Bekim Hamëz Jashari (born 28 January 1975) is a former

Kosovo Albanian The Albanians of Kosovo (, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars (), constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-group of Ghegs, who inhabit the north of ...

politician who served as mayor of

Skenderaj Skenderaj ( sq-definite, Skënderaji) or Srbica ( sr-Cyrl, Србица) is a List of cities in Kosovo, town and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality located in the District of Mitrovica, Mitrovica District of Kosovo. According to the 2021 cens ...

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 ...

from 22 October 2017 to 30 November 2021.

Early life and career

Bekim Jashari was born on 28 January 1975 in village

Prekaz i Epërm Prekaz i Epërm (; ) is a village in Skenderaj municipality, Kosovo. This village was the site of the battle that started the Kosovo War, the Battle of Prekaz and birthplace of KLA leader Adem Jashari Adem Shaban Jashari (born Fazli Jashari; ...

, in a family with national traditions and intellectual values, as leaders of Albanian education in Skenderaj. As the first child of the couple Hamëz and Feride, in a large family, he was warmed by the love of his grandparents and uncles. As the grandson of teacher Shaban, education has been primary in the formation of the Bekim. So, he finished primary and secondary school in Skenderaj with diligence and dedication. With the completion of high school, in 1992 the political situation was extremely aggravated in our country. This situation did not spare even the 18-year-old Bekim. Bekim's opportunities for university education had diminished and his stay in Kosovo as the son of the political resistance ideologue Hamëz Jashari posed a danger. Consequently in July 1993, he with the blessing of father Hamëz, took the path of exile. Bekim was placed in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Germany to the Uncle Rifat, who, in addition to the work on which the well-being of the family in Kosovo depended, took on the burden of caring for the offspring of the three branches Murat, Lulzim and he from the Shaban Jashari's trunk. During his stay in exile, Bekim as the son of Jashari family was systematically informed about the situation in Kosovo and the political and military developments there, so for Bekim and the Jashari family, the "Epopee of 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 ...

" was conditionally expected, which was a spark of freedom that left Bekim's family home in March 1998 during the

Attack on Prekaz The Attack on Prekaz, also known as the Prekaz massacre, was an operation led by the Special Anti-Terrorism Unit of Serbia which lasted from 5 to 7 March 1998, whose goal was to eliminate Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) suspects and their famil ...

, where most of his family members were killed, and spread throughout Kosovo. But during his stay in Germany, Bekim was not limited to the situation and political activity. Throughout his stay in the host country he continued to be educated, professionally trained, and to work diligently in the largest automotive corporation,

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

. Undoubtedly the synergy of intellectual and family work values, with the strong values of education and work in Germany greatly influenced Bekim's approach later in his career.

Mayor of Skenderaj

Jashari announced he would run for Mayor of

in the 2017 local elections in the summer of that year. Skenderaj had been run by the

Democratic Party of Kosovo The Democratic Party of Kosovo (, PDK) is one of the largest political parties in Kosovo. It was originally a social-democratic party coming out of the demilitarised Kosovo Liberation Army after the Kosovo War, with most of the leadership c ...

since the end of 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 ...

, but in respect to the Jashari family, the Democratic Party did not put forward a candidate. Jashari was elected mayor on 22 October 2017 winning 85.5% of votes.

References

External links

* 1975 births Living people People from Skenderaj Independent politicians Mayors of Skenderaj University of Pristina alumni Kosovo Albanians {{Kosovo-politician-stub