Republic of Kosova, serving from 1992 to 2000 and as President ...

Democratic League of Kosovo The Democratic League of Kosovo (, LDK) is the oldest and one of the largest list of political parties in Kosovo, political parties in Kosovo. History During the late 1980s, nationalism was on the rise throughout the Socialist Federal Republi ...

(LDK), and Rexhepi was appointed prime minister by the Assembly of Kosovo on 4 March 2002. Bajram Rexhepi was a compromise candidate to lead the broad-coalition government with the support of all parties represented in parliament. LDK declined to support Rexhepi's party leader, Hashim Thaçi, as a potential prime minister; other parties declined to enter into a smaller coalition with LDK. Ultimately, parties reached a political agreement whereby Rugova was elected president and Rexhepi appointed the first post-war prime minister. With key powers reserved for the UN administration, Rexhepi's cabinet included nine ministers as follows: * Ali Sadria (LDK), Economy and Finance * Ali Jakupi (PDK), Trade and Industry * Rexhep Osmani (LDK), Education, Science and Technology * Behxhet Brajshori (LDK), Culture, Youth, Sports and Non-Resident Affairs * Zef Morina (PShDK), Transport and Communications * Ahmet Jusufi (AAK), Labor and Social Welfare * Et'hem Çeku (AAK), Spatial Planning * Jakup Krasniqi (PDK), Public Services * Numan Balić (SDA), Health In the following

, held on 24 October 2004, the Democratic Party of Kosovo came second and won 30 seats in the parliament.

Minister of Interior

On 1 April 2010, Rexhepi was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo, replacing Zenun Pajaziti. On 22 February 2011 the Assembly confirmed Rexhepi in his post within the new Cabinet led by Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi.

Post-politics, illness, and death

Rexhepi left politics in 2014 to resume his career as a surgeon. In April 2017, Rexhepi suffered multiple strokes, which left him in a coma. After several days of treatment in

, Rexhepi was sent for further treatment in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. On 21 August 2017, Rexhepi died at a hospital in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

at the age of 63.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rexhepi, Bajram 1954 births 2017 deaths Politicians from Mitrovica, Kosovo Prime ministers of Kosovo Kosovo Albanians Democratic Party of Kosovo politicians Interior ministers of Kosovo Kosovan Muslims Kosovan surgeons Yugoslav surgeons Mayors of Mitrovica (Kosovo)