Blerim Reka () is an ethnic

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

from

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

. He is currently the Minister of 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 ...

. He ran as an independent presidential candidate in the 2019 North Macedonia presidential election and is also an author, professor and former ambassador.

Biography

Blerim H. Reka was born in 1960 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 ...

, at the time in

FPR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

, where he went to school. Later Reka graduated in law from the University of Prishtina. Reka was Ambassador of the Republic of Macedonia to the European Union in Brussels. Reka has also held diplomatic and legal advisory positions such as Advisor to the President of the

Republic 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 ...

for EU Integration. Reka was the Legal Council of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia and Member of the Expert Team for National Strategy and Integration to the EU. Reka has been professor of International Law, International Relations and EU Law at

South East European University South East European University (SEEU), informally also known as the Max van der Stoel University, is a private-public nonprofit higher education institution. It was established upon initiative of OSCE's High Commissioner on National Minoriti ...

since 2002. Dr. Reka holds a doctorate in International Public Law and Civil and Economic Law. Reka is an author of 18 books. On March 5, 2019, his campaign announced he had collected the necessary signatures to become an independent presidential candidate for the 2019 election. Reka's candidacy was backed by the Albanian opposition. According to a statement issued by the

Alliance for Albanians The Alliance for the Albanians (, ASH; , AA) is a centre-right political party founded in 2015 in North Macedonia by Ziadin Sela. The party has as its main goal the achievement of the full national equality between Albanians and Macedonians i ...

and BESA parties, Reka's candidacy was supported by over 11,000 citizens. On 3 February 2020, Reka was named as the Minister of European Integration of

in the government of

Albin Kurti Albin Kurti (; born 24March 1975) is a Kosovo Albanians, Kosovo Albanian politician who has been serving as Prime Minister of Kosovo since 2021, having previously held the office from February to June 2020. He came to prominence in 1997 as the vi ...

. On 5 January the President of Serbia, Aleksadar Vučić, claimed that nine countries did not recognise Kosovo as a sovereign state anymore. On 13 January, ''Prishtina Insight'' reported that Reka confirmed on Facebook continued relations with the Maldives, writing "Reconfirmation of excellent bilateral relations. No change in diplomatic relations, established since 2009”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reka, Blerim 1963 births Living people Candidates for President of North Macedonia Politicians from Skopje Macedonian people of Albanian descent Government ministers of Kosovo Academic staff of South East European University